Rosabella mixed the soup and fused her nen in it.
"What soup are we doing for today?" a voice said.
"Vegetable soup. I'm stepping out to meet with some friends, so I wanted to get it ready for lunch crowd." Rosabella said looking at her mentor, Hunter Zabala.
The man smiled. "Good. I can get it from here. Did you add the nen to help heal them?"
Rosabella nodded her head. "Yes sir. This should help."
"Good job kid. Get out of here and go see your friends. You have worked since the minute you stepped foot in this place." Hunter Zabala said.
"ok, bye." Rosabella said. She rushed out and headed to the restaurant her friends were meeting at.
As she walked up she heard Leorio's voice, "You gave the badge back to Hisoka at Heavens Arena?"
"Gon, what trouble did you get into now?" Rosabella said with a smile.
"Hey, Rosabella. We have your lunch here." Gon said waving.
Rosabella smiled and took the free seat. She turned to Killua with as sad look, "Killua, I…"
"Don't." Killua said, raising his hand to stop he from speaking. "Gon told me about my brother's interest in you. I think you did the right thing. Illumi is crazy and he would hurt you if it benefited him. Who knows what the rest of my family would do to you if you had shown up. I'm sure my brother had already told mom about you."
Rosabella smiled sadly but nodded.
"Are we just going to ignore that Gon went against Hisoka? And hit him all to give a badge to him?" Leorio said in annoyance. "To reach the 200th floor. How strong have you gotten?"
"That wasn't smart, Gon. Hisoka is dangerous." Rosabella said with a look while opening her burger wrapper and taking a bite.
"Hey, did you two learn nen?" Gon asked looking between the two.
"You bet I did." Leorio said with a smirk.
Gon smiled big. "That's awesome."
Killua looked at the man in confusion. "Seriously?"
Leorio looked at Killua in annoyance. "Why would I lie? I have worked really hard to learn to build up a shroud of aura, making your own life force even stronger."
Rosabella giggled while Killua moaned in disappointment.
"That's Ten, actually. One of the four major principles for learning nen." Gon said with a look.
Leorio stared at them in confusion. "Are you saying there's more to it? What the heck?"
The teen turned to Rosabella. "Did you know about this?"
Rosabella smiled. "Yeah, I knew about nen before I came to the hunter's exam."
"What?" Gon said in confusion.
Killua jerked forward. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
Rosabella sighed. "I was not allowed to tell you by orders of the exam committee. Your brother and Hisoka also knew about it before the exam. I learned it when I was 12. Some people are able to use it subconsciously without realizing they are doing it until someone tells them. I was one of them. I started using nen on food to heal people. My master took me under his wing and taught me how to control and use nen. I'm a specialist."
The three stared in shock.
"So, ya'll never explained why you were all coming to York New city?" Rosabella said with a smile.
"We're coming for a game, Greed Island." Gon said with a smile.
"Greed Island. What's that?" Leorio asked in confusion looking at Rosabella.
She shook her head and looked at Gon and Killua.
"Let's go back to your hotel before we speak about this." KIllua said.
They quickly finished lunch and went to Leorio's hotel.
"It's a legendary game." Killua said while sucking on a lollypop.
"We're trying to get a copy at the auction." Gon said with a determined look.
Rosabella bit her lip. "If it's at the underground auction than it will be pretty expensive."
"why would you want one?" Leorio asked in confusion.
Gon smiled, "I think the game will lead me to my dad."
Leorio and Rosabella shared a look.
"You think a clue might be hidden in a video game?" Rosabella asked skeptically.
Gon smiled and scratched the back of his head. "It's a long story."
"The problem is the cost." Killua said
"How much is it?" Leorio asked in confusion.
"The lowest bid is 8.9 Billion." Killua said with a smile.
Leorio and Rosabella stared in shock.
"8.9 Billion? For a video game?" Rosabella said in shock.
"How much do you have saved up?" Leorio asked in concern.
Gon laughed hesitantly, "five million."
Rosabella stared at the two in shock. "You got that from fighting in heaven's arena?"
Killua nodded his head. "Yep."
Rosabella's watch beeped causing her to glance down at it. "I have to get back to work. Call me and let me know what is going on next."
Gon jumped up and hugged the girl. "Bye Rosabella."
Killua waved. "See ya later."
"I'll let you know what we come up with." Leorio said with a look.
Rosabella quickly left while shaking her head. She made it downstairs and out onto the street. "I can't believe they made that much money just by fighting. It seems crazy."
