Chapter VI
In the next three days, Valtiel slips into an easy routine. She rises with the sun and eats with Chrollo whatever breakfast the Spiders deliver at their door. She spends the next few hours in silence, either watching the leader choose his books from the shelf, rummaging through the dead priest's belongings, or staring out the window.
Mostly, she stares out−eyes up on the blue skies and counting the birds. At lunch, another Spider would knock on the door and deliver their food. Then, without words, Chrollo would leave the room, holding the door open for her until she follows him out. The altar of the Scarlet Eyes is well managed, never lacking an admirer or flowers. Then at night, the Spiders eat dinner together, play cards together, tease each other. Valtiel is comforted that they did everything together, with Chrollo seated with them to watch them like an indulgent guardian.
The Spiders may not find her presence pleasing, but at least they are not excluding her from their activities. Shalnark is happy to show her the latest applications he downloaded in his phone the other night; Uvogin shows her the spider tattoo on his lower back; and Pakunoda shows her how to clean pistols from inside and out. Chrollo watches everything with a pensive gaze, assessing the interaction between his usually hostile members to a quiet newcomer.
On the next night, Nobunaga redoes the bows on Valtiel's hair again, which makes the church rock with so loud a laughter Chrollo is almost wary that the Hunters might find them again. The samurai's face has been red with anger at his second failed attempt, though Machi tries to help by braiding the Kurta's hair into what she called a fishtail braid.
Whenever midnight approaches, Chrollo would close his book and the noise would die down in the church. The lights flicker behind his back, emphasizing the vivid scarlet from the eyes. Every time he stands up, the Spiders stand as well−as form of respect−and Chrollo would take leave of everyone and retire to the chambers. Valtiel, ever at his beck and call, would follow three paces behind him.
During these days, Valtiel has picked up a strange habit from one of the Spiders. She accompanies Omokage after lunch to go to a garden adjacent to the church. The divine puppeteer always picks the freshest white lilies for the altar, and, much to the surprise of the Spiders, Valtiel starts to come with him.
"White lilies are symbols of purity," Omokage tells her as he picks the largest flower from the bush. His glazed black eyes are focused on his task, though his sharp senses are always perked up. Instead of focusing on the Kurta girl, he has his attention to the two Spiders serving as her bodyguards.
Nobunaga looks like he wants to be anywhere else than here, watching over their leader's precious treasure. He leans against the nearest tree, seated cross-legged on the ground, with his sword across his lap. Uvogin, on the other hand, crouches on the ground next to Valtiel and peers over her shoulder, like a little boy excited over something. His hazel eyes light up whenever the girl picks up a lily and shows it to him.
Omokage sighs and continues on his task. He would have enjoyed the girl's company, but apparently their leader has something else in mind. If Chrollo cannot watch over his treasure with his own two eyes, then anyone from the Troupe would do.
"What else do they symbolize?" Valtiel asks him. A slight breeze picks up, stirring the locks gone astray from Machi's meticulous braid.
"Well, for one thing, they also symbolize modesty and sweetness."
"Pfft!" Nobunaga snorts. "Who cares about some stupid flower meanings?"
"I do," Valtiel says.
"I don't care. Uvo doesn't care. Even Danchou doesn't care."
"You should really learn speaking for yourself, Nobunaga-san." She stands up and gathers the bouquet of white lilies in her arms. The samurai jumps up at the same time she does, and stomps over toward her with another one of his annoyed expressions. She meets his gaze with a quiet one of her own, her eyebrow slightly raised as if to inquire his actions.
"How dare you talk back to me!" Nobunaga shouts in her face.
"Knock it off, would ya?" Uvogin stretches his arms high above his head, and then puts one big hand over the young woman's head. He yawns at their arguing. "You're so loud, Nobu. Just leave her alone."
"Leave her alone?!" The samurai sounds bewildered at his best friend's suggestion.
"Yeah, what else is there anyway?"
