A/N: Hi guys, I'm looking for a beta reader as my current beta is quite busy with her work right now. If you could lend me a hand, pls pm me. Tyvm!
So this chappie is not beta-read yet but I hope you still enjoy it. Thanks for reading and giving this story a chance!
CHAPTER 20: FOR YOUR SAKE
Betacle hotel after the blackout.
The Phantom Troupe abides by two rules. One, the leader's orders are absolute and have to be carried out without questions. Two, the prosperity of the Troupe is the supreme priority that trumps over any member's life, including the head.
After successfully capturing Chrollo, Kurapika used Melody's ability to effectively make Pakunoda cooperate. However, since Pakunoda left on her own to discuss the hostage exchange, the rest of the Troupe started falling apart.
With hands twisted behind his back, knees pressed against the cold, hard floor, Killua reluctantly watched the heated quarrels flying back and forth between the Spider's remaining members. His sapphire blue eyes occasionally flicked to the insensate girl at his feet. Clandestia.
The silver-haired ex-assassin couldn't decide whether his comatose companion was the unluckiest or the luckiest one today. She had the worst timing to walk in on them and get involved in this whole shit. Then again, she must be really blessed by some kind of God to have tried it on with the Spider and still breathing. The woman named Machi decided to spare her life for a hunch that the two of them might be important. Funnily, the rest of the Troupe seems to have high regard for Machi's superstitious hunch. Things turned in their favor when Kurapika neatly captured the leader and officially made the two of them valuable hostages.
Or not? Killua silently winced as the atmosphere around him suddenly turned ice cold.
"Phinx. You take another step, I draw my sword!" Nobunaga snarled; hands on his sword. For the rest of the Troupe, no one doubted his intention. When Nobunaga says he draws his sword, he really kills. The man in front of him immediately halted in his steps.
"Oh? Just try it!" Phinx glared at Nobunaga over his shoulder; his aura flared up furiously. As they both made to jump at each other, Nobunaga bizarrely slumped to his feet unconsciously.
"Serious quarrels are forbidden within the Troupe!" Shizuku rose from behind Nobunaga, apparently knocking him out.
"I thought you were on his side?" asked Phinx with utter confusion. Shizuku was indeed one of the people opposed to him following Pakunoda.
"Yes, but I'm still against fighting among members of the Troupe." Shizuku coyly stated.
Then why did you hit him that hard? Phinx retorted internally. Damn, Shizuku never stopped to amaze him. Even when she kills, she still has that permanent innocent and timid look on her face and it's all the more disturbing.
Tutuu…tuuu….
Sharlnark gingerly picked up a handphone vibrating on the floor.
"It's Danchou's phone." He informed.
"Give it to me!" Phinx beckoned to the blond Spider.
"Hel-" He attempted to greet but was flatly cut off by the person on the other end of the line.
"Give me one of the hostages," Kurapika demanded.
Son of a fucking bitch, Phinx cursed internally but complied anyway. He did try to pick on Kurapika in the previous call but it turned out the chain guy had no patience to humor his dark jokes. It almost ended with them breaking the deal on exchanging hostages so Phinx grudgingly dropped the act.
"Kurapika?"
"Killua, are they all there?"
"Yes, they're arguing about whether or not to follow Pakunoda," Killua reported.
"How's Clandestia?" The blond Kurta asked after a brief pause.
"She passed out but other than a few bruises on her neck, she looks fine," Killua reassured, purposely toning down a little about Clandestia's state.
"Alright. Now pass the phone back to one of them!"
"Hello?" Surprisingly, it was Phinx who took the call again.
"I'll tell you something. We have someone capable of detecting lies. That's why Pakunoda came quietly as she was told." Kurapika said, revealing his ultimate trump card.
"If you want, you can take it out on the hostages, and I don't care. Your boss dies. That's all!" The blond Kurta's voice was eerily calm.
"You have 30 minutes to get back to your base." He warned and curtly ended the call.
"Damn it!" Phinx cursed, almost crushing the phone in his hand. The bastard didn't even give him a chance to retort. "It's useless to follow Paku now!" He informed the rest of the troupe.
With their disagreement being put on hold, the Troupe members prepared to head back to their base.
