Chapter XXV

Chrollo did not come back the next day. And the day after that. And another.

In the long days of his absence, Valtiel has learned to keep inside the house, cold and dark and lonesome without his company. She sits on the window ledge on rainy days and curls up on the swing on windy days. She has learned to keep her mouth shut, walking like a dead woman over the mess of ripped pillows and couch that Pairo has done. For meals, she sits quite alone, eating off her fingers whatever leftovers and online deliveries she manages. And the long nights−mostly spent discussing books with Chrollo−she spends in the bedroom, crying herself to sleep.

Once, she contemplates whether to throw the locket or not. It would have been a waste, but who else would care for the sorry little thing? She did not mean it for herself; it was for Chrollo and Chrollo himself did not want it.

It's beautiful, he told her once. When she looks at their photo, her lips tremble. Not so beautiful now it seems.

Pairo is the only company she has left, and even then, his presence is wavering. It started as a mere cough, perhaps a headache even. The more she practices her ability on him, the more she notices that his nose and ears are bleeding, his maroon eyes constricted and the veins evident. He retches on the floor, paws scratch at his eyes, and retches some more. Valtiel cleans up after him, and then retreats to the solace of the bedroom, buried under the blanket, her cheeks damp.

There are days when their−her−kind neighbors would knock on her door to ask if everything is all right. The Eleisons are reclusive together, but without the husband, the wife would often go out and greet the people. At those times, Valtiel would only shake her head and hide herself under the covers, pretending that no one is home. After a few knocks, Pairo would growl and hiss and the neighbors knocked no more.

There are times she spent staring at herself in the mirror. She sees nothing but a girl with too pale a face, with dark bags under her lifeless eyes. She looks ghoulish, a white lady to scare the children at night.

Whatever she saw that night, they didn't come back.

She must have dreamt of the Scarlet Eyes that night. No matter how long she sat before the mirror, tears running down her face for some godforsaken reason, the Scarlet Eyes are a faraway memory. She doesn't even know what she is trying to prove with the Scarlet Eyes. Some sort of comfort? Tell-tale signs of some mystery?

She doesn't know, she doesn't know anything anymore.

Finally, after an entire week of darkness, something happens.

Her phone lights up.

She fumbles for her phone. It has been an entire week since she last used it. Chrollo had given her the sort with a battery life that can extend for a month. She peers under the blanket and reads the message.

15:45 Phink-san: I'm picking you up, kid. Get dressed. Be there in an hour.

Her eyebrows knit together. Phinks? Why would Phinks come and get her? Chrollo and Shalnark had been careful about the house's location, and only few of the Spiders know where it is. She is sure Phinks is not one of them. And why would he come for her? She is almost painfully sure the Phantom Troupe has forgotten about her sorry existence.

One hour later, someone knocks on her door. She barely has the energy to stand from the bed, let alone open the door and fake a cheerful smile for Phinks. She is crossing the threshold to the living room when the main door suddenly bursts open, with Phinks on the other side, one leg suspended in the air.

"Yo," he greets, entering the dim place and looking around the mess. He whistles, impressed, and then blinks at her appearance. "Wait. Are you Val? Am I in the right place?"

"Hello, Phink-san." She musters her most charming smile, the corners of her mouth stiff. She wears an oversized blue-grey shirt and grey sweatpants, barefooted, and her blonde hair up in a hasty bun. The sleeves of her shirt swallow her arms as she waves a hand. "Welcome. What brings you here?"

"We came to get you." Another voice comes from behind. Nobunaga steps over the mess Phinks made and scratches his stubble. "Obviously."

"What for?"

"Didn't get the memo, did ya?" Nobunaga flops on the couch and raises an eyebrow at the ripped fabric and the sea of white feathers and cushion thrown about him.

"We're having a raid in three days," Phinks says. He leans his hips against the back and crosses his arms over his chest. His eyes observe her from head to toe and linger on her pale face. "You don't look so good, kid. Are you sure you're okay? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," she answers, meek.

"Good because Danchou wants all hands on deck in this mission," says Nobunaga. "Not everyone will be around, so we could use your help." He squints at her. "Not that we expect you to be of any help anyway."

She nods, biting her lower lip. So Chrollo sent these two instead of doing it himself. Did she repulse him after that one mistake? Did he not want to look at her face and remember what happened on the beach? If so, then she repulses him and it sends another wave of sadness in her.

Nobunaga and Phinks exchange furtive glances.

A low growl sounds somewhere in the house. The two Spiders flinch and look around. The curtains are drawn and the house is dark, yet a pair of maroon eyes gleams in the shadows. It stares at Nobunaga on the couch, then at Phinks near Valtiel. In a blur of shiny black coat, the panther cub pounces−sharp canines bared−to the nearest victim.

