{The Zoldycks}

Aurora Amaranth. That was her name. Little was Zeno Zoldyck surprised, when he saw the young red-haired that had appeared at the airport. The elderly man merely glanced at her through half-closed eyelids before snorting and turning his gaze away.

Unfazed by his behavior, Aurora's lips turned into a sweet sunny-side egg smile.

"Hello, Gramps!", she said, "It's been awhile."

"Hmpf," Zeno Zoldyck responded. He passed her by with light and soundless footsteps.

Behind him, Silva followed. The cold stare he gave her, got her stumbling in her tracks a little.

'Atta... He thinks of me as a nuisance...' she immediately understood.

"We meet again, kid." Zeno said, opening the conversation.

"Of course~" Aurora said. "Where there's news, there I am."

She glanced at the duo with her notebook and pen in hand.

"Seeing how both of you are here," she said, "the situation must be quite dire."

"Father," Silva started, but Zeno cut him off.

"Yare, yare. So you already know," Zeno replied. He glared at her sharp-eyed and with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-" she said, but was cut off abruptly.

"Let me warn you," Zeno interrupted her with a raised palm, "this job is different from any before."

"I-"

"This mission is barely worth its pay."

"Th-"

"You're courting death, kid."

"..."

Aurora waited for an extra second before she chose to respond.

"...I will ...keep that in mind," she said. A hesitant smile showed on her face.

To her, his words weren't anything unusual. She had lived most of her life, recklessly. It was in a sense a bad habit of hers, and not something that she had any intention of changing now, out of all times.

The world was full of wonders. The Phantom Troupe being one of them.

But seeing how the elderly man showed her a bit of - what she assumed to be - compassion, she felt gratitude.

"Thank you..." These words rolled over her lips uncomfortably. It felt a little bit awkward to be lectured at by an assassin, whom she had met a few times while on business.

She heard him clear his throat. Zeno made a small gesture with his fingers.

She immediately knew what he wanted.

Money.

"Of course, Jii-chan," she said with a vibrant smile, "I've got that covered!"

Unable to mask her joy at his permission, she felt like a huge burden had lifted from her shoulders. With this, she had one less thing to worry about. Who didn't like to be on the side of the World's best assassins?

'Hopefully, this is enough to start on even grounds,' she thought.

Her heart beat inside of her chest, a little nervous, but much more excited. Overall, she had a good feeling about this. Later, she would have to call Ney and give him her thanks for passing on the information.

A day ago, during the chaos of D-Day 1, Ney - with his network - had informed her of the Mafia contacting the Zoldyck's. Once this information was relayed to her, Aurora kept that news in the back of her mind. At the same time, she started her reckless chase after the Troupe.

Frankly, she didn't expect the next series of events that had happened - with Uvogin getting kidnapped, and her being held hostage - but in the end, everything worked out somehow. Aurora won't complain. It was exciting and fun.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones they hired," Silva said, and Aurora's attention went to him.

She noticed him eyeing their surroudings.

"According to what I know..." she said, "Excluding you, an addition of six assassins were hired."

"Kid, you've already snucked in," Zeno said.

'Oh, Jii-san... If only you knew what happened,' Aurora thought.

She masked yesterday's ordeal behind a playful smile.

"I didn't sneak in. I am a legal participant of the Auction." Aurora waved her ID Pass and Ticket in the air.

Neither Zeno nor Silva missed the golden rim on it. It signaled her as the owner of a VIP Ticket.

Aurora cleared her throat and resumed. Now wasn't the time for jokes.

"Moving on, let's see," she continued, "They are a group of freelance assassins. They possess different degrees of Nen mastering, and a variance in strength and experience as well. If I had to pick, I would rate their overall capability like this."

Aurora showed Zeno the little chart she had made, while they exited the airport.

Zeno glanced at it quickly before returning his gaze back to the streets. Silva quietly trailed along from behind. Neither Silva nor Zeno looked impressed.

"... Hm? Your reaction tells me something is missing, " she said, "What are your thoughts on them? Please tell me." She spun the pen in her fingers around, and flipped open a page in her book.

"They have quite a name to themself, actually. Especially this one," Aurora added and pointed towards a grey-haired man in a military / scout wear.

"... I have never encountered any of them," Silva said, "Not on duty at least."

Zeno remained quiet, with a sharp gaze in his eyes.

"Even the strong will fall. This isn't an easy job to earn your pay."

Aurora hummed to herself and scribbled down the words onto her notebook.

'Even the strong will fall... ' It was a fitting line to describe the power of the Phantom Troupe. Aurora had witnessed a bit of it firsthand. They were just that strong.

"Jii-san", Aurora interrupted the assassins as a sudden question popped up in her mind. "What about me? Would I survive an encounter with the Troupe?"

Both Zoldyck's leveled her with a stare. Aurora returned that gaze without wavering. She wouldn't tell them about yesterday, but she still wanted to know how an expert would view them. She needed to test whether her assumption was correct.

"Hmpf," Zeno snorted, "Such a pompous kid. "

"Let's see," he said, grinning, "If you survive today, I'll think about it."

His response baffled her. She wanted to ask more but the famous assassin duo had already begun to move. Their shadows leapt high into the night sky. They gradually became smaller and smaller until not even a trace of their silverblonde hair could be seen.

"Whatever..." she said as she bit on her lip, a little sullen. She by far wasn't done with her questions yet, but seeing how the two had just rushed off, she would have to hurry in order to catch up to them.

"I will get my chance another time."

Notes

'Smart girl.'

- Zeno and Silva Zoldyck about Aurora

I love the Zoldyck Family... Of course, Killua's parents are a little bit icky, but I do not hate them nor Zeno. Also can we also talk about how Kalluto is like what... 8? But already a part of the Spider's. He also knows Nen and I really can't explain how or where he learned it. Killua learned Nen at 12/13. I don't mean to compare them, but I just remembered how Killua was seen as a prodigy and pride in his family and yet they seemingly never bothered to teach him. And yet we have Kalluto who is 8 and already a member of the Troupe... ?

What kind of connection does Aurora have with the Zoldyck's? What is Ney's ability and will Aurora get the results she wants?

Thank you for reading!

Please continue to love & support Lycoris (RSL), Yoshihiro Togashi and HxH for a long time!