Killua threw a quick glance at Clandestia's comatose body. Like a lifeless doll. Even the heaving of her chest, proof of her being alive, was barely there. She was like a pathetic candle flame ready to be blown out by the slightest draft. There's no telling whether she would wake up anytime soon or she would just stay that way. What a feeble fool! He was reluctant to admit it but she was not totally useless. At least, she managed to save Gon. As long as Gon was safe, it was all worth it! He didn't give a damn if he or this Ellis girl would make it out alive or not. But then... the fact hit him. In exchange for Gon's safety, this idiot almost committed suicide. Lines drew up the young ex-assassin's forehead as a foreign sentiment crept up on him. He did not know what it was but it reeked of trouble.
As if to mock his own loathing, Phinx was appointed by Machi to take care of one of the hostages. He glared at the rug of a girl lying on the floor. He grudgingly lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The nerve of that chain bastard! How dare he order the Phantom Troupe around!
"Handle her properly!" Killua shot up, glaring at Phinx. Then his eyes widened, utterly confused by his own reaction. What was with his mood? Why should he even care? The silvered hair ex-assassin pondered but found no answer.
Phinx scowled, veins popping on his slick forehead. This brat… and that chain guy! They really got on his nerves.
"The condition is only not to harm her. Who gives a damn about the way I handle her?" He sneered at the silver-haired boy.
"Or is she your girlfriend or something?" He added with another inciting scoff.
Suddenly, someone smacked Phinx on the head. Hard!
"Quit it! We only have 30 minutes to go back to the base!" Machi snapped at him. Damn. Boys and their stupid egos!
"Argh! What was that for?!" Phinx screeched and Machi shot him a cold glare.
Phinx grumpily laid the comatose girl down to carry her in both of his arms. Lines drew up his forehead. How could this be the same kid that wreaked havoc on his comrades earlier?
She was light as a feather.
"Let me repeat it… As a hostage, I hold no value." Chrollo calmly stated. His body was squeezed in chains and his face was horribly swollen and full of bruises. Anyone could tell that he had gone through a sound beating.
"Fuck!" The blond teenager sitting beside him landed another hard punch in his face. He had been beating this man for 20 minutes now. Contrary to the man's nonchalant attitude, the blonde was on a hellish rampage.
"Calm down, Kurapika!" His friends kept yelling to avail.
How was he supposed to calm down? This disgusting creature was right beside him, making him want to puke just by breathing the same air. He was already on the verge of losing his mind.
"You say one more countless comment and I'll make sure you regret it!" The Kurta lone survivor snarled, eyes burning red like flames from hell.
"He's not lying," Melody uttered. Her voice was above a whisper. "Everything he said was true." She added, glancing back at her bodyguard colleague nervously.
"What do you mean?" Kurapika scowled.
"The sound of his heartbeats. I don't hear any abnormalities indicating fear. It's like he lives with death at his side every day." She explained in terror. "-And it's… a happy melody!"
"Enough, I don't want to hear anymore!" She screamed in frustration, pulling her bucket hat to cover both of her little ears.
"Melody…" Kurapika mumbled, shaken by his colleague's frightened state. Melody never lies. He felt like free-falling from a cliff without anything to hold on to. Then his wrath returned at full force. Worsened by the insecurity burning inside his stomach. With a snap of his head, he released a chain with a shuriken-like sharp blade.
"Five years ago, when you exterminated the Kurta clan." He pointed the chain at the target of his deep hatred. "Were you already the leader of the Spider?
"Answer!" He screamed. Blood lust soaked his voice. But just like Uvogin, this bastard did not care to respond. He was already sick of it all. Beating the living daylights out of them and then feeling even more miserable.
"Was that the chain that killed Uvogin?" Chrollo answered with another question instead. "What did he tell you? Before dying?"
Kurapika felt his self-control slipping away at the smug look on the man's face.
"I don't remember! Answer me!" Kurapika lifted the blade but the man didn't even flinch.
"You're lying." The Phantom Troupe leader scoffed, directing his gaze to the front where Melody was seated. "He's lying, isn't he?"
