Chapter XLIV

"Morning, lovebirds," Phinks says.

Chrollo and Valtiel, descending from the spiraling staircase, smile down on him and the others.

"Good morning," Valtiel answers.

"Is everything prepared?" Chrollo tears himself away from her and attends to the Spiders. "We would have to take the treasures into hiding."

His dark eyes pore over the many crates and parcels on the floor, all of them the treasures accumulated by the pairs during their first four days. He turns to Phinks. "Reassemble the groups: there should be two teams with three members and two pairs. You can decide which ones should be your members."

Machi and Pakunoda seem pleased with the idea. "Shizuku, you want to team up with us?"

Nobunaga snorts. "What's this? An all girls' group?

"Why not, right?" Paku says.

"I'd love to join," Shizuku says.

"Oi, Phinks!" Uvogin waves him over. "How about you join me and Nobu? That's an all Enhancers' group!"

"Sure thing." Phinks stops fussing over the treasures and puts his hands on his hips. He grins mischievously. "Yeah, I'd like to join but what about Fei? No one's babysitting him."

From his position by the eastern window, with the morning sunlight in his face, Feitan's eyes darken as he sneers at his friend. "Shut up. I don't want you cuddling me."

Phinks just chortles at him.

Valtiel perches herself on the platform and smiles at the exchange. "Fei-san seems to be a bit grumpier since last night," she notes and notices how Feitan's face darkens all the more.

"I think I get why he's so grumpy," Phinks says, crossing his arms over his chest. He rounds towards the front, near Danchou and Valtiel, to get a better angle at the dark-haired thief's face. "Last night was the first time someone ever fussed over him, a girl more so, which makes our little Fei-Fei a bit embarrassed about it."

"I don't think−" Valtiel starts to say but one of the crates comes flying towards their direction.

"Damn it, Fei!" Phinks forces himself and the young woman to duck from the assault.

Chrollo blinks dark, round eyes to the burning, seething face of Feitan−and the other one slumps back to his seat. He stands just as Phinks and Valtiel are nudging each other, two children putting the blame on the other, while their father walks away to reprimand his other, more mature children. It makes Chrollo sigh inwardly. Instead of Valtiel helping him around, it feels as if she is another one to look after, though he is not exactly complaining.

He gives out the latest orders and watches from the entrance as the new groups head out back to shore. It is a warm, sunny morning. A good swim would have been wonderful if not for their precarious situation. He turns back into the room just as Phinks pats Valtiel on the head and runs after his teammates. Without most of the Troupe, the hideout is quiet, leaving only him and the injured ones.

Feitan remains seated at the window, his right knee folded in front of him while the other dangles off the edge. He is not wearing his usual robes. Today, he is in a simple black sleeveless shirt and pants, with his skull bandana wrapped loosely around his neck.

In the middle of the room, Hisoka occupies himself in building a card pyramid. So far, he has finished two pyramids, and is halfway finishing a third. His broken fingers have been bandaged, the most broken ones splinted by Machi. His hair is still damp from his morning swim, hanging low over his eyes.

Chrollo basks in the silence and walks back to the front. "What are you doing?" he asks Valtiel when he finds her rummaging through one of the packs Nobunaga left behind.

"Food." She bends at the waist over the bag and keeps digging. "Want some?"

He eyes the way she bends over in front him, the way his navy blue shirt brushes high over her pale thighs. He rolls his eyes at her negligence, takes the hem of the shirt, and pulls it down over her skin. She flinches and rounds towards him, her eyes wide. He frowns.

"Don't bend so low like that," he reprimands. "If you are going to pick something from the ground, bend your knees and take your entire body down. Not−" He purses his lips, choosing his words. "Not like before."

She stares at him and understands the seriousness in his voice. "Yes, Danchou."

Then she puts a cookie into his frowning mouth, and he breaks into a chuckle.

Behind them, the magician laughs to himself, amused with the exchange probably. Valtiel blinks while Chrollo just sighs, returning to his usual seat at the front.

She takes her share of Nobunaga's leftover food and sits with the magician. "Want some? And how are your fingers, Hisoka-san?"