The 17-year-old walked through downtown with a smile on her face. She was almost to the charity shop but there were so many people crowding the walkway and it was taking forever to get through the crowd. She spotted an alleyway to the right of her.
'I can go through there and travel to the other side of this area to get to the building.' She thought.
Rosabella quickly ducked down the alleyway and took a left around a corner. 2 minutes later she was almost around the crowd. One more corner and she would be back to the main street. She turned around the corner when someone walked in front of her.
"Oh I'm so sorry." Rosabella said while backing up.
"That's ok, Rosabella." A voice said.
Rosabella glanced up in shock. "Shalnark."
The blond man smiled. "Hey. How are you? How is it going at the charity?"
Rosabella liked her lips nervously. "It's good. I'm loving what I do. How are you?"
Shalnark smiled, "I'm getting ready for a big event tonight. However, I have someone who really wants to meet you right now. I came to get you."
Rosabella took a step back, "I'm sorry but I'm late for work. Maybe I can plan to meet this person at a later date."
Shalnark tilted his head with a frown. "I'm sorry. This isn't a request. It's an order. We should go now."
Rosabella's eyes widened before filling with anger. "I don't know who you think you are, but I don't follow orders like a dog."
Shalnark laughed. "I never did fully introduce myself. I'm Shalnark, number 6 of the phantom troupe."
Rosabella's whole body felt like when she had fallen through the ice on Lake Tila on Clover Island as a child. She took a step back as she whispered, "The phantom troupe?"
The man nodded his head as he watched the color drain from the younger girl's face. She knew exactly who his group was. "Yep. Glad to see you heard of us. You were good about hiding what you did for those people on the ship. I almost missed it. I looked at the videos from when you were doing the hunter exam. I could see the points where you used your nen to heal yourself. I also went through your government records on Clover Island. It seems someone kept record of your powers during the disaster when you were 12."
Rosabella kept backing up in terror as Shalnark followed her.
"You are really special. I can't wait to work with you." Shalnark smiled while holding out a hand. "Let's go."
Rosabella glanced at him before launching and flipping over him. She needed to warn her family and her friends. Before she took a third step, something struck her from the side, and she slammed into the wall. She moaned as she hit the ground.
"You really should have just come with us." A woman's voice said.
Rosabella raised her eyes to see a woman standing there with short black hair, glasses, a black sweater and blue jeans. Shalnark appeared with a canister and kneeled beside the girl. He sprayed it in Rosabella's face. A few minutes later, the girl collapsed as everything around her went dark.
Phantom Troupe Hideout
Kortopi, Nobunaga, Bonolenov were playing cards on one of the pieces of rubble. Machi was doing her nails while Phinks and Uvogin were lifting scrap rubble like weights. Hisoka sat building a card house with his playing cards. Across the room Chrollo was going over the plans for tonight with Feitan and Pakunoda.
They all turned to the tunnel as they felt Shalnark and Shizuku return.
A couple of the members snickered as they observed Shalnark carrying a teen girl in his arms.
"I take it she was not thrilled about coming?" Chrollo said with a smile.
Shalnark laid Rosabella down on a concrete slab being very careful of her head. "Not particularly. I'm sure we can convince her to work with us."
Chrollo walked over and ran a hand across the girl's forehead. An outside observer would think it was a loving gesture. "Yes. She's young and inexperienced. I'm sure a little push would help speed this thing along. How long will she be out?"
"About an hour." Shalnark said with a smile.
The man nodded his head before walking to sit and go over the plans looking for flaws.
Shalnark walked over and joined the card game. "Deal me in."
Shizuku sat by the girl and opened her book. She was getting to a good part and couldn't wait to read who the murderer was.
HIsoka stared at the girl with a blank face. He almost felt sorry for the girl. Almost.
ONE HOUR LATER
Rosabella felt numb. There was tingling in her hands. Her throat was dry, and her head was pounding. She couldn't remember what happened to get her like this.
"I think she is starting to wake up. Her fingers twitched." A female voice said.
That voice sounded familiar, but Rosabella couldn't remember where she heard it.
"Rosabella, come on. It's time to wake up." A male voice said.
She knew that voice. Everything came back to her. Leaving Gon and the others. Running into Shalnark. Trying to run and being hit by something. The dark-haired woman who hit her. Shalnark spraying something to make her pass out. Shalnark being part of the most dangerous criminal organization to ever walk the earth. Rosabella was with the phantom Troupe.
Shalnark reached forward to shake the girl's shoulder when her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist. Before he could pull away, Rosabella had moved twisting his arm behind his back and shoving the man toward the dark-haired woman. She flipped backward looking for a way to escape.