Chrollo turned his head and held Kurapika's furious gaze again with a condescending smile. "I understand perfectly what Uvo felt. I feel the same way. I don't have anything to say!" He said.
Kurapika heard a snap inside his head like a gun being loaded. He promptly lifted his judgment chain again. The sharp blade made a dry clink, ready to fly off his finger.
"Kurapika, no! He's provoking you! Don't even talk to him!" Leorio screamed. "If you kill him, you'll have to deal with me!"
The young doctor slammed on the brakes and impatiently shot up from the driver seat, grabbing Kurapika's chained arm. On the inside, he understood perfectly how furious and tormented his blond best friend was right now. No one could be calm in a situation like this with their sworn enemy beside them. Still… they needed this man to stay alive!
"Kurapika, stop." Another hand tugged on the furious Kurta's arm. He turned his head and immediately met Gon's sad gaze.
"I know how you feel." The boy said, melancholy filling his eyes. "But we need him to get Killua and Clandestia back!"
"They took this bet with their lives on the line. They trusted us that much!" Gon's voice was shaking. He felt frustrated being the only one who got away.
"So let's get our friends back, Kurapika!" Gon said with determination.
Finally, Kurapika slumped back into his seat. Gon's words had strongly pulled him out of his enraged delirium. He retracted his chains as he sharply turned away from the Phantom Troupe's leader.
That's right.
Killua. Clandestia. For their sake, he would not harm this man.
Killua could hang on for a little more. But Clandestia was just an ordinary sheltered girl.
He had to hurry and get them back.
"Leorio, to Ringo airport!" The blond Kurta finally said with a spent look on his face.
In a half-demolished building somewhere in Yorknew, the rain incessantly leaked through the roof. Clutters of bricks and rotting debris scattered around the floor.
The icy cold from the hard concrete floor sharply hit Clandestia's senses. Her dull purple eyes slowly cracked open as her consciousness gradually returned.
The sight of a silver-haired boy sitting next to her instantly greeted her.
"Killua?!" She murmured weakly, using her elbows to prop herself up into a sitting position but struggled as the muscles of her arms had gone numb from sprawling on the hard, cold floor for a long time.
"Yo." The silver-haired boy nonchalantly greeted her as if they were chilling in his home.
She looked around. Her foggy vision made out a few figures sitting and standing at the other end of the floor. There were some familiar faces but the rest she didn't recognize. The constant howl of the stormy wind and the occasional roar of thunder made it impossible for her to hear their conversation in her groggy state. Some of them tossed cold stares or sneered in her direction but didn't bother much to check on her. The two of them were not tied up. Still, the suffocating tension in the dilapidated place, which reeked of mold and was covered by some thick, menacing aura floating in the air (A/N: it's nen actually), was more than enough to make them forget about trying anything funny. They were like just lambs led to the slaughter.
"Where are we?" She whispered.
"The Spiders' secret base," said her reluctant companion.
"Don't lie to me. We're dead, aren't we?" She deadpanned. "This looks like hell."
The place where they're held captive did look bad enough though.
"Ha. You're really crazy!" Killua scoffed with a hint of unexpected jauntiness. "You barely cheated death and you've got jokes?"
She made a face at him in return.
Contrary to her peculiarly composed attitude, the young professor was shivering from sitting on the sticky, wet floor and the cold breeze that constantly blew through the gaping holes of the tarnished walls around them. With damp brown hair falling disheveled around her face, she started looking gaunt and pale like the undead.
The young ex-assassin silently watched her. The girl was barely hanging on.
"You okay?" The words rolled out of Killua's lips before he could stop them. He's got an immensely perplexed expression on his face.
"I'm fine. Just a bit cold. That's all." Clandestia said, wrapping her arms around her own body in an attempt to keep warm. But a sudden and violent cough made her bend over in pain and mercilessly betrayed her words. When it stopped, her palms were soaked with a velvet-red liquid.
"Just a side effect of my power. Nothing serious!" She exclaimed with an embarrassed look. Damn you, grim reapers, she cursed. "Turns out this body of mine isn't made for it. Haha." She laughed weakly as she watched the crease on Killua's forehead deepen.
Of course, coughing up blood did not apply every time but when it came to borrowing the Grim Reapers' force, it was never a cheap price. They sucked on her life force.
