Chapter XXVII

Every successful mission warrants a celebration.

On their way to the base, the team ransacks a grocery store and fills the van with a swarm of junk foods, chocolate bars, sodas, and beer containers. Then they empty a bakery and steal all its pastries and puddings. By the time they return, two hours have passed since the mission, and the skies are streaked with the purples and pinks of a nearing sunrise.

Chrollo congratulates them. He steps down from his throne and joins his friends in the celebration, seated with them in a large circle and clinking beers with Shalnark. They feast on the food while the stolen diamonds are sprawled across the floor in front of them. Chrollo's eyes are drawn to the precious gems, more intent on looking at them rather than a certain Kurta.

Feeling out of place in their celebration, Valtiel takes the chocolate bars and eats behind the circle. Not too close to intrude in their bonding. Not too far from Hisoka. She peeps at the magician under her lashes, watching him absorbed in his own world again and stacking his cards to a pyramid. She glances once at the Troupe, all entertaining Chrollo, and decides it better to stay away from them altogether.

"Are you not hungry?" She turns to Hisoka, her back against the Spiders. "There's a lot more."

"No, thank you. I ate before I came here," he says.

"What did you eat?"

He spares her a sideways glance and smirks. "Oh, I would rather not tell you," he drawls. "It might frighten you and you won't come near me again." Over her head, he senses the leader's attention on them both, though his dark eyes are on his friends. Hisoka grins at the valuable information. "Why are you not with your friends?"

She shakes her head and bites down on her chocolate instead.

He flicks the top of the pyramid and the cards crash down. He chuckles as he gathers them to him. "You think you don't belong?" he suggests. Again, she says nothing and he pushes onward, much to her chagrin. He gives her a rare thoughtful look. "You disposed most of the enemies yet I don't see them chattering with you and saying 'hurray'?"

"No, you won't see them doing that." She smiles, convinced of her words. She feels a heavy gaze on her back; and when she turns, still careful to avoid Chrollo's line of sight, she sees Machi observing her and the magician together. Valtiel decides to change her friendly tone. "So, Hisoka-san, where are you from?"

"Somewhere far."

"And where do you plan to go after this?"

"Someplace thrilling."

"You're very eloquent, aren't you?"

Hisoka's amber eyes linger on Machi's scathing expression. "Have you heard of Heaven's Arena?" he asks Valtiel. Her blink and raised eyebrow confirms his suspicions. He shuffles his card and pushes a King of Diamonds towards her. "It is a battle temple for fighters all over the world. I had only recently heard of it, and now I would like to try it for myself."

"Heaven's Arena." She bites on the chocolate again, melting it on her tongue. "Sounds interesting."

"It is." He nods and adds another card on the floor. Ace of Hearts. "Thousands of martial artists challenge there every day and over a billion of spectators. If you advance high enough on the floors, you can win at least ten million after the first one-hundred fifty floors."

"Really?" She perks up, brightened.

"Why, yes."

Valtiel fights the urge to glance at the Spiders. She remembers−distinctly−that Chrollo promised she could continue her plans of building a school in Meteor City after her Nen training. Her Nen training is finished, she is here, Chrollo is here−but he is not looking at her and she would not look at him. She bites her lip and racks her mind how to get her ideas into action. When her grandfather had worried about the cost, Chrollo had promised the Phantom Troupe would take care of it. Given her non-speaking terms with the man himself, she could hardly ask them to start providing.

"You can come with me if you want," Hisoka mumbles, as if reading her mind.

"What?" She shoots him an incredulous look. "What did you say?"

"You can come with me," he says exaggeratedly slowly, "if you want."

"That's absurd," she says a bit louder, drawing Feitan's attention. She shrinks and scoots closer to the magician. She does not want them eavesdropping. She does not want their attention this time.

"Absurd?" Hisoka repeats, innocent. "Why?"

Because I have never been on my own before.

She gazes out of the window where the skies have turned into the bright golden of sunrise. It is a new day, with so much to hope for.

I have never known any other company than Danchou or the Troupe members. And if I start now…

She looks harder at the sunlit skies. It is a new day, with so much to hope for.

Yes, maybe this time I can be on my own…

An hour later, everyone lazes on the floor, full and sleepy. Chrollo perches back to the throne and takes a new book from the stack at his feet. Shalnark tinkers with his laptop and pushes the screen to Pakunoda and Machi, inviting them to a certain place.

When they decide to go together, Shalnark whirls to Valtiel. "You should come with us, Val!"

She blinks from her daydreaming. "Come? Where?"