"Oh! I'll tell you−"
A strong gust of wind passes around them, momentarily stopping the ensuing argument. Valtiel yelps and holds on to her bouquet, shielding herself behind Uvogin's larger build. Then she notices Nobunaga's abrupt calmness and hears Uvogin whistle in amusement. Omokage creeps up behind her back, his black eyes boring through someone else.
Curiosity perked, she peeps from Uvogin's side and sees another Spider. Yuan, if she remembers correctly. The young Spider has silver hair and bronze skin, his eyes a bright shade of blue. Under her inquisitive gaze, he squirms, like the first night he arrived with two others.
Yuan bows his head low, avoiding eye contact with his team members. "Um, Danchou wants, ah, I mean… Danchou wants everyone back inside," he stammers and fiddles with his fingers. "Says it's urgent."
"Urgent, huh," Nobunaga muses.
"Better get going then." Uvogin jerks his head for Omokage, and leads Valtiel and Nobunaga past Yuan.
Omokage follows from behind. Yuan goes next, still with his eyes on the ground, looking almost afraid that he might stumble in his feet.
Back inside the church, the remaining Troupe members make way in the aisle as Uvogin and Nobunaga, flanking Valtiel on either side, walk forward until they reach the steps to the dais. The two Spiders stop walking then, content on watching a few steps behind, while the young woman heaves a deep breath and ascends the short flight of steps, where Chrollo awaits at the top. Her golden eyes are trained on his face−so composed and aimed on his book−that he probably does not even sense her coming at all.
But this is Chrollo Lucilfer: he sees, hears, and knows everything.
At the last step, he glances up from his book, meets Valtiel's gaze, and smiles ever so slightly. He acknowledges her as his eyes slide down to her arms, noting the new bouquet of flowers with appreciation.
Despite the early afternoon, the candles on the table and floor are already alight. Valtiel sets her lilies down to one side, disperses them so that there is a flower between each of the glass canisters. Like a wary predator, Omokage joins her on the other end of the altar, his hands shaky with hidden pleasure, knowing that their leader is watching his movements, no doubt feeling fear in his heart that Omokage might do away with his treasure.
When Valtiel and Omokage finish, Chrollo takes up the central stage and the Spiders gather on the floor before him, looking up at him and anticipating his orders.
"The vigil for the Scarlet Eyes has come to an end," he begins, his voice resonating inside the spacious church. The flickering flames of the candle throw his shadow long against the walls. "After two weeks of admiring, protecting, and harboring them, it is time to say farewell, and proceed to the next stage." His voice pauses as he meets every excited looks on his comrade's faces. "Now we sell them."
"Alright, Danchou!" Uvogin roars, the chandeliers above rattling.
Chrollo chuckles at his friend's enthusiasm. The world knows the Phantom Troupe for stealing priceless artifacts and treasures from all over the world, though they also know that whatever the Troupe steals, they also sell, once their leader has grown tired of them. Selling the Scarlet Eyes so soon does not mean Chrollo has tired of them.
On the contrary, he still greatly admires the hatred in their eyes, reflected after one nightmarish confrontation under a thunderstorm. He still loves the angry scarlet hue, illuminated more so by the candlelight−yet his patience has run rather thin after two weeks of not seeing that one pair of Scarlet Eyes he longs to see again. Valtiel's eyes have remained passive for too long, and Chrollo wants to start in his experiment as soon as possible. Yet he could not start with the presence of his members.
He puts up one hand to silence them. "This time, however, I decided to add a little game," he continues.
The Troupe members inch forward, the anticipation readable in their faces.
"We would split into five groups: four groups with three members, one group with only two," Chrollo explains, holding up his fingers to indicate the numbers. "We decide each team members by drawing lots. Shal, would you please write the names in pieces of papers? Write everyone's names except mine and Valtiel's."
Shalnark does a double take, his green eyes going back and forth their leader and the Kurta.
The others seem just as perplexed, but no one says otherwise.
A few moments later, Shalnark returns with the names and one shoebox. He tosses the papers in and rocks the box here and there, mixing everyone. He finishes and approaches Chrollo, who walks down the steps and gestures with one hand.
"Pick two names," Chrollo instructs. "They would be your team members. Don't open them yet."
