Chapter Text
“I checked on the trip here, they really don’t know anything.”
Both Gon and Killua fastened their eyes on the blonde woman before them.
‘How…?’ Killua wondered, feeling a cold sweat dripping down his back. He could feel Hisoka’s gaze resting on him, flickering between both him and Gon.
“If Pakunoda says so, then it must be true…” Machi said softly.
Killua heard Hisoka shift behind him, the razor sharp card pressed against his neck finally being removed, allowing him the chance to approach Gon.
“Oi, Gon…Did they do anything to you on the way here?” Killua asked softly in a whisper.
“No, they just asked me a few questions.” Gon responded, looking as mystified as Killua felt.
‘By touch maybe? Damn…When they first asked I had no idea, but now I have that image in my mind! If she checks again she’ll know it’s Kurapika!’ Killua thought, feeling a shiver of fear run through his body.
A gruff voice pulled Killua out of his thoughts.
“If they have nothing to do with the chain user, can we let them go?” Franklin asked.
“Yeah, there’s no point in keeping them here.” Shalnark confirmed. “Our target is the chain user. We should ignore everyone
else.”
“There you go. You kids are lucky.” Feitan said, sounding bored and slightly agitated.
Gon stuck his tongue out at the smaller man while Killua remained on guard.
“No, not yet.” A voice caught both boys attention. “I won’t let them leave.”
Nobunaga sat with his back resting against an alter. “Kid, join the spiders. Team up with me.”
Killua stiffened as he realized it was directed towards Gon.
“No way. I’d rather die than join you guys.” Gon said defiantly.
Nobunaga laughed before saying, “He really hates us…Hey kid, you’re an enhancer, aren’t you?”
“What of it?” Gon asked.
“I knew it!” Nobunaga continued laughing, earning strange looks from Killua, Gon, and the rest of the troupe.
“Hey! We’re keeping them here until the boss comes back. I’m going to recommend that we recruit them!” Nobunaga said to the rest of the troupe.
“Are you serious?” Phinks asked incredulously.
“The boss would never agree to that.” Kortopi said quietly.
“Fine, have it your way.” Machi said. “But if they escape then that’s your fault.” She finished.
Nobunaga grinned as he led both of the boys away to a separate room to wait for Chrollo.
*
“Maannn…I really wanted to beat him up!” Gon whined playfully, a pout set on his lips.
Both boys were running from the building, intending on making tracks as far away as possible.
“Idiot…That would have been impossible. He’d have fought you off and killed you.”
“Are you one hundred percent sure though?” Gon asked.
“Yes. We wouldn’t have had a chance.” Killua responded as he jumped over the wire fence in front of him. He turned and waited for Gon to jump, but something was…wrong. He distantly heard Gon land after jumping, but he felt his reactions almost slow as he saw the fear in Gon’s eyes.
“Killua, watch out!” Gon shouted.
A soft brush of fingers was all the warning Killua had before an iron grip clamped down on his neck. Panic rushed through his body, and he began to wonder how he could get out of this situation before either of them could get hurt.
“It’s her...” Gon said softly enough for Killua to hear.
Pakunoda.
‘Shit, I need to redirect my thoughts, somehow!’ Killua tried thinking of all the places where he and Gon had been before, but that lead him back to the Hunter’s exam…Back to when he met Kurapika. Once he began thinking of Kurapika, all the thoughts he had tried repressing all came back full force, filling his mind.
“…Got it. I found the chain user.” Pakunoda murmured softly before releasing Killua’s neck.
“Haaa? Didn’t you already check the brat? How could you miss something like the chain user?” Nobunaga questioned, sounding hopeful but doubtful as he jumped the fence behind Gon and got a grip on the back of his jacket.
“Something we said must have led him to recall about the chain user. He might not have known at the time I asked originally, but after hearing us speak about him for a bit he figured it out himself.” Pakunoda guessed.
Killua remained in place, knowing that if he moved it could spell the end for Gon who was in Nobunaga’s grasp. Nobunaga had his hand on the hilt of his sword, his thumb pressing upwards to show a sliver of the reflective blade inside.
A warning to Killua and Gon both, no doubt.
“So, who is it?” Machi asked, appearing from behind Pakunoda with Hisoka in tow.
“A young blond boy. The name I got from this one’s memories was Kurapika.” Pakunoda answered monotonously.
Killua saw Gon’s eyes widen a fraction as he stared at Pakunoda before they locked with his.
“No, that can’t be right! It can’t be Kurapika!” Gon said, denial clear on his face. A sudden jerk of Nobunaga’s wrist had Gon dangling helplessly above the ground.
“Paku wouldn’t lie to us about something this serious…And to think you almost got away.” Nobunaga said calmly, although anger was clear in his eyes.