"Oh, I think they're fine." He wriggles all ten fingers for her to see. The swelling has reduced, though there are still hints of the purple bruises under the bandages. "And yes, I would love to have some of those cookies−"

She moves to give him some.

"But you'll have to feed them to me," he specifies, grinning.

"You are out of your mind," she whispers.

"Me? Not so." Still teasing, his amber eyes drift to where the Danchou is seated on the platform, surrounded by his unlit candles. He chuckles when their eyes meet, the message the Danchou is sending him through his dark eyes are near the range of displeased.

"Well, I am still not going to feed you." Gingerly, she takes his bandaged hands and drops three cookies into his open palm. "There, so stop whining to me."

Hisoka snickers and nibbles on the treats. Valtiel rises from the floor and aims for Feitan and−

"I don't want your food," Feitan snaps.

"Ah, that is good because I was not planning to share them with you."

He glowers and says nothing.

Taking careful steps, she perches herself on the window across from him. She follows where his gaze leads, out to the deep blue sea and its waves shimmering under the sunlight. She nibbles on the biscuit as she mulls over her next course of action, having never been this close to the thief without having him snapping back at her for her incompetence.

She steals a quick glance at him. "So, last night, you were speaking in another language," she starts.

A scoff. Well, she expects that much.

"What about it?" he growls.

"I was wondering what was it that you used?" She tilts her head to the side, making show how interested she really is, letting the sunlight warm her face.

Then she hears the warning growl rumbling in his throat and decides pissing him off is something she's not prepared for. "Just curious," she adds, shrugging. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Hmph." Feitan glares at her one more time, and then sighs in defeat. "It not my language," he says in a very low voice that she could have missed. "It my mother's."

Beaming, she scoots closer and he frowns.

"Don't get greedy," he warns her.

She laughs a little. "No, please, I want to hear."

This is ridiculous for him, and somehow new. No one ever asks him personal questions in the Troupe, because everyone knows it doesn't matter. He stares long at her face and looks over his shoulder. Danchou remains impassive, eating his cookie, while his eyes are on a small hardbound book. Feitan shifts on the ledge, uncomfortable with the new kind of attention.

"It my mother's native tongue," he says after a long while of weighing his options. No use to keep frowning and pushing her away when she keeps coming back. His eyes are back on the shoreline, and for a brief moment, his eyes soften. "She only used it when we together. Rubbed off on me."

He wrinkles his nose and she smiles. "What happened to her?" she asks carefully.

Chrollo looks up from his book and assesses the exchange. There are two ways this conversation could go with Feitan: snub her or murder her. Already, the Danchou would not hold it against his friend if he snaps angrier than last night. His little lady likes pushing her luck with the Troupe members, asking the most infernal questions. He is ready to pull her out of there in case his friend settles for the second option.

Though he hopes to god Feitan does not.

The short thief regards the young woman with a glare. "She taken from me," he answers, going back to his sour mood. "And I taken from her."

"Oh." Her beaming smile drops and Feitan couldn't have been any gladder. "I'm sorry to ask."

"Good."

End of conversation.

Nothing else happens among the four of them until late afternoon.

Somehow, Chrollo has acquired meals after his thirty-minute wandering. One meal for each of them−a ricebox of curry chicken, shrimp egg rolls, and a vegetable soup. Valtiel makes a disgusted face at the vegetable soup and pushes her bowl to Chrollo, who just looks up from his chopsticks and raises his eyebrow. In return, she picks more from his egg roll platter and munches happily. Feitan eats in his corner, nibbling on the rice, while Hisoka does not stop from his card pyramid.

A few moments later, the atmosphere shifts.

Hisoka makes a humming noise. "Seems we have visitors."

"Seems like it," Chrollo agrees and stands from the platform. With narrowed eyes, he sighs at the utmost inconvenience and starts relaying orders. "We would have to move out. We would take the car and evacuate the hideout. We can meet with the others either later or within three days, depending how serious the threat is. For now, let's move out."

He takes what he can from their bedroom, most of them his unread books. He drags Valtiel under the elbow while Hisoka and Feitan amble behind him.