"Okay, then." Shalnark dips his hand into the box.
The leader calls more team leaders to pick their members: Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Pakunoda. "The fifth team is comprised of Valtiel and myself," he says once the first three picked their papers. He looks around the four other team leaders and feels their excitement as if it is his own. "At the count of three, the team leaders shall read the names of their members. Ready? One… Two… Three…"
There is a mixture of celebration and disappointment:
Shalnark whoops and punches the air. "Alright! Best team ever!"
Uvogin grins wide, unleashing a bit of Nen. "Well, now, this is interesting!"
Nobunaga rereads the names as if he cannot believe his bad luck. "What?! Them of all people?!"
Pakunoda taps her chin thoughtfully. "I can certainly work with this team…"
Valtiel stands beside Chrollo and notes that his lips are curled into the smallest of smirks. Clearly, he enjoys the reactions of his members. Yet Valtiel, left in the dark about this little game, only blinks and tugs on the leader's black sleeve. "What's going on?"
"You'll see." Chrollo has the gall to wink, then clears his throat before the dissatisfied members launch themselves into another fistfight. "Everyone, calm down please. We are not done yet."
"Hush!" Machi grabs Nobunaga by the skin of his neck and puts one hand over his mouth.
"Now, team leaders, read out your members' names," Chrollo instructs again.
Shalnark goes first. He says the names with a large, proud grin. "Feitan and Phinks."
The two mentioned Spiders glance at each other and smirk deviously.
Uvogin goes next. "Franklin and Kortopi," he says and high fives with Franklin.
Nobunaga snatches Machi's hand from his mouth. "Machi and… Omokage," he says with a defeated sigh.
Pakunoda smiles at the remaining unmentioned members. "Bonolenov and Yuan are mine."
Chrollo nods, remembering each teams and wondering how they could push through the game he has in mind. It is no complex games like he had played when he was young; no twisting stratagems or complicated rules. By all means, the rules are very simple that even a five-year-old child can comprehend. He has designed this game for his and his friends' entertainment, and, deep down, his own selfish desire to have Valtiel by himself for the next few months.
"The rules of this game are quite simple," he starts to explain, digging both hands in his pockets. "The five teams would divide the Scarlet Eyes amongst them. There are fifty pairs. All five groups will have ten pairs each."
"What for, Danchou?" asks Machi, already being competitive.
"What do you think?" Feitan returns with a scoff. "Danchou wants us to sell them."
"But why in separate groups? Why in a little game?" Franklin also voices out.
"Why, for entertainment's purposes, of course," Chrollo answers with a sly smile. He feels Valtiel's sudden interest, her golden eyes going back towards the altar. "The objective of the game is to sell these pairs to whoever you can find. It is your team's prerogative how to do things your way. Whichever team gets the most sales is declared the winner, and they can choose the next course of our mission."
And that last part, every single Troupe member gasp. It is always the Danchou who chooses where and when they get to meet for another job, what to steal, and who to kill. To have that privilege is like a dream come true. Already, the Spiders are coming up of ways to win this game.
Chrollo is not yet done with his explanation. "Bank statements are the only allowed proof of your sales. No over-the-counter, no deliveries, and certainly no stealing. The goal is to sell, not steal. We can steal again once the winners are declared. I would recommend deciding your missions carefully."
Phinks raises a hand. "How long is the time limit, Danchou?"
"Three months. Each team has three months to sell ten pairs of Scarlet Eyes. It is an absolute must to sell them and gain profit. Your methods are your own, as long as the deed is done. When the time limit is up, we meet again in the old church back home, at Meteor City."
At the mention of home, few Spiders soften and sigh longingly.
Feitan only shakes his head. "And when do we start?"
"Tonight." Chrollo glances out of the open window, the skies outside still a bright blue. "At midnight. Prepare everything your team needs. Everyone moves out with the packages at midnight. Does anyone have questions?"
"Can I switch team members?" Nobunaga asks, waving the paper in his hand. "I mean, Machi's all right with me, but Omokage−"
"No, Nobunaga, you may not."