“I still want you to join. Hisoka! Grab the white haired one for me, will you? I’ll lock them up good this time until Danchou gets back.”
Hisoka said nothing as he firmly grasped Killua by the back of his neck. From his prior experience with Hisoka, Killua knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he retaliated.
*
“Just where is Danchou anyways?” Franklin asked, having gotten back a little earlier than the others.
“I don’t know, but we do know who the chain user is now.” Machi said.
This tidbit of information caught Franklin’s interest, but before he could draw a breath to ask any questions, Nobunaga interrupted him.
“We will be having a meeting regarding the chain user when Danchou gets back, so you’ll find out all we know about him during that time. If you don’t mind too much, stay here and help us look after these two. They nearly gave me the slip earlier, and that would have cost us the information that we just got.” Nobunaga said.
Franklin raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the two youths who were tied up back to back in the center of the room.
“I do wish someone had called me earlier so this meeting could have been held sooner.” A soothing voice said from the doorway. Every member of the troupe in the room immediately stood, watching the person entering the room with rapt attention.
“Danchou…” Machi murmured softly, bowing her head slightly.
Chrollo nodded at her, a pleasant look on his face.
“So, these two are his friends…Correct?” Chrollo asked, stopping in front of Killua.
“That’s correct, Danchou. I have a favor to ask about them, though…” Nobunaga answered.
Chrollo spent another second looking over Gon and Killua before turning to acknowledge Nobunaga’s request.
“I want one of them to join the troupe. The black haired kid is an Enhancer like Uvogin was. I feel like he could best take his place.” Nobunaga stated.
Gon froze before removing his gaze from the floor to that man who wore a furred jacket in front of him. The man had an infinitely sad gaze to him, but also managed to look wise…and incredibly dangerous.
“Do you think he would be of use? Would he cooperate with us, or would he try to sabotage us?” Chrollo asked.
“Ah…” Nobunaga hesitated.
“We have plenty of information we could use against him, Danchou.” Pakunoda said from the side. Chrollo cocked his head towards her before he smiled softly and returned his gaze to rest upon Killua.
“Fine. The black haired one shall stay. He’ll be under your care, Nobunaga. Wherever you go, he goes as well. But what about this one?” Chrollo asked, a calculating look appearing in his eyes.
Gon began to shake in anger.
“You can’t decide that for me! I won’t join, I’d rather die! You can’t make me do anything to help you sick bastards out!” Gon shouted.
“…Oh? We can’t? I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you.” Chrollo said with a small smile.
He reached forward and grabbed Killua by the front of his shirt and lifted so Killua was face to face with him.
“From what I heard from Pakunoda, this boy…he’s your best friend, is he not? It would be a shame if…something were to happen to him. Perhaps Feitan will get a chance to extract even more information from him after a good torture session?” Chrollo mused darkly.
Gon began to feel a cold sweat drip down his spine as he said, “You wouldn’t…”
“Oh, but I really would. It was your friend that took Uvogin from us, shouldn’t you do something to help us mourn for our lost friend?” Chrollo asked.
Gon grit his teeth together as he realized that his hands were tied in more ways than one. If he didn’t do as they said, they would kill Killua, but if he did do as they said…he would be forced to kill innocent people.
Irrational thoughts began to cloud his mind as anger filled him. He became deaf to Killua’s shouts of “Don’t do it Gon! It’s not worth it!”.
“…”
“What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.” Chrollo said.
“…I said, you have…A deal…” Gon murmured softly.
“Ah, wonderful.” Chrollo dropped Killua who remained in a steely silence, unable to look at Gon.
“Just let Killua go. Let him leave, and I’ll…I’ll do as you say. I promise.” Gon said, unable to look up from the ground.
“You heard your friend. You’re free to go.” Nobunaga said as he cut the ropes binding Killua.
Killua remained put, fear coursing through his veins.
‘How can I get us out of this? How can I…How can I save us both?’
“I won’t…I won’t leave.” Killua said softly.
“Hm? You won’t leave? Your friend just sold his freedom to us for you, and you’re not going to take the chance that he gave you to go?” Chrollo asked incredulously.
“Wherever Gon goes, I go! I’m not leaving hi-“
“Killua, just go! Leave now! Find Leorio and talk to him, tell him I’m sorry and-and tell Aunt Mito I’m sorry, too. I want you to be the one who tells her about what I’ve done…” Gon started out strong, but his voice got weak near the end.
“Idiot, I’m not leaving you! What do I have to do to become a member as well?” Killua asked fiercely, directing his words to Chrollo.
“In order to become a member of the troupe, you must defeat and kill another member, but you’ll find that harder than you’d think-“ Chrollo was cut off by Killua darting past him.