Phinks catches the panther by the neck and holds it at arm's length away from his face. The panther yowls and slashes long, ungroomed claws at him, tearing the sleeves of his dark red tracksuit into ribbons. His fingers tighten around the panther's windpipe, crushing the bones there, yet Pairo hisses more menacingly, thrashes all the more, and bites down on Phinks's wrist−hard.

Snorting, Phinks puts both hands on either sides of the panther's jaw, and rips Pairo's head into two. The strength of his pull tears the body down to the sternum.

Flesh, blood, and guts spill unceremoniously to the floor. Nobunaga scrambles away from the bloodied mess as Phinks wiggles his fingers.

"Punk." The blond Spider growls down at the corpse and turns to Valtiel. "What the hell are you doing with a wild animal in your house, kiddo? That thing's dangerous. Could've ripped you to shreds in seconds. Good thing I'm here to−"

He stops when her tears start to flow.

Nobunaga grins wide. "Oh, boy. You made her cry."

Phinks rounds toward the samurai and shouts, indignant, "I did not!" Then he whirls back to Valtiel and flinches, hands waving in the air. "No, no, no, don't cry−Was that your cat? I didn't know! Don't cry, kid−Valtiel−No, don't do that. I'm so sorry!"

She starts crying louder, face buried in her hands.

Phinks blanches and keeps waving his hands in the air, helpless. "Don't cry, Val. No, stop, please. I'll−" He shoots the samurai a quick murderous glare when Nobunaga snickers−"I'll give you another cat, okay? Sounds good? I'll, um, give you… uh… A lion!" He grins, all teeth and a big, bright smile. "A lion cub, okay? So please don't cry!"

"That's okay," Valtiel murmurs. She loved Pairo. With all her heart. Whatever little she has left in her world, she loved Pairo with everything that she has. She glances down on the mess on the floor: the once shiny black coat is marred with torn flesh and ligaments.

A harsh death, Phantom Troupe style.

"I'm telling Danchou," Nobunaga teases.

"Don't you dare!" Phinks shouts.

"Please don't." She surprises them both by interrupting. "Please. Don't tell Danchou anything."

The two Spiders exchange suspicious glances.

Nobunaga waves a hand at her. "Very well," he says. "We should better get going. We have a few hours worth of travel ahead of us." He stands and jabs a finger at her miserable appearance. "Take a shower first. And change your clothes. You look like a hobo."

She smiles weakly and heads for the bathroom.

Phinks is in the driver's seat. Nobunaga, sensing that the young woman is nowhere in good condition to be sitting alone in the back, sits beside her there.

"So." Nobunaga clears his throat, peeking at her bland face. "How was the birthday?"

Valtiel freezes as she lowers her head. "It was fine."

Phinks glances at the rearview mirror. "Got any gifts?"

She nods. "A blade with a gauntlet." Her heart feels heavy again. "From Danchou."

"Oh, so that's why he keeps asking about Ben Delon's works!" Nobunaga sits up straighter and beams at her. "He kept asking me which blade would be good for a non-fighter. Didn't guess it would be you, brat! How is it? Did you like it?"

"It was fine."

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"It was."

Blinking at her dull responses, Nobunaga turns to Phinks for help.

Phinks, annoyingly useless, just shrugs back. It earns another glare from Nobu.

After a while of silent driving, Nobunaga pounces from his seat and lunges to their driver. Phinks groans as the samurai whispers something in his ear. Then he nods in understanding, swerving the car to the place Nobu recommends. It seems Nobunaga knows his way around the city and leans back again in his seat with a proud smile.

Not five minutes later, Phinks slows the car to a stop and gets out. Nobunaga follows suit, slamming the door shut without any explanation.

Curious, Valtiel scoots to the window and blinks at the signboard above the awning. Zeta Eiscremery.

She blinks and decides to stay inside. Whatever business the Spiders have inside the shop, that is their own−despite the muffled screams and sounds of breaking bones she could hear from where she sits.

Their business does not take too long, for Phinks and Nobunaga return to the car, cradling tubs upon tubs of ice cream in seven different flavors. They drop the tubs next to her seat, without any words, and then Phinks drives again, his mouth pursed.

Valtiel peeps at the ice cream tubs. "What are these for?"

"For your birthday. Duh." Nobunaga fetches a chocolate flavor and opens the lid. He grins as he practically shoves the thing into her arms. "This one has sprinkles on it," he says, very proud. "Uvo calls them unicorn shit. He likes them though."

"So stop your sulking, kid," Phinks snaps from the driver's seat. "I don't want to see you frowning for the rest of the trip. You got that?"