Another sigh of defeat. "As you say, Danchou."
That night, everyone is in such a frenzy on packing up. No one bothers to clear the piles of pizza boxes and beer containers littered across the aisles. Instead, they pack up few personal belongings−clothes, weapons−and proceed outside to drop them inside their cars. Each team found a car, each better than the last. Then they would return inside, back to the altar, pick their share of the Scarlet Eyes, and then return to the car and put them in trunks.
Valtiel watches them in silent resentment. It is too soon for them to split up, though she knows Chrollo would not listen to anything she might say. She sits on the priest's ornate chair at the altar, her chin resting above her forearm, as Pakunoda and her team approach for their share.
"You all right, Val?"
"I will be," Valtiel answers. "Will you be?"
"Of course." Pakunoda nods to her members. Bonolenov nods back and carries four glass containers outside. Yuan picks four more from the left side, the farthest distance he can get from them. "We intend to win this game. There's something I want to steal for a long time now."
"Oh? What is it?"
Pakunoda cradles two containers and smiles at her. "It's a secret," she teases, and leaves.
Another group comes toward her. Nobunaga leads his ragtag team towards the altar and brusquely snatches every container he can reach, and shoves them into Machi's open arms. The pink-haired woman rolls her blue eyes and catches Valtiel's golden ones. They share a secret smirk as Nobunaga, once again, complains about his bad luck in drawing lots. Not too far from them, Omokage grabs his own Scarlet Eyes.
"You're probably thinking how lucky you are," Nobunaga huffs. "Teamed up with Danchou and all that."
"I think of nothing at all," Valtiel answers with a pointed smirk.
"Simper all you like, brat." The samurai turns his heels and glares at her over his shoulder. "If you do something very stupid while you're alone with Danchou, I won't forgive you!"
Machi rolls her eyes again, fed up with her team leader's temper. "Cut it out, Nobunaga. Let's just go. The others are almost finished packing. We can't let ourselves fall behind."
They leave together, bickering along the way. In place of them, Omokage walks up to her.
"You seem a bit melancholy," the puppeteer notes, tilting his head to the side. The piercings on his lip and eyebrows gleam against the low burning of the candles. "Sad to see everyone go? But you have Danchou, do you not? Or do you actually prefer our spirited company than Danchou's reserved one?"
"You get too ahead of yourself," she spits back, straightening on the velvet high-backed chair. She sees his flustered reaction, the offense written in his pale face, and she laughs at her crude joke, resting her chin against the heel of her palm. "Relax, Omokage-san. I am not Nobunaga-san. And I am not sad to see everyone go, just a little lonely perhaps? Is that the right word for it?"
"It may as well be." Omokage smiles in his enigmatic manner. "Only you can understand what you feel."
"Me?" For a moment, she looks confused. "How can I? Even I can form solid thoughts, I can't remember much about the past, and I can't figure out what to do with myself."
"Do you want me to help you, doll?" He leans his face closer to hers, close enough to kiss, his grey hair tickling her cheeks. In this so close a proximity, he can admire the gleam in her eyes.
A hostile voice breaks the enchantment. Surprisingly, it does not come from Chrollo.
Feitan stands by the puppeteer's right side, his dark eyes narrowed into slits. His spiky black hair sways with the wind from the open windows.
"Omokage−" he says in a dark tone that matches his narrowed eyes−"what do you think you're doing? You supposed to leave with Machi and Nobunaga, right?"
The puppeteer fixes his robes and gives the short thief a bitter smile. "I was just saying goodbye to the little doll here," he says, gesturing his bony fingers at the young woman.
The other looks none too pleased. He is neither fond of the puppeteer nor the girl, but if their leader enunciates that the girl's life is important, then he would do his part as member of the Spiders. "Leave her alone," he hisses. "Only Danchou can do whatever he wants with her."
"As you wish." Omokage laughs in a harsh tone. He descends the stairs and mocks. "Feitan."
"Tch." Feitan scoffs and faces Valtiel. "You do better to avoid him."
"What? Why?"