"Here!" Shalnark crawls towards her and drags his laptop along. He shows her a website of a metropolitan district, with futuristic museums, department stores, and an observatory for the stars. "It's in Ardan Isles, off coast of Begerosse. That's at least a nine-hour flight from here."

"Oh." Valtiel only nods. "That's nice."

"Will you come with us? You've never been on a trip with us, have you?" Shalnark continues, oblivious to her sudden tension, and keeps on his monologue. "You're always with Danchou! You should try coming with us! We're more fun to be around, I promise!"

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she answers meeker.

Shalnark notices her discomfort. His bright smile vanishes and at once, he is concerned. He scoots closer and peers down on her bowed head. "Hey, Val, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"

Phinks yawns and rolls to his side, using his arm as a pillow. "Probably you offended her," he tells his friend, and then looks at Valtiel. "Hey, you feel like crying, doll face?"

"Ah! That reminds me!" Nobunaga sits up straighter and whirls to the throne. "Danchou, did you know that Phinks made her cry before we came h−"

"Shut up!" Phinks throws empty beer bottles at the samurai's head. "Don't listen to him, Danchou!"

"No, I am not going to cry," Valtiel interrupts them from brawling. The two Spiders give her surprised glances. She puffs her cheeks indignantly. "I am hardly going to cry about something!"

"Good," Phinks says that as end of the argument, but still throws one last bottle at the samurai. Nobunaga yawns and dodges the attack with his eyes closed. Phinks makes a face and slumps back on the cold stone floor, muttering another curse as his eyes close.

"I would love to go on a trip with you guys," Valtiel tells Shalnark, "but I have already promised I would come with Hisoka-san."

There is a collective "What the hell?" coming from the Spiders.

Nobunaga squints his eyes at the Kurta. "You're not serious, are you?" He purses his lips and squints harder and closer. He sees no lies in her eyes. He blinks. "Oh, wait? You're serious? Really?" He nudges Machi with his elbow. "Is she serious?"

Machi sighs and nudges him backwards. "So what if she is?" Then she turns to the subject and narrows bright blue eyes at her. "Are you sure you should be going with someone like him?"

"Why, Machi-san?" Valtiel returns. The sarcasm lingers beneath her pleasant voice. "What is someone like Hisoka-san like?"

"We don't know him well enough," Machi states, matter-of-fact. "You should travel with members you're more familiar with."

But who, I wonder? Valtiel quite remembers that she has limited interactions with the Troupe, and not everyone is welcoming to her in the first place. She has only ever been with the Danchou… She shakes her head, trying hard not to keep thinking about the man. She just smiles at Machi and says nothing.

Shalnark scratches the back of his head, defeated. "Well, maybe it was a first come, first serve basis. Hisoka beat us all out of it. Oh well!" Cheerful as always, he shuts his laptop and grins at Valtiel. "So, when do you guys plan on leaving?"

"I am not sure…" Valtiel turns to Hisoka for an answer.

The magician gleams at her. "We can go right now."

Even she is not prepared for that. "Right now? Like… now? Is it not too soon?"

"Well, the mission is over and Danchou said we can scatter afterwards, right?" Hisoka stands from the stone and makes a little show of stretching his hips and legs. All the other Spiders are glaring at him. He basks in his moment of triumph, when the Spiders' own plaything chooses a stranger over them.

Glancing at the throne and seeing the leader's face in shadow despite the early morning, Hisoka knows he has just won a great price from them all.

Down on the floor, Valtiel is still gaping at him.

He smiles and offers a hand. "It's a new day," he says, catching her off-guard with his words. "It's better to start a new day and fill it with hope."

It sounds cheesy for his taste, but the young woman actually considers his words and stands, her small hand in his. He yanks her up hard and her body glides towards him. Surprised, she could not find her balance and falls against the length of his body, her face buried in his chest. When she looks up, Hisoka looks down on her and smirks.

Irritated groans fill the room. Machi glares as if she would tear off the magician's limbs from touching their Danchou's treasure. Feitan is in the middle of standing up, bristling, when Pakunoda rolls her eyes and tugs at his black sleeve. Hisoka giggles at their reactions and lets Valtiel go.

"Should we go now?" he asks her.

"Better to start early," she says.

"Then we're going." Hisoka turns for the hallway without a glance at the leader. He knows he would see Chrollo again. Perhaps not soon, but he still will.

Valtiel follows behind him, and so the rest of the Spiders. Outside, the sun is already high in the skies. It makes the old, decaying castle somewhat better.

The Spiders say farewell at the main gates.

"You have our numbers, right? Call us anytime, anywhere. We'd be there!" Shalnark promises.