The silver-haired ex-assassin clicked his tongue in annoyance. Everything about this Ellis girl annoyed him. No one asked for her help. And even if she did throw herself into this situation to help them, it was her own choice to make. He never believed that anyone doing anything dangerous wouldn't have a personal cause. He wouldn't give a damn if she cowered in fear or anguish right now. But she did not show it.
Not that he sensed no fear in her. He had witnessed so many kinds of fear displays in those years he took killing as a profession. Without a doubt, he saw panic flickering shortly in her dim eyes when she just woke up. She just hid it well. Hell, this feeble human looked like she was close to flaking out again. But she did not even complain. And it pissed him to high hell!
He yanked his hooded jacket off and brusquely shove it into her hands.
Her eyes widened in utter disbelief.
"If you don't need it, say it!" He scowled at her astounded expression.
"Thank… Thank you!" She uttered, hugging the jacket to her chest with a sheepish look.
Clandestia pulled it over her body. Surprisingly, his jacket fitted her petite form just right. She felt a little bashful. All of a sudden, Killua seemed unusually mature for his age, acting this way.
"The chance of us making it out of this alive is slim." He said with a scrutinizing look. "Understand?"
"I know..." She admitted.
"But the fact that we're still here means Kurapika has acquired their potent weakness, isn't it?" She said. Actually, there are things even scarier than death for me, she thought to herself.
Killua sighed. There's no need to fill her in on their situation then.
"I can't choose what to think of you. Seriously." The young ex-assassin scoffed. "One minute, you're all sneaky. Then you act like the worst dummy the next minute."
"Hey!" She scowled.
"Seriously. You're so reckless. Just like Gon!" He sighed in exasperation.
"No, you're even worse! Gon was reckless because he never thinks of consequences. But you knew it and were crazy enough to jump headfirst into this whole mess with zero skill in combat." He added a full remark.
"Should I take that as a compliment?" She scoffed.
"Which part of it sounded like one?" He asked incredulously. Maybe she has finally lost it!
"The part about being similar to Gon." She said.
Killua's eyes widened at the sudden confession.
"Righteous. Fiercely loyal to his comrades. Especially to you!" She said, giving him a gentle look as she emphasized the last few words.
"You don't need to point that out!" Killua hurriedly looked away. His cheeks turned pink all of a sudden.
"But I admire you more, Killua." She added. "You're really strong."
He gave her an inquisitive look. And her amethyst eyes met him with unmistakable sincerity.
"I'm not talking about physically. Of course, you're a strong fighter." She explained.
"What I meant here is… Despite what you've been through, you still can be so kind to those you hold dear." She said.
"No, actually… I'm sure it took a lot of courage just to smile as you do right now." She added, this time with a hint of melancholy. "You're... really cool!"
This boy's torments, his guilt, his endless cycle of sins and despair… Everything was still fresh in her mind.
Killua fell into a brief silence as the young professor's words took him by surprise.
"You don't know a thing about me." He protested anyway, looking away at last.
"He used to say that to me, too." She smiled grimly.
Killua did not need to ask. He knew who she was referring to. Kurapika.
"Actually, everyone would be wary of me at some point. And it's not that I'm trying to be conceited." She confessed. "I'm only hoping that the people that I care about will trust me."
"That guy does trust you." The young ex-assassin suddenly said.
"You don't say." She chuckled."I can't tell since he's just snappy at me most of the time."
"He's just grumpy at everything alive and kicking." Killua scoffed.
"He almost broke my neck with his chains for accidentally reading his mind." She said with a wince. "That's gotta be a whole lot more than grumpy!"
"Wow, sweet!" He whistled, with undisguised delight.
Killua Zoldycks turns out to be such a tsundere, Clandestia thought with amusement.
A/N: As it was mentioned a couple of times, Tia labeled herself as a psychic but she is not aware of it being a nen ability. More or less like Neon, she was born with it so she has yet to figure out all those Ten, ren, hatsu, etc... and whatever basics of nen.
She can feel auras but she does not have sufficient knowledge of nen yet. So from her 3rd person narration, it might sound a bit confusing.