The pickup truck lies untouched for days. Chrollo shuffles Valtiel and Feitan into the backseat and rounds towards the driver's seat when he already finds Hisoka taking the lead, slamming the door shut. Without another choice, the leader goes straight to the passenger seat and glances at the wing mirror.

There is nothing on the horizon, but the presence is blatant.

Chrollo stares at Hisoka's bandaged fingers and knows at once that this will be a bumpy ride. "We will move to Pattern C," he says and the magician puts the engine to life. "Take the forest road to lose the stalkers," he adds, in case the magician is not aware of the many patterns he explained last night.

"Gotcha." Hisoka grins and swerves the pickup truck out of the beach and away from the lighthouse.

"What about the others?" Valtiel asks.

"We can worry about them later," Chrollo says. "For now, sit tight."

None of them is sure if Hisoka has ever driven a car before, but he is doing terribly. The truck keeps bouncing and jerking so violently Valtiel has to check herself from bumping onto the roof. She holds on to whatever she could reach, but not Feitan. She would rather fling herself out of the window instead of holding on to him for balance.

Whenever Hisoka takes a turn, the tires screech and the sand makes a thick dust behind their vehicle. Instead of subtlety, they are making their location more known to the pursuers. Even Chrollo has to check the magician's face—with those glazed eyes and maniacal grin, this is not only a bumpy ride.

It would be one hell of a ride.

Taking the forest road towards the clearing, Hisoka blinks, but doesn't slow the speed. "They have us surrounded at the front," he says.

"Then turn left," Chrollo orders. "If they persist, I will handle them."

"Okay." And Hisoka swerves to the right.

"Left! I said left!" Chrollo all but shouts, eyes wide, as he clutches the roof handle in one hand while the other reaches to the back for Valtiel.

The truck takes a sudden turn to another right, the speed of it almost forcing it upside-down if not for Hisoka messing with the wheel and the clutch. Once the truck calms down, so does everyone inside, Valtiel pale and breathless while Feitan is glaring a deep hole through the magician's back.

Chrollo clears his throat and smooths down his hair. He turns for the back. "You two all right?

"Barely," Valtiel grumbles.

"Good." Hisoka giggles. "Because we're not done yet."

When Chrollo faces the front again, his eyes widen at the yawning cliff. The vehicle approaches the cliff at high speeds and Hisoka is ramming his foot on the gas, courting either death by car accident or death from the Danchou and his Spider.

The engine revs louder, darts faster towards the inevitable cliff−but as the slope lowers, and the truck tips on its rear, everyone could see the other, lower side of a second cliff, across the one they are trekking.

Feitan realizes what the magician is thinking. "Bastard! You can't make the jump!"

Hisoka just smiles at the rearview mirror. He meets Valtiel's terrified face. In fact, everyone looks at him as if he is deranged. He might as well be. He cannot help but smile.

"Maybe," he hums, agreeing with Feitan. "But hold on to something."

"Damn you, clown!"

The truck pitches downwards, the rear tipping up again as the slope sharply drops.

Chrollo is about to dash towards the back, to get his hands on Valtiel, when the truck lurches off the cliff. The momentum knocks him back to the front, smashing himself against the windshield with a force strong enough to shatter the glass. He grunts at the pain and the sensation of free-falling, blurry vision making images of Valtiel and Feitan bracing themselves in the backseat.

The truck flies over the cliff and successfully lands on the other side. Hisoka hits the break, but the momentum continues to tip the vehicle over and over, the sound of tearing metal, shattering glass, and screeching rubber assaulting their every sense. The truck rolls down the hill, trapping all its passengers inside in a dizzying rollercoaster. When it hits a large boulder, the truck lurches and more windows shatter. The brakes screech against the metallic clangs, burning rubber in its wake.

Valtiel tosses around the compartment, hits her face on everything, unable to get a firm grip on anything at all. Her vision spots, and a bloody trail from her forehead starts to cloud her left vision. As the truck bounces one more time, Feitan has to snatch her back to the seat and put his entire weight on her. The truck crashes into another tree trunk.

At last, it comes to a stop when it smashes its side against the opening of a cave, way down below the hill. The gas leaks and the engine starts to blaze. Hisoka, with a triumphant grin, emerges from the driver's seat as if he has won a stunt driving competition.