"I still think you should have agreed to come with us," Pakunoda says. Her brown eyes linger to where the enigmatic new member of the Troupe disappeared to.

She embraces Valtiel and gets a glimpse of her recent memories−dark days in the house, nights spent crying, Pairo bloody and dead in Phinks's grip. She steps away from the Kurta and bites back a gasp, wondering how Valtiel could muster a warm smile as she says goodbye to Nobunaga next.

"Listen, kiddo. If anyone touches you, kill them," Nobu advises.

"A lot of people would bump into me," Valtiel says reasonably. "That would leave dozens of corpses behind."

"That's the entire point," Feitan says. "I taught you claws. Use them."

"And if trash clown over there tries to cop a feel on you, you break his neck. Hard," Phinks adds.

"Don't trust him," Machi says, her instinct against this newcomer prominent. "I certainly wouldn't."

"I'll be the judge of that," Valtiel answers.

Then, to her utter surprise, the Spiders embrace her one-by-one. First Machi; they are the same height and Machi's petite body feels warm yet hard against her. Pakunoda embraces her again, hoping for another glimpse in the girl's memories; this time, she sees a sunset and a beach. Shalnark's smile is so bright it might put the sun to shame; he embraces her around the waist and spins her around. Nobunaga snorts and gives an awkward hug, barely touching her, his hand awkwardly patting at her shoulder.

Phinks and Feitan are arguing who should go next. In the end, Phinks goes and pats her head instead of an embrace. That's far too intimate, not to mention cheesy, for his liking. He just pats her like a puppy and steps back again.

Feitan pulls down his skull bandana. "Kill. Practice. Don't die−those are your priorities in their exact order."

"Yes, yes, I will miss you, too, Fei-san." Valtiel smothers her laugh as Feitan makes a disgusted face.

"Should we go?" Hisoka prompts. With Shalnark's permission, they could use the extra car, leaving the van behind for them to use. The magician leans on the car's roof and smiles on everyone.

"I would see everyone next time, okay?" Valtiel gives them one last wave before joining Hisoka.

"Ah! Wait!" Shalnark calls out. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Danchou?"

Valtiel freezes, her hand on the car's door. She looks over her shoulder and sees the Troupe members making way for their leader. Her heart becomes heavy again when she begrudgingly turns around. She stands at arm's length away from him, her eyes glued to the silver button at his throat, her arms stiff by her sides. The world around her dissipates. Like it has been for the past year, she could feel nothing but the Danchou.

Chrollo's own eyes are on her white blazer with golden trimmings. This is the first time he notices her change of clothes, from her usual sundresses to a white leather ensemble of blazer and pants, paired with black knee-high boots. He takes his time just glossing over her appearance, never trailing upwards to her face.

This is the moment. They both know they have to say something. Everyone would notice something is wrong between them if no one speaks. Chrollo wants to spare himself from unwanted questions. He opens his mouth−but Valtiel cuts him first.

"Goodbye, Danchou," she whispers under her breath, almost inaudible. Chrollo would need to step closer if he wants to hear, but he remains planted to the ground. She swallows the lump in her throat and still does not dare looking up. She does not want to see the hostility in his eyes.

"Goodbye, and thank you very much. For everything. I am forever grateful for everything you've done for me… And…" Her voice breaks. No, no, don't show weakness. He hates that in you. Everyone does. "And… I am so sorry for everything else."

He tightens his jaw. She makes it sound as if they would not see each other again. As if this is something that would last forever. To Chrollo, there is no such thing as forever. There is only now, and he would seize every moment of it.

"You are always welcome," he hears himself say in his usual gentle tone. He notices how Valtiel flinches at the tone, as if she has not heard that a thousand times before. What does she expect from him? Finally, he decides to look at her face, beautiful under the morning light.

"I thank you," she mutters humbly.

"Be careful out there. I will miss you."

At that claim, she is so surprised that she also looks up. Her wide eyes are on his face. The sun is in his eyes, like they had been during that fateful sunset. Upon seeing his face, she remembers the warmth swell in her heart, how his smiles would make her heart skip a beat. Then she nods and turns away for the car, for Hisoka who is patiently waiting for her to say her goodbyes.

She settles into the car and stares ahead. She does not trust herself if she turns back for the Spiders. If Danchou has been more persuasive and asked her to stay, she might have gone back to him in a flash. Her habit of dependence and devotion towards him are strong enough to make her stay.

But Chrollo never asks her to stay. Instead of showing a little effort, perhaps claim how it might be dangerous to go with a complete stranger, he never asks. He lets her go as if they have not spent the past year together, living in a cozy home.

