Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 43.

Blue eyes narrow at the Phantom Troupe's torture master, her figure stands from the overhang she sat on and vaults off the stone archway, landing on the ground floor where the others stood. She captures everyone's attention as she lands on the rock slab – her feet inches away from piercing Gon's head and her long, dichromatic hair floating down behind her like it was in slow motion. She stands tall, looming over the group with a childish grin that hides the woman's wickedness from her peers as she leans slightly forward towards Feitan.

"My my~ What do we have here~?" she lets out a melodic hum, giggling as the ends of her mouth curl upwards; disregarding the way both the children's eyes widen at the sight of her. She turns to look over her shoulder at the kneeling swordsman before turning back to the kids being held captive and tilting her head to the side at her companions. "We've got a job to do," she reminds them, her smile dropping and prompting the torture master to release Gon from his deathly, iron grip. The spiky-haired child jumps back from the ravenette, holding onto his right shoulder; Hisoka follows along, pulling away from Killua.

"So, what do we do with them? They haven't told us anything about the chain user yet," Shizuku asks the group of thieves and their Web who hums, still standing on the rock slab between Feitan and Nobunaga.

"Release them," Illuki simply states, crossing her arms as she turns her head in the short-haired woman's direction. "Paku?" she calls the blonde woman who approaches where she stands, a hand resting on her hip.

"I checked on the trip here. They really don't know anything. They have no memories of the chain user," Pakunoda reports her findings to the former assassin, knowing what she was asking.

"Seems your hunch was off this time," Nobunaga tells Machi.

"That's odd..," the pink-haired thief draws out. "Well, if Pakunoda says so, it must be true."

Hisoka walks away from Killua, causing the white-haired assassin to jog over to where his friend stands. "Hey, Gon! Did they do anything to you on the way over here?" he whispers to the innocent boy, having figured out who the troupe were looking for. "Thought so..."

Killua holds a hand to his face, staring at the woman in mauve. 'So she examined us without knowing...What was it? And how? Sounds like they really trust that woman Pakunoda's judgment. She must possess a skill more convincing than mere instinct.' He thinks back to what Pakunoda had told her comrades, eyes slightly widening at the realisation of knowing the blonde's abilities.

"If they have nothing to do with the chain user, can't we let them go?" Franklin asks Illuki who steps down from the stone pile, standing in the middle of the group with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, there's no point in keeping them here," Shalnark agrees.

"No, we can't be sure they're completely unrelated. It's possible they're being used," Phinks disagrees, reasoning with the others as he approaches where they stood, turning to look at the pair. "If the chain user typically conceals his chains, they wouldn't realise he was the chain user. We shouldn't release them until they tell us who they're working for."

The troupe members go back and forth, sharing their thoughts about what to do with their hostage when the woman standing in the middle of the group finalised the decision, uncrossing her arms and turning to walk out of the hideout to meet with their leader. "They can go," she orders them.

"No, not yet," Nobunaga calls out from where he sat leaning against a pile of rocks.

Illuki halts in her steps, turning sharply and glaring at the swordsman who offers a position to Gon. "Are you defying my orders?" she grits through her teeth at the long-haired man, narrowing blue irises glowing under the moonlight. Pressure fills the hideout and the other troupe members parte for the female to get a better view of the resting man. Killua and Gon's eyes dart between the older Zoldyck and the Spider who remain silent, both of them engaged in a fierce staring contest.

"Troupe members aren't supposed to engage in a fight," Shizuku reminds the pair, standing beside Machi with a finger raised.

"We know," Nobunaga and Illuki say in unison before the swordsman pulls out a coin.

"We'll flip a coin to see what happens," the man assures his comrades, flicking the gold coin into the air before catching and covering it on his right arm. "Heads."

"Tails," the female mutters.

Nobunaga lifts his hand, revealing the coin to the troupe's Web. "Heads. They're staying," he finalised to the others.

Scoffing, the former assassin turns on her heels, resuming to walk out of the hideout once more. "If they're staying then you're on babysitting duty. If they escape, it's all on you!" she calls out, waving a hand to bid the others a silent goodbye. Illuki leaves the hideout with a loud, heavy sigh drawing from her lips. She hadn't planned to stay back at the hideout for a long time since she needed to check on Chrollo and his solo mission; she chose to come back for a moment to check on the others, leaving the group in care of Shalnark's planning.

author's note
happy new year everyone!!
it's a new year and i am determined to update and release as many projects as possible hehe
so — if you haven't already, and you're a k-pop fan, then you should check out my new three books!!
the second wave of my added member series has started and i am so excited to be back :3
i love ya!
- lily <3