Something slammed into her from the side, and she was thrown against the wall. Before she could do anything, her wrists of both hands were grabbed and forced against her back. A hand was wrapped in her hair squishing her face against the side of the wall. A cut forming from something cut her face from the wall.
"That was very foolish." A male voice whispered in her ear. "Move and I hurt you worse."
Rosabella tried to yank her arm away but a twist from the male's hand on one of her wrists caused a spike of pain in her shoulder. Rosabella's eyes shifted to see an older young dark-haired male with a dark overcoat with a skull on the front was holding her against the wall. His body was pressing her into the wall to keep her still.
"Bring her to me, Feitan." Another male voice said.
Feitan yanked her off the wall and dragged her over to stand before the other male holding her wrists with one hand in a tight grip. As they walked, the cut on her cheek healed. There was no point in hiding what everyone knew.
Rosabella trembled in fear and anger while glaring at the floor refusing to look at the man. The other phantom troupe members watched in amusement.
Rosabella could hear his footsteps as he started walking toward her. She struggled to not tremble worse than she already was.
"I have heard so much about you, Rosabella. A beautiful rose who has the nen ability to heal. It is truly an amazing gift." The man said stopping in front of her. "Look at me."
Rosabella only ducked her head further down.
Feitan twisted her arms sharply ignoring the girl's cry of pain, "Do as boss says or else."
Angry tears filled the girl's eyes as she raised them to look at the man.
The boss was tall and obviously strong. He wore a purple jacket with fur around the collar and black boots that went up to his knees. His skin was pale white with a cross on his forehead. His black hair was gelled back away from his face. His eyes were black and reminded the girl of the eyes of a bear from her island. The bear was cruel and would kill for fun rather than to survive. It took 20 men to put it down. She had a feeling it would take over 100 men to put this monster down.
"That's better. It's always nicer to look someone in the eyes when they speak." He said with that fake smile. "My name is Chrollo Lucifer, and I lead the phantom Troupe. I have heard about your healing but tell me how it works?"
Rosabella glared. "Go to hell."
Feitan reached forward and placed his free hand on the girl's shoulder of her dominant arm. A pop was heard, and Rosabella cried out in pain. The only think keeping her standing was Feitan's grip on her arms.
"Watch your mouth." Feitan said in annoyance.
Tears poured down Rosabella's face from the pain, but she shook her head. "I won't tell you anything."
Chrollo laughed. "All right. Pukanoda."
A blond woman walked over. She reached out to Rosabella's cheek cupping it and running her thumb across it whipping the tears away.
"How does your gift work? Why won't you tell the boss?" She asked.
Rosabella clenched her jaws. She wasn't telling them anything.
Pukanoda hummed before moving away. "Her gift is far greater than what we thought. She can heal wounds from touch but it's not as strong as how the nen gift first manifested. She can pour it into food or drink, and it will heal most wounds as well as give relief for pain from diseases. It's more powerful this way. She also wouldn't tell you about it because of her mentor. You stole his nen ability over 10 years ago. He warned her to never talk about it with anyone unless she trusted them."
Rosabella stared at Pukanoda in horror. The other members were laughing at the girl's face. It was always entertaining to see those who first encounter Pukanoda's nen gift. They never expected it.
Chrollo tilted his head, "how interesting. I don't think I will steal this gift as I have no desire to slave away cooking, but it would be perfect for the troupe. Yes. I believe you will be joining our group. You won't get a tattoo of our spider, but you will be one of us. Feitan will need to figure out a tattoo to give you that represents us without being our calling card."
Rosabella shook her head at his statement.
"You might as well kill me. I will never help any of you." Rosabella said in anger.
Laughter was heard from all around her from the members who were watching in amusement. Rosabella glanced around looking at the ones who were watching when her eyes hit Hisoka.
Hisoka stared at her with a blank look. He could see her pleading for him to save her. Unfortunately for her, he would not risk the chance he had going on here to fight Chrollo. He huffed and looked away.
Rosabella felt the hope that had started to grow disappear. Hisoka would not help her.
Chrollo watched the interaction with interest but did not acknowledge it.
"Where is her phone?" He asked.
"Right here boss." Shalnark said.
Chrollo looked at Pukanoda, "Keep her quiet."
The woman walked over to a bag and pulled out some duct tape. She went and placed a piece of tape over her mouth. Feitan tightened his grip.
The other phantom members watched to see what the boss was going to do.
The sound of ringing was heard.
"Hello?" a male voice was heard. "Rosabella? Is that you?"