Shalnark and Pakunoda are waving as the car wheels out of the castle's courtyard and under the archway. In the rearview mirror, she watches the Spiders wait until the car is out of their sights. Her rigid demeanor fades away, tired of playing the stubborn one when all she wants is a sign that Danchou has forgiven her. He does not, for he never asked her to stay. Now she is on her way, on her own−away from the Spiders, for the first time since her accident.

Hisoka hums a cheery tune as he drives. She observes his jester ensemble: black-and-gold with high-heeled shoes and combed back red-purple hair. He appears quite ridiculous, but fascinating at the same time. A good change of scenery and atmosphere as well from the rambunctious Spiders.

"If you feel like crying, you can," he says out of blue.

"What?"

"You almost seem to be crying," he points out. "Gonna miss Danchou, are you?"

She snorts and peers out of the window. The green fields stretch to the far side, followed by a thin river that shimmers under the sunlight. Another good change of scenery.

"Are you Danchou's pet or something?"

"Excuse me?" Now that's going too far. She shoots him a quick glare and he smiles back. "I am no one's pet. Not the Spiders. Not Danchou." She narrows her eyes. "Certainly not yours."

"Oh, no, you misunderstand me. I'm not going to make you my pet."

"Then what?"

"You'll be my unripe fruit until the day you are not," he says in his enigmatic ramblings that now both confuses and draws her curiosity. "You're unripe now because the Troupe members pass you to one after the other. You're weak now because they are wary to see you grow so strong." Then he smiles, mostly to himself. "But with me, you'll ripen. One day, it will be your turn to fight."

She rolls her eyes and taps him on the wrist.

Suddenly, Hisoka swerves the car violently to the right and the car jerks, bounces off the road, and topples over the grains in the farmlands. Valtiel screams and braces herself on her seat, while the magician throws his head back, laughs, and drives the car back to the road.

Once the car is running smoothly again, he gazes towards her and finds her pale and panting. That kind of scared face warrants a laugh.

"What was that for?!"

"You hit me," he says with a whine.

"I tapped you!"

Hisoka just grins.

Valtiel scoots away as far as the seat could allow. I traded Fei-san's harshness for this magician's crazy.

Back at the castle grounds, the leader and his Troupe members still gather even when the car has disappeared for quite a while already. No one has it in mind to leave from their post, somewhat expecting for the Kurta girl to come back to her senses and realize that she is safer with the Troupe than with the magician. Yet as the sun rises ever higher in the skies, the songbirds already finishing their songs, they acknowledge that Valtiel is indeed gone and out of reach.

"I miss her already," Shalnark whines. "I knew I should have asked her out first."

"She will come back," Phinks predicts. "When she gets tired of that clown, she'll come running back to us and say her sorry for even thinking of freaking leaving."

"I can't believe she just did that." Shalnark is still complaining and some of the others agree with nods: Nobunaga and Pakunoda. "It feels like our little girl is all grown up and is now going out into the world. She should have stayed behind for longer time with us…"

"Her Nen is impressive to say the least," says Nobunaga, the only one who had seen it in action. "It's not as refined as ours, but with enough practice and battle experience, she can rise to our ranks." He grins at Shalnark. "Not so little anymore."

Feitan scoffs. "Of course, she is. She cries, she whines, she bursts into tears at the slightest things. That makes her a little girl."

Phinks barks out a laugh at that description. "Damn, Fei, you're so cruel."

"But she will be back," Feitan says, much to Shalnark's delight for agreeing with him. "Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe three months from now. Maybe a year. But she will be back."

"Wanna bet?" Nobunaga scratches his cheek. "One million Jenny says she'll be back in a month."

"Three million in three months," Phinks says.

"You guys are so competitive," says Shalnark. "I'd stake six million for six months."

"Then twelve million for me within a year," Feitan chimes in. "What about Machi?"

The pink-haired Spider purses herself as if in deep thought. Her intuitions are almost always correct, which is why her friends always want to keep her out of betting games. She always wins. If not, she is always close to the truth. She shakes her head and says, "Twenty million if she returns for more than a year."

The others seem uncomfortable. Then Phinks says, "What about you, Paku?"

Pakunoda, whose attention has been focused on Valtiel's memories and relating them to their Danchou's sudden somber disposition, blinks from her deep thinking and chuckles. "I might pass for now."

"Suit yourself." Phinks shrugs as the Troupe members go back inside.

That only leaves Paku and Chrollo outside to stand.