A small cut bleeds from Chrollo's forehead. He, too, emerges from the passenger seat and glares murderously at Hisoka.

"Next time, I drive."

Then he tries for the backseat doors. The locks are jammed, crushed by the accident, and so he punches through what remains of the window and forces the door open. He checks inside, astounded to see Feitan lying on top of Valtiel, coughing and growling as he slowly moves to get off her.

"Anyone hurt?" he asks.

"We're fine," Valtiel's weak voice comes from underneath the thief, guiding him to push himself on his hands and knees while she winces from the impact. She moves her head to the edge of the seat.

"You're bleeding, Danchou."

"Never mind that." Chrollo helps Feitan out, and then carries Valtiel in his arms and towards the small cave, where Hisoka is already waiting.

He sits her down on the floor and checks at her face, the stitched gash behind her head, and every inch of her arms. He tears a portion of his sleeve and wipes the blood on the cut above her eyebrow.

"No worries," she assures him. "It doesn't hurt much."

"Great, because I am." Feitan slumps himself, none too gentle, near the wall. His blood spurts from the opened bullet wounds in his chest. He spits blood to the side and glares at their worried faces. "What? Never seen blood before?"

"We should get it treated," Chrollo says and moves to put pressure on the wound. "It might take a while for Machi to get back here, seeing as we are stranded, our transport is destroyed−" He glares at Hisoka at this− "and the fact that three of you are injured from last night. We need to get back on the road and put as much distance as we can from our pursuers."

"Are you sure about that? Looks like we're out of time for that," Hisoka says. He stands at the entrance of the cave, with hands on his hips.

Craning his neck, he sees the horizon filled with numerous pursuers, all battle-hardened fighters in their black suits with various weapons. Some have brought vehicles with them, as if ready to tow away their suspects. The magician licks his lips in anticipation, but his broken fingers are hurting from the stunt-driving episode. He opens and closes his fists, scowling at the pain.

Chrollo and Valtiel finish attending Feitan and join Hisoka at the front. Both frown at their bad luck.

As the leader, Chrollo sees himself as the protector of his team members. Doubtless, he would lay down his life for their safety, but there is no point in dying today when he has three charges wounded: one of them his best friend, the other his beloved, and the last one… He is still considering whether to categorize Hisoka either as a liability or as an ally. Right now, he is in between.

He narrows his eyes at the large company gathered at the top of the hill. About two dozen armed men. Nothing too special. He could deal with that single-handedly.

So imagine his surprise when Hisoka pushes Valtiel forward on the small of her back.

Chrollo watches the exchange between them with a front-row seat.

"There's so many of them," the magician says in his usual cheerful yet somehow annoying tone. He looks down on his nose at Valtiel and smirks. "With my broken fingers, I won't be able to fight all of them at once. Won't you protect me this time, Val?"

"What are you saying?" she retorts, arms crossed. "This time? I never once asked for your protection."

"I quite seem to remember that last time your fanboys swarmed the tower. What trouble."

"They are not my fanboys."

With the Danchou listening and noting every word said, she has to be careful with her words. She glares in earnest at the magician, blaming him for forcing her into another one of his games to build a misunderstanding between her and Chrollo.

"And mind your words," she admonishes. "I can hardly worry about trivial matters."

"Perhaps some other time, then." Hisoka glances over her head where the Danchou is making a point at not looking at them, but still obviously eavesdropping. He swallows back an upcoming chuckle.

"Are we done gossiping?" Feitan rumbles from his position on the floor.

"There's at least a dozen of them," Chrollo says.

"Val can take them," Hisoka declares.

Chrollo turns for the magician and finds him grinning from ear-to-ear. Then he looks down on his lady, still in his blue shirt and bleeding from a forehead cut. Instead of seeing her blanch as she usually does, her serious expression quite surprises him. Given Hisoka's utmost confidence in her and Valtiel's own countenance, he would have forgotten that these two decimated through the Heaven's Arena together, holding their ranks and fame amongst other capable Nen users.

And her ability−he has not seen it in action before. He has a vague idea of what she could do, but never once thought of seeing it for himself.

