Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 27.

"A double? What does he mean?" Killua asked out loud, eyes widening when Kastro revealed his double to the audience. "Then it wasn't an illusion! When Kastro attacked, there really were two of him," the child thought out loud.

"I suppose that's why he took those first few hits," Illuki muttered, disregarding her brother when he turned his gaze to her for a moment before returning to the stage. The woman fixed her posture, propping an elbow on her knee and resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she bored her blue eyes down at the stage. 'Let's see how you'll get out of this one' she thought, her rosy lips curling into a faint smirk, her Gyo and Zetsu still activated.

"Now then...I have cards here, from 1 to 13. Pick a number from these and picture it in your head," the sinister magician instructed casually. "Are you ready? Once you have your number, add 4 and double the result, after that subtract 6 and divide by 2. Finally, subtract your original number and what do you have?" Hisoka finishes the instructions, smirking. "I already know your answer. The answer is 1," his good arm reaches into the open wound, pulling out an ace card splattered in blood, disgusting yet amazing everyone but Illuki.

"This is very strange...Insane! A satanic magic trick! And he's incorporated his own injury into the trick!" the announcer comments, bewildered by the situation they were witnessing with everyone else in the venue. "The trick is worth no points. That had no effect on the match, but he's performing tricks! Hisoka is being totally bizarre again!"

"You may keep this as a souvenir," Hisoka threw the card to Kastro who slapped it away, glaring at the redhead, declaring to sever his other arm so the magician could no longer mock others. "Did you not hear me the first time? You may have it," Hisoka taunts, gesturing it to his opponent. At the taunt, the silver-haired man lunges in a fit of rage however the redhead dodges every attempt, his cold and piercing gaze staring into the soul of the real Kastro and distracting him. Hisoka's served arm flies through the air, coming into contact with his opponent's cheek and cards flinging through the air to pierce Kastro's body.

'Tch, his bungee gum is helpful but he is another story' the dichromatic-haired woman softly scoffs at the ending, standing up from her seat and walking out of the erupting stadium to meet with Machi. Her brother, who had been focused on the fight, hadn't noticed the disappearance of her presence until the end of the brawl, blinking at her empty seat in confusion.

"Why am I in charge of him again?" the pink-haired thief asked her friend, the two of them leaned across each other on the entrance tunnel wall, waiting for Hisoka's arrival. Before the Zoldyck child could answer, the magician appeared from the shadows, his severed arms under his right armpit. Machi and Illuki turned to the male, blankly staring at him. "Good work. Now, show me that injury."

The trio made their way back up to the redhead's room at Heaven's Arena, Machi stood by the small round table whereas Illuki and Hisoka sat across from each other. The troupe's Web scrolled through her phone while listening to the duo in front of her talk, minding her business and commenting whenever she felt like it.

"I was never absolutely certain, but today's match confirmed it," Machi began, holding both the severed arms and blankly staring down at them. "You are an idiot."

"Perhaps," the male smirked.

The pink-haired thief set down the arms and turns to the magician with her hands at her waist. "Why do you endanger yourself this way? Was it meant as a performance or something?" she asks, receiving a vague response from the injured man. The three fell silent for a few seconds before Machi broke it, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, I can't complain since I'm getting paid," she activated her aura, pulling out one of the pins from the pincushion on her wrist. "I'll stop your bleeding first."

Illuki closes her phone to watch her friend, running a hand through her hair as she picked up the other severed arm and threw it at the man with a scowl. "Hold it yourself this time," she instructs him, the pink-haired thief walking to the other side.

"I'm always mesmerised by your skill~," Hisoka moaned with delight, his gold eyes staring directly at where his arm was being stitched together by the troupe's number 3. "Perhaps I get myself injured so I can watch you work your magic," he joked.

"Right. 20 million for the left arm. 50 million for the right. Pay up. Now," Machi demanded, the redhead assuring her he'd transfer the money into her account. "Alright. You can treat the rest of your injuries yourself," the female told him, walking over to where her pouch sat on the ground.

Illuki stood up from her seat, approaching her pink-haired friend before turning to the male with a bored stare. "You should be able to manage with your bungee gum and texture surprise," she comments with crossed arms, leaning back on the pillar behind her.

"Oh...I should conceal this. That way, they'll think my arms were healed during the match. This is an ordinary scarf with no special features. I use bungee gum to attach it to my arm, then I use texture surprise to create a layer of skin," Hisoka explained, turning to show his new arm to Machi and Illuki.

As he goes on to explain why he chose the names for his Nen abilities, which both women have heard a dozen times, rolled their eyes at his tangent. "Like we said, we didn't need to know that," Machi deadpanned.

"But weren't you both impressed by the application of these two abilities during the fight? You saw everything, didn't you?" he hummed at the two of them.

"Well, yeah...As a distraction, you sent 13 cards flying into the air while throwing your arm and a scarf so they'd stick to the roof and floor with bungee gum. The aura from each was also tied to your right arm, additionally, you connected aura to the 13 cards on the floor and held the ends with your left hand. Then, when you threw the ace of spades at Kastro, the aura in your left hand was released and connected to him. The 13 aura strands stuck to Kastro," the pink-haired female explained with ease, a hand resting on her waist. Though Hisoka commented on the event to the women he was with, he mentions a flaw in his plan which Illuki unwillingly debunked to end their conversation.

"Someone trained in Ren, another of the basic techniques, could have focused the Nen in their eyes to see through your plan. That's why you used that twisted magic trick to throw him off guard, while you pretended to be reversing your strength. It even worked as camouflage, convincing him that your lack of aura was a sign of confidence," she elaborated with crossed arms, sighing heavily before continuing with her explanation for Hisoka's enjoyment. "After meticulously confirming that your plan was working, you extended a thread of aura from your left hand, the same one holding the cards and connected it to Kastro's chin. Your preparations were now complete. You'd already used texture surprise to alter the scarf on the floor to resemble human skin and so, when Kastro attacked your left arm, you activated bungee gum between your right arm and the scarf on the floor. Your arm was restored and the scarf concealed the wound, leaving everyone convinced that your right arm was restored."

"However this performance actually helped Kastro to calm down," Machi interjects her and Illuki's explanation.

Hisoka smirked at them both. "It made no sense for a severed arm to reappear in a pristine state...Kastro realised that I was using Nen, not magic."

"But you didn't miss the subtle change in his psychological state. Kastro was about to recover but then you pushed him over the edge. You exposed the weakness of his double," Machi said to the male with her arms now crossed in front of her. The two of them continue to argue about the fight when the pink-haired thief announced her leave, approaching the door which the Web followed her. "Well, I'm off. My job is done so I'm not sticking around. Since Nen stitches can only do so much, don't overdo it until your arm's firmly attached."

"I came for a whole other reason," the troupe's web said, standing beside her friend with her hands linked behind her back. "You have new orders. All troupe members are to be in York New City by noon, August 30th, not just those who find it convenient," she informed the redhead who stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Will the boss be coming?"

"Most likely. This could be our biggest job yet. If you skip this one, the boss might hunt you down himself if Iris doesn't kill you first," Machi said, ignoring the magician's invitation to dinner. Both she and Illuki exited his room, walking to the elevator and pressing the lobby button.