"Yes, Phink-san." She smiles at him, but her mirth does not reach her eyes. The Spiders notice, but make no mention of it. Whatever problem she has, that is her own, unless she decides to share. She receives an ice cream tub from Nobu and they eat together in the back seat.

"Good girl," Phinks says, and Valtiel is reminded of a dog.

For this time's mission, the Phantom Troupe gathers in an old decaying castle.

Valtiel's eyes are forever outside the window, craning her neck so she could see the entire structure of five colossal towers, connected together by stone bridges. The stonewalls are black from fire and withered by rains and snows. The car passes under a crumbling archway and pushes onwards, past the double doors and parks in the castle's great hall. Bats infest the wooden beams and hang upside-down from the vaulted ceilings, their ear-piercing cries resonating around them.

Phinks and Nobunaga lead the way where the others are waiting. The castle's throne room.

"Not everyone's here though," Phinks murmurs as a heads-up. "Just some of the others."

"Better that than none," says Nobunaga, yawning.

"Is Danchou here?" Valtiel hears herself say. In this dark castle, she could imagine the ghosts of the past lingering here. I want to be a ghost, too.

"Of course. He's been here for a week." And Nobu yawns again.

She nods. Now she knows where Chrollo disappeared to. Locked himself in an ancient castle. With the howling wind and smell of decay in the air. Small wonder why he would choose such a place. Better here than in their old home−if that small, cozy house even counted as a home to him.

Upon reaching the throne room, several faces light up to see her.

Shalnark. Machi. Pakunoda. Omokage. Even Feitan is here, glowering from his position on the window ledge. The first three come forward to greet the newcomers. Shalnark, always in his bubbly self, offers a big embrace to Valtiel, but he checks himself when she does not jump in his embrace as she always does.

Machi rakes bright blue eyes on the Kurta. "You look pale, Val." Her voice is sharp and quiet. "Are you sick?"

"Oh, no." Valtiel shakes her head and makes a show of smiling as cheerfully as she could. The way Machi's eyebrow raises tells her that the Spider is not convinced. She fidgets before her calculating gaze. "I'm fine. Just a little tired from the trip, maybe."

"You do look bad," Shalnark notes. "Are you sure you should even be in this mission?"

"I can do whatever I can do to help."

"Maybe you should sit down." Omokage takes her hand in his bony one, and draws her towards the sole window where Feitan sits. The dark-haired thief shrugs as Valtiel joins him there. Omokage, his black eyes glazing her overall appearance, licks his lips in anticipation. "You are pale as snow. What ever in the world happened to you? I had thought Danchou would take good care of you."

She winces and tries hard not to glance towards the imposing throne at the center. In her peripheral vision, there is a dark figure seated there, reading his book by the candlelight.

Feitan sneers at the puppeteer. "Maybe if you leave her alone she won't be so pale anymore."

Omokage chuckles at the other's harsh tone. As he expects from Feitan. "Why, yes. Either you are correct or I am. I do believe there's something we are missing here."

"Quit yapping." Phinks sits cross-legged on the stone floor, next to Shalnark. "We have a mission and this is everyone we can gather." He turns for their leader, who remains unfazed.

Pakunoda slips from the sidelines and offers Valtiel a bottled water. She is back in her office suit and high heels. Her smile is still warm and friendly. "It's been a while," she says. "How's everything?"

"Everything is…" Valtiel sighs. "Not as it used to be."

"Oh?" Paku's sight lands to their Danchou. She smirks, teasing. "A lover's quarrel, perhaps?"

"Hardly." Valtiel does not want to think more on the matter. She does not want to hear the Spiders teasing her about it−for fear that it might incite Chrollo's anger more. She could not look at his face without feeling the same rush of shame and guilt after what she did. Seated amongst the Spiders, she could do no better than to sit still and be quiet.

The flames of the candle flicker, despite the lack of wind. She feels another presence, new and strange to her. Around her, the Spiders grow cold and turn towards the entrance door.

Something is coming towards them. Rather, someone. Valtiel peers beside Pakunoda's arm as a tall and muscular young man materializes from the shadows.

He moves with languid grace, and dresses in a jester's outfit of black top and pants with golden suit symbols of heart and spade on his chest. He has bright red hair, highlighted with purple streaks, and a skin so pale it is all but translucent. He stops at the threshold, meeting everyone's eyes and grinning from ear-to-ear. His sudden presence and strange appearance sparks an interest in Valtiel, that she does not notice Chrollo rising from his crumbling throne to address the strange man.

"You are trespassing in our private meeting." Chrollo's voice is quiet and soft. "I would ask you to leave."