He counts the group again. Two dozen. Perhaps she could handle them simultaneously. He wants to have the same confidence and faith as Hisoka puts on her, but the nagging fear of losing her consumes him.

What if he could not reach her in time? What if one of the enemies has a dangerous Nen ability she could not counter? Something he could not defend himself from? What if one of them assassinates her? Like Yuan had been. What if someone puts a bullet between her eyes?

He would not take those risks. Not in a lifetime.

Valtiel, mulling over Hisoka's suggestion, takes a bold step forward.

"No," Chrollo snarls, snatching her wrist. "You stay here."

"I'm not a dog." She wrenches herself free.

He lets her go, but he stands to block her pathway, towering before her and glaring down at his nose.

She draws herself taller. "I am not some lapdog you can keep ordering around as you please. And I am not an invalid that needs protection. I am more than that," she seethes, eyes burning with passion. "More than that, I am your−"

"Say it," he hisses back, challenging her. "Say the word, Valtiel."

"I'm−" She hesitates, torn between pride and embarrassment.

"If no one wants to fight, I will." Feitan rises from the ground. The arguing couple turn to him in astonishment. He puts pressure on his wounds and wobbles up front, sneering at them both. Mostly at Valtiel. "You like a child, yapping and yapping. Quit whining and just fight."

"I agree to that." Hisoka raises his hand.

Sparing one last dark glance at Valtiel, Chrollo sighs and turns his back on her. The group at the top seems to have increased. Not a very good sign.

"What is your range?" he whispers.

Valtiel blinks. She already expects them not to be on speaking terms during this mission. "About twice the radius of a Heaven's Arena battlefield."

"Around thirty feet then. How long can you hold it?"

"Ten seconds."

"You would have to wait until everyone is close enough to your range," he says, calculating the distance between the cave and the hilltop.

There is an open space in between, with ankle-high grass and deep tire tracks where their truck had been. If he can get Valtiel safely into the middle, have everyone surround her on all corners, it would work well with her ability. But what if everyone swarms in on her? What if they overwhelm her with their Nen abilities? Would he be able to get her in time? Which angle would be the best to rescue her?

Valtiel heaves a deep sigh and starts walking away.

In a panic, Chrollo reaches out for her again. Their eyes meet, and he wants to plead. He cannot lose her as much as he cannot lose Feitan or the other Spiders. He swallows hard.

"If you fight, you fight to kill. You will not leave anyone alive, Valtiel. You will fight to protect everyone here. If you cannot do that, then you should let me handle this."

She weighs her options. To kill or to have her friends hurt? It should be an easy answer.

"All right." She removes his hand and gives him a soft reassuring squeeze. "I will fight to kill, but remember my time limit. If I have any misses, can you take care of them for me?"

"Of course." He kisses her knuckles and begrudgingly lets her go. "Be careful."

"Sure," she says over her shoulder.

The three men watch in silence as she ascends the hill, her pale blonde hair swaying with the slight breeze. While the Danchou is on the edge, Feitan does not really care. He was the one who supervised her training. If there is something he should feel, it should be pride that she is finally taking action.

Hisoka gleams to himself, excited to see how the fight would unfold. He takes one look at the leader and almost chuckles at his pale face.

"A word of advice," he whispers to Chrollo. "Stop telling her what she could and could not do. She hates that. She hates people thinking that she is restrained in one way or another. Let her have her way−though do try to rein her in sometimes. That stubbornness of hers could get her in trouble."

Chrollo barely glances, though his lips curl into a sneer. As if a magician new to the Phantom Troupe could understand how Valtiel thinks. As if Hisoka, practically a stranger, could know better than Chrollo himself, who has spent an entire year with her, travelling, lodging in hotels and houses, sleeping in one bed with her. Hisoka should know nothing, but his voice and his words make it seem as if he knows her more than anyone from the Troupe combined. What a braggart.

All three of them straighten up when Valtiel reaches the center. Above, the armed men dash towards in one large group. Weapons are raised: guns, knives, even a rocket launcher.

At that last one, the Spider head stiffens.

Feitan shrugs. Hisoka smiles.