She keeps her peace for the first few minutes, watching from behind as Chrollo gazes far across the courtyard. The wind stirs his black overcoat and the sunlight shines his combed back raven hair. He looks utterly peaceful, if not for the tightened jaw and the slight downward twitch at the corner of his lips. She knows then that she has to interfere, not to pry, but to comfort. She reaches out for the sleeve on his right arm and keeps the silence stretch.

At her calming touch, Chrollo's façade melts and he lets out a tired sigh. Dark eyes up ahead, he adjusts his right hand and slips it into Pakunoda's hand, holding her firmly in his grasp. The skin-to-skin contact sends her Nen ability into action, into a flurry of memories.

A sunset on a beach. Palm trees and candles. Valtiel in a white sundress.

The gifts. Gauntlets and blades. A mourning locket with hair and photo.

The nervous touch of lips. Valtiel's eyes closed and Chrollo's sudden response.

Shadows. Chrollo ignoring Pairo in the house. A tear slipping to his cheek as he leaves the locket behind.

Pakunoda gasps and abruptly removes her hand from his. She understands now. She understands everything. Their Danchou has been in a melancholy before the mission began. Valtiel and her sad eyes even when interacting with the Troupe members.

Chrollo turns his heels and pats his friend on the shoulder. Paku searches for his eyes. He smiles an empty smile and walks past her. She follows, feeling heavy in her heart, empathizing to both Chrollo and Valtiel.

In the throne room, the Spiders are playing a pebble game using the diamonds they stole.

"Shalnark," the leader calls as he strides back to his throne.

"Yes, Danchou?" A whine sticks into the younger Spider's voice. He is the one who proposed the game yet he is already losing to Machi and Feitan.

"You installed a tracking device in Valtiel's phone, did you not?"

"Sure did!" His whine turns into something of a proud tone, doing something that neither Machi nor Feitan are good at. He whips out his phone and laptop, and sits on the ground, fingers poised over his gadgets. "Should I track her down now? The chip I implanted can track her anywhere, as long as I am in the same continent as her. Overseas tracking is much more difficult."

"I would ask you to remove it."

"… What?" Shal blinks. Everyone gapes at their Danchou.

Chrollo sits back on his throne with his dark eyes boring through them. "Remove it," he orders. "I have no need of a tracker if I want to find Valtiel."

For the past year of studying her, he knows her well enough. He knows how her mind works and how her curiosity for the new and unknown can overwhelm her. Like now, with Hisoka. She might be fascinated now because she has never met anyone like him. When she realizes she has no other place in the world but with the Phantom Troupe, she will return.

"I can find her," Chrollo tells them. "Anywhere in the world."

Author's Notes: Ach! Such a busy schedule! I sincerely thank everyone for their patience and for bearing with this unbearably long update.

In this chapter, we officially say farewell to ChroVal and welcome HisoVal into the club! I'm not entirely sure how everyone would take this... but I am excited to write Hisoka and Valtiel together. I've long since been a fan of Hisoka and to write his character is an absolute honor. You guys could expect more crazy antics with this guy around, and if have some suggestions to make things crazier, let me know! I'm also very excited to write about Heavens Arena! Basically, I am very excited to go back into writing after weeks of stress and heavy workload!

*Aurora Clarion - Chrollo's holding onto the title of "Stubborn Jerk of the Year". He lost Val because of his pride, and even then he wouldn't even show remorse to his comrades. At this rate, with Val hanging out with Hisoka, Chrollo might lose points.

*SummerBum95 - Awesome! I love Hisoka too! Though you're looking forward for more ChroVal fluff, ChroVal is a bit out of place for now but I can surely give you HisoVal fluff (much to Hisoka's favor, of course). Thank you for leaving a review!

*HuangShaotian0005 - Aww, I love the individiual points you made about the Spiders. Nobu sure does appreciate Val's Nen and Feitan's the new mom friend. And I live for an overprotective Troupe members; they've always been so closely knitted and perhaps they've already considered Val a part of their small circle. Also, Valtiel should be about 19 years old here; she was 18 when the Kurta Clan was massacred and that was a year ago.

*Amy - Lmao, Hisoka "hitting on" Val. He definitely is! He's such a flirt because he knows it rubs not only Chrollo, but the entire group, the wrong way. And this clown thrives off of other people's discomfort and irritation towards him. Haha! And Uvogin about Hisoka? Oh, I'm only too excited to write their first ever meeting!

*Mia Mena, ChroVal, and Eric - Sorry for the long wait. Enjoy the chapter, my lovely friends!

Next chapters would be most likely center around Hisoka and Valtiel at Heavens Arena. Stay tuned for more shenanigans, Hisoka edition! 😂✌

See you all next time!💓