A slight yelp and the squelch of something wet was all Chrollo heard before he turned around to see blood spattered against the wall and Kortopi’s head lying on the floor. Killua’s hand was extended, his nails sharpened to deadly points coated in blood. Killua slowly turned to Chrollo, a hollow look in his eyes.
“Done. Now what do I do?” He asked, his voice flat and devoid of all emotion. A loud crash was heard as Kortopi’s body finally hit the ground after being brutally murdered.
Chrollo eyed the blood coating everything disdainfully, but kept his face neutral.
“Now you’ve earned the right to become a member of the troupe. Congratulations, Killua…” Chrollo trailed off.
“You will be under Feitan’s command. You will learn from him how to extract information from people without killing them, as it seems you are already an assassin. A very skilled one to boot. Although I have to wonder…Are you related to Illumi, by chance?” Chrollo asked.
Killua stiffened, refusing to answer the question.
“So it seems we have a Zoldyck in our presence. How fortunate, I was going to call Silva and ask one of his sons to replace Uvogin anyways. You’ve saved me some trouble, so thank you.” Chrollo finished before motioning to Feitan.
Feitan reached forward, attempting to grab Killua’s wrist to lead him to his room but Killua lashed out and managed to rip the cloth covering Feitan’s arm before he pulled his hand back. Killua found himself in the air once again, Feitan’s hand squeezing his throat with an almost crushing amount of force.
‘What is with these guys and holding people above the ground? Even the short ones do it!’ Killua thought as he struggled to get out of Feitan’s grip.
“Feitan, drop him. You know the rules, no serious fights between spiders.” Shalnark said sounding angered, his eyes staying on Kortopi's corpse.
“Remember, Killua Zoldyck: You chose to be here of your own free will ♣. Any misbehaving you do will have dire consequences for you dear friend…Gon, was it~♠?” Hisoka said, playing along. Even though he wouldn’t actually hurt Killua or Gon, his bloodlust was very, very real. A menacing aura surrounded both Killua and Hisoka, attracting the attention of the few Spiders who weren’t watching the fight previously.
“Hisoka, stand down. Take Gon to the place where he will reside for now, Nobunaga will take care of him in the morning. Feitan, try using a little…Tact. He’s clearly pissed and you aren’t making anything better.” Machi said.
“In fact, I think I’ll take Killua to his room. You can deal with him later.” She finished, reaching out for Killua but stopping before she touched him. She led him up a set of stairs with her hand hovering behind him near his lower back.
“Machi sure is good at that…” Hisoka murmured, a soft smile on his face as he watched the two leave the room.
Gon was still unable to look up, shame and disbelief coursing through him. He distantly felt Hisoka grab his arm to heft him up, and felt something sharp cut through the ropes binding him.
“Gon? Gon, now isn’t the time to be in shock~♦. Follow me.” Hisoka said.
Hisoka kept his grip on Gon’s arm, but as Gon’s movements continued to prove sluggish and uncoordinated Hisoka picked Gon up and settled him on his shoulders to prevent Gon from tripping and hurting himself.
“You’re starting to shut down now, aren’t you?” Hisoka mumbled, not expecting an answer. He got exactly what he had expected, drawing a sigh from his lips.
“Gon, you did this to yourself ♣. There’s nothing I can nor could have done to help you. All I can do is pretend to not know what is going on, and that isn’t going to get both you and Killua very far, you know ♠?” Hisoka explained.
At the mention of Killua’s name, Gon sat up a bit, no longer leaning heavily on Hisoka’s head.
“Killua…I wanted-I wanted him gone…! I wanted him safe…” Gon said numbly, distress clear in his voice.
“I know.” Were the only words of comfort Hisoka could offer the boy.
He stopped in front of a door on the third floor but sighed and turned around to see Machi walking towards him.
“His friend has gone temporarily mute. He won’t talk to me now, so I’m not sure how long Feitan will be able to stand him if this keeps up. Danchou may need to be the one to mentor the Zoldyck if this continues.” She said, glancing up at Gon who rested tiredly on Hisoka’s shoulders. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of it as she brushed past Hisoka and continued on her way.
“They both seem to be shutting down, Machi~♥. Which room did you place him in?” Hisoka asked cheerily, turning after her form.
“Second to the left. The first room is locked and Feitan’s is right next to his, so be quiet.” Machi said without turning around.
Hisoka hummed under his breath as he continued to walk in the direction Machi had just left.
“Gon, this is all I can do for you…♣ Make of it what you will.” Hisoka said as he stopped in front of a door. He easily opened it before he lifted Gon off of his shoulders and placed him in the doorway.
“Make sure to be quiet. And don’t be too angry~♣ Something good will come of this, my unripe fruit...” Hisoka drawled as he turned and waved over his shoulder.