Valtiel swipes a forearm over her bleeding cut and assumes her Death Strike stance. Hands up front, claws at the ready. If she is lucky, she could dispose of everyone in one go. It sounds already messy to her, but she has no other choice. She could not go back and tell Danchou she changed her mind. She could not stomach the dismayed look on Feitan's face if she fails. They trained her for moments exactly like this. It is time to put her education to action.

The first wave of enemies bears down on her, tumbling down the hill in a fever to get to her. Her aura pulses off her entire body, radiating and blending with the golden sunlight. She feels warm all over. That, and the same aggravating feeling of having someone watching her movements. If the Danchou is so worried, then she would prove him wrong.

Her aura bursts once the enemies have entered her range. A wave of gold devours them. She wastes no precious second, tearing off arms from their sockets, twisting joint from joint, shattering bones as she goes. Her mental clock is constantly ticking−eight seconds left, five seconds left, two seconds left, a quarter of a second left−and the sphere subsides, like steam drifting into open air.

Bodies litter the field. Most of them are incapacitated, disabled. Some unlucky ones are dead from their twisted heads or mangled spines. She frowns at the dampness on her hands, the runny blood trickling from her fingers to elbows. The blood is warm. Disgusting.

One of the incapacitated men twitches. She sighs as she moves towards him.

In the edge of her perception, a bullet whizzes through the air. She barely hears Chrollo's alarmed shout as she rounds towards the bullet's direction, moving to dodge the assault.

The bullet pierces through where her shoulder meets neck. Grunting, she clutches the gash and falls to her knees. More gunshots aim at her. She grabs the twitching man and puts him up in front of her, using him as a human shield as the bullets penetrate into every inch of his body. She grits her teeth at the pain and is about to make a move when a quick black blur passes by her.

She realizes too late that it is Chrollo, in all his fury, hunting down the sniper. She discards her human shield and squeezes at the gash. Whoever the sniper is, he has the worst luck of them all today.

Hisoka is clapping his hands when she walks back to them. "Impressive feat as always. I feel like I should kiss you, Lady Death." He holds out his arms for her.

"Oh, give me a break." She brushes by him and meets Feitan. "Still wounded?"

"And you have a new one." He nods to her wound. "Congratulations."

She laughs. "Oh, well, couldn't help it. I couldn't stop everyone you know. Where has Danchou gone?"

Feitan gives her a lazy shrug. "Went out to kill the sniper. Said it was pissing him off."

"Go figures."

"We should regroup with the others when Danchou gets back."

"Yes, please. I want to go to−"

A rocket hurtles towards the roof of the cave. Hisoka dodges just in time. Feitan grabs Valtiel by the hand and dodges in the other direction. The cave crumbles in front of them, thick dust surrounding them. The two injured ones keep backing away from the searing explosion. Injured as they both are, they are holding each other up for support: Feitan's arm around her waist, Valtiel clutching at his shoulder.

As the dust settles, a crimson rope tangles around their bodies. It forces them together in an extremely tight hold. The shock of it makes them tumble to the grass. The person at the end of the rope drags them across the field, like a Santa Claus with his sack of presents.

Feitan squirms against the bonds and tries to cut the rope with his claws. The crimson rope sizzles, sending a burning sensation to their skins. He growls at the added pain, and in front of him, Valtiel grunts as well.

Helplessly, they let themselves be dragged by whoever is on the other side. Feitan is bleeding continuously through the right lung. Valtiel is bleeding on the forehead and shoulder. None of them could do anything but to squirm and try the ropes again, only to have their skins burned.

Additional trouble to an already growing pile of troubles.

Around them, another explosion rattles the field, destroying the cave. Somewhere along the lines, Hisoka is lost and Chrollo is out hunting down the sniper.

Today is the Official Shit Day of the Month.

Author's Notes: I'm alive! I'm so sorry this took so long to update. I've been terribly burned out from real life. This may not be much, but I really, really appreciate everyone who still waits patiently for updates and still supports the story. I am forever grateful!

Here is a little something to make up for the absence. I hope I can update as soon as I can. Fingers crossed!

Next up: the misadventures of Valtiel and Feitan!

And as always, I hope you enjoy!