"Oh, no, no. I cannot do that," the man singsongs, hands on his hips, one foot stepped forward. "I came to find the Phantom Troupe."

"Rejoice, then, for you have found us."

The silence between leader and jester stretches on for a few moments. The latter takes his time drinking in the sight of Chrollo, dressed in a black leather coat with his raven hair slicked backwards. A chuckle escapes from the jester, as he lets bright yellow eyes roam around the place, noting each present Spider and licking his lips when his eyes land between Machi and Feitan.

He turns back to Danchou. "I should like to join your Troupe."

Chrollo's façade never wavers. "By all means, you have every right to join. However, the Troupe has rules. If you wish to join, you would have to fight one of the members and kill them, thereby replacing them." He sweeps a hand in a semi-circle, gesturing to the seven Spiders present. "As a reward for tracking our movements, I would let you take your pick."

The jester licks at his lips. The Spiders turn around to face them, all of them dark-faced and growling deep−except for Shalnark, who just laughs, and Omokage, who is still deciding whether to take the Kurta's eyes for his own. The stranger meets Nobunaga in a heated stare, and then Machi.

Looking over to the far side, he spots a small group nestling closely together.

Behind the large build of Phinks and seated at Feitan's feet is a young woman, who does not seem to share her friends' bloodthirst. He smiles upon imagining her warm blood staining her white coat and pants, her life's blood slipping through his fingers like silk. He could sense the sudden tension in the air whenever his eyes land on her. Not from the Spiders beside her, but from the leader himself.

A dark foreboding aura radiates from the leader, and it puts excitement in his veins.

He has found his target, his muse.

He whips out a card−a Queen of Hearts−and points at her.

"I challenge her," he says cheerfully.

Author's Notes: *insert The Office gif* "OH MY GOD! OKAY! IT'S HAPPENING! EVERYBODY STAY CALM!

Not sure which part I'm more excited about: having most of the Spiders together again or finally having a certain magician in the story. On one hand, we have charismatic, handsome Chrollo... and the other we have bloodthirsty Hisoka. My inner fangirl is squirming with excitement!

*xenocanaan - Hoping you like this one!

*HuangShaotian0005 - That kiss went from 100 to -0 real quick! Gee, thanks, Chrollo! And do you think Chrollo felt bad his reaction? That bastard? He's seen worse things. He probably doesn't care much about hurting Val's feelings.

*Mia Mena - Our girl Val finally got the courage... but, sadly, she got Danchou-zoned. Bad, Danchou, bad!

*Amy - Ooh, the idea of Chrollo being totally in love but reacting that way because he has no prior "genuine" experience with romance is thrilling! I can see him flirting and dating, of course, but missing the genuine part. And yes, Val deserves better than this. Where's Kurapika?! This boi needs to save her ASAP!

*Kira Rara - Sadly, your ChroVal ship has split in half, my friend.

*Aurora Clarion - Like I said before, she got Danchou-zoned. LOL. But you're right: Chrollo pulled a dick move on her. The concept of sincerity is definitely lost on this man. He can't handle true emotions, and his reaction (I think) is justified. Yet worry not! Hisoka is here and he will make everything better... maybe... Speaking of the Kakin Prince, maybe Chrollo will understand her worth when the prince successfully kidnaps her.

And an AdultrioxValtiel fic?! Don't tempt me! I extremely love the Adultrio as a group and as individuals. You have no idea how much I fangirled over these men while I was in grade school! A fic of them three with Valtiel would probably my greatest pleasure as well!

As for your questions, at this point, I'm not sure whether Val and Chrollo are on speaking terms. Especially when it's regarding the Scarlet Eyes. I could already see Chrollo reacting violently if he finds out or if Val opens the topic up. Plus, I'd like to think that Hisoka was the "shadow" watching over her. How else would he find the Troupe?

Thanks for the lengthy, awesome review!

*Eric - Sorry it took a while! Hope you like this!

*ChroVal - Unfortunately, Danchou is awkward and lame when it comes to "real" romance. Val does have the worst luck of them all. Stuck in a group o chaotic mass murderers-slash-thieves with their equally awkward leader. Sigh.

*DreamPlume - Wow! Let me congratulate you for finishing all 24 chapters in one go! I shall bestow upon you the prize of your choice: shirtless Chrollo, shirtless Hisoka, or Valtiel's extreme happiness and meeting Kurapika again? Please do pick whichever suits your fancy, my new friend.

Let me know what you guys think! How much more chaos can we throw their way to make things more difficult? Because I live for jealous and angsty Chrollo, a smug and flirty Hisoka, and an innocent and confused Val. Then add Chrollo's Spiders who will more than likely kick Hisoka in the ass... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

P.S. Rest in Peace for the second time around, Pairo.