"He may a part of the Troupe, but still creeps everyone out. He can see through anyone's desires and regrets," Feitan explains as he fetches few containers, surprising himself that he wants to defend her from the puppeteer. Perhaps it is because she looks so fragile and lost, like a kitten, and he finds her pathetic that she should be in a den of hungry Spiders. "Just… stay out of his line of sight…"
"Okay." She nods and watches him leave. This might be the first time he spoke to her, and she comes into a realization that she has never said his name before. "Feitan."
The thief pauses and turns back to her. "What is it now?"
She shakes her head, smiling. "Thank you."
He snorts and goes off. "Rubbish."
Feitan exits through the main entrance doors and passes by Uvogin's team. Uvogin is the first to snatch his team's share of the Scarlet Eyes, though he dawdles long enough to tease the other groups into some heated competition: who gets more profit, who has the better team, who has a best strategy. The large man pats Feitan's head, then gazes out to find Valtiel still in her place. He waves a large hand, and she smiles and waves back, her hand small and slender.
Footsteps echo in the sudden silence of the nave. For almost a week, the Phantom Troupe gathered here and there was much laughter and arguments. Now, minutes before midnight, the marbled field is empty, save for the ten remaining pairs, one living Kurta, and the Spider head.
Chrollo heads outside to give final messages. He nods to each team as their cars rev and wheel out of the grassy field. He lets the cold winds brush his raven hair, grown long and almost to his shoulders. He adjusts his black long-sleeved shirt and walks back inside, finds Valtiel tending to the white lilies.
"You should get some rest," he murmurs.
"We're not leaving?" She sounds perplexed, wide eyes searching for answers in his calm demeanor.
"We have three months," he says with a shrug. "And we can leave in the morning."
"You said the game starts at midnight. It is already midnight," she says, very stubborn.
"I know what I said," he counters, "and I mean it. The others can have half a day's worth ahead of us. Still, they cannot beat us. You know they can't. But in doing so, I need you to get enough rest. We have everything to do tomorrow."
She sulks and pouts, disliking the tone of his voice. "Whatever you say, Danchou."
With a smirk, Chrollo cups her cheek and leans in to whisper in her ear. "Yes, you do everything I say from now on. You understand well enough, Valtiel?"
Valtiel steps back from him, to return to the flowers. "Oh, I am not so sure about that, Danchou."
Author's Notes: Yay! Hello, I'm back! I was a bit worried I won't be able to update for this week. I went back and forth to the hospital because, apparently, I overfatigued myself when I sleep so late at nights. All I've been doing is write fanfictions! I have some meds to help with the problem, but I still have no regrets. Haha! I love writing!
Anyway, as I promised earlier, we will be picking up speed starting from this chapter. Oh, Chrollo... As Hisoka once said, you are indeed devious. Let the competition begin! Knowing the Spiders, I bet they would all be competitive af. LOL. Which team ups are the best and which teams are you guys rooting for? *wink wonk*
*xenocanaan - Yup, I remembered because I swore to myself I read your name somewhere else! And thank you again! Val's gotta stand up for herself at times.
*polarsky - Aww, I'm sure the Spiders will warm up to her in their own spidery way. Haha. Me neither! If I was in her place, I'd probably be too scared by everyone.
*Luminaaa - Thank you so much for binge-reading! Chrollo is one of my fave characters too! Danchou needs more love from us fangirls ;)
*AwkwardBlackCat - If Val ever starts redeveloping her previous personality, I think it might take a long while. Chrollo really holds onto her and decides what should and should not be done, so it will be kinda difficult. And yes, the shopping trip went well... for the Spiders. For the salespersons... not really. Chrollo being Chrollo with the name meaning, too. Haha! Thank you for reviewing!
*HELLO - Thank you for the review! I'm happy you like her character so far!
*hisoDAMN - Are you a mind reader?! Because I totally headcanon Chrollo as a Scorpio! Some people think he's a Virgo or something, but for me, Scorpio it is. (I am a Scorpio myself so I know how it feels :D) And possessive Chrollo is yummy.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Please review and tell me what you think! 💕