Rosabella's eyes widened at hearing Iago's voice. She started to make a noise when Feitan pulled her backward. Her back hit his chest and his other arm came around her. Something sharp was pressed against her neck.
"Not a word." He whispered.
"Good afternoon, am I speaking to a relative of Hunter Rosabella?" Chrollo said with a cheerful voice.
"Who is this? Where is Rosabella and why do you have her phone?" Iago said in fear.
"I'm afraid there was an accident and Rosabella was killed. I will be sending my people with her belonging as well as speaking with her family." Chrollo said while staring in the girl's eyes which were filling up with more tears.
They all could hear Iago starting to cry. "What happened to her? How was she killed?"
"My people will explain soon. I just want to inform you of this. Please ensure the whole family is gathered when my people arrive. Good day." Chrollo said and hung up. He crushed the phone in his hand with a smirk at the horror on the girl's face. "Now who to send."
The man started walking around looking at his members. Feitan removed his arm as he forced Rosabella to turn to follow Chrollo.
The man stopped in front of Uvogin. "You can go."
Uvogin jumped up, "Will do boss. I can't wait to play with them."
The man picked up one of the concrete blocks and crushed it in his hands. Uvo smirked at the horror in the girl's eyes at witnessing it.
Chrollo stopped in front of Nobunaga. "You can go."
Nobunaga pulled his sword out of the shaft and held it, so the light reflected on the blade. "It will be a hassle but all right."
Chrollo than walked back to them and glanced at the man holding Rosabella. "Feitan, you should go as well. Bring me back all their hearts."
"As you wish, boss. I have new torture methods I want to try. It will be fun to practice on the children." Feitan said.
"Good. You can all leave right now. Rosabella can wait with us until you get back. Then you can kill her, Feitan." Chrollo said with a smirk looking at the girl.
Pakunoda watched as tears ran down her face.
Rosabella stared into the cruel eyes of the man in shock before he turned to walk back to his seat above the trope.
Nebu stood and stretched. "We better get going. A boat ride to Clover Island is going to be a long trip. Boss, can we wipe out the whole island?"
Chrollo tilted his head. "Why not? Make sure you kill everyone though. Leave no survivors."
Rosabella's eyes widened in fear and horror. She started screaming into the tape begging them not to do this. She couldn't let her family and friends die like this because of her. She did not notice the amusement in the other phantom troupe members' faces.
"I'm sorry. Do you have something you want to say? Are you wishing to join us now?" Chrollo said with a perplexed look. It was so fake. A monster behind a mask.
Pakunoda removed the tape after a nod from Chrollo.
Rosabella stared him in the eyes before slowly nodding her head looking down in grief.
"You win. Please don't hurt them." Rosabella whispered as more tears ran down her face and dropped to the ground.
Chrollo's eyes lit up and a wicked smirk appeared on his face. The other members of the troupe were smirking and some snickered. They all knew this would be the outcome.
Hisoka stared with a blank look. He had mixed feelings. He wanted to fight Chrollo but the loss of Rosabella, who he also wanted to fight, was a hard thing to lose. Illumi would also be very angry at the loss of the girl as well.
Chrollo walked slowly over observing the crying girl. He reached out with one hand and cupped the girl's face lifting it up. Tilting his head, he observed her eyes. The thing he had heard before was that eyes were the window to the soul. Defeat and despair were the only things he saw in the girl's eyes. His thumb moved wiping the tears that fell on the cheek he held.
"I'm sorry but I need you to say it. Say I will join the phantom troupe as a healer, or I will send my people to your family. They will torture them all slowly even after they beg for death. You can stop all of this if you work for us." Chrollo said.
He pulled out a picture showing Rosabella with her whole family. It was the picture she carried with her all the time. "Say it. Say I will join the phantom troupe as a healer, and I will spare your family."
Rosabella's lip trembled before she turned her eyes to him. "I'll join the phantom troupe as a healer. Please. Please don't hurt my family."
Chrollo smiled while slipping the picture into his pocket. "Of course, little one. I will keep my word. Just remember that if you don't do your job, there are many to pick from."
Feitan released Rosabella's arms and took a step back with a smug face.
'The boss always gets his way.' He thought with a smug look at the girl.
"Machi, fix her arm. The rest of you get ready for tonight." Chrollo said as he walked back to his place on the rocks. He couldn't help but be pleased with himself for this turn of events.
Rosabella's eyes fell to the ground in horror, shame and despair. What was she going to do now?
She was trapped and there was no escape from her fate. She should never have left her island for the hunter exams.