Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 56.

Thunder rolls and the rain downpours and soaks the streets with puddles of water; the darkness of the hotel is brightened by the moonlight peering in from the glass entrance doors. Silence encircles the five Spiders and their hostages, not one of them daring to speak after the revelation of their missing ringleader.

"The boss is gone..," Nobunaga confirms, turning his head to the sword that flung in his direction. "Shizuku, hold this guy for me," he orders the spectacle-wearing female, handing the child over to the dark-haired woman and approaching the weapon.

"Paku, are you okay?" Machi asks the Specialist, holding the white-haired child in her right arm – choke-holding him.

"He broke my left hand and a molar," the short-haired blonde tells her comrade, a hand covering her mouth as she turns to face where the pink-haired woman stood.

"We underestimated them," Machi says while Nobunaga pulls the dagger out from the pillar and reads the note, using a lighter as a source of light to read it better.

"Anyways, this is going to shock you. These kids are—"

"Wait!" the samurai interrupts the woman, collecting the other members' attention. "Pakunoda, this is for you," he looks up to them, extending his arm and handing the note over to the woman. Pakunoda reads the note, turning her head in the direction of the reception and thinking to herself; her mind running wild as she recalls the memories of the events that played out moments ago. She stands in silence, so lost in her thoughts that she fails to hear Nobunaga calling her name. "Paku! Don't say a word. Got it?" he tells her.

He moves closer to the group, giving out orders under the authority of the first-ranked member of the Phantom Troupe. "Machi, focus on your threads. I'll take him for you," Killua and Gon exchange looks, both of them mentally cheering for their friend who succeeded in capturing the troupe's leader. "Since he left us a message, he'll contact us again. Until then, these kids are valuable hostages. Iris should know about this as well," the man tells them.

"Paku," Machi calls her friends after noticing her distressed expressions. "Don't worry about it too much. You just keep quiet," he assures her friend as the lights of the hotel lobby return. The group stand in quietness as the swordsman dials Phinks number, informing the man about the kidnapping of their leader and to hurry in to meet the group at the hotel.

•••

Driving away from the city in a silver vehicle, Chrollo sits in the backseat wrapped in chains with a disguised Kurapika next to him; sitting in the driver's seat is Leorio and next to him, Melody. The older teenager looks out at the side mirror, checking for pursuers when his blond friend speaks up.

"Don't worry. A number of enemies were injured. They won't move until reinforcements arrive," he assures the spectacle-wearing man before glancing over at his hostage with a glare. "What are you looking at?"

Chrollo calmly looks away from the chain user. "Nothing. I didn't expect the chain user to be a woman," he voices his thoughts, staring ahead at the abandoned, drenched road.

"Did I  say that I was? You shouldn't let appearances deceive you. Anyway, you should watch what you say. Since it may be the last thing out of your mouth," Kurapika threatens the man, removing the wig to reveal his blonde hair.

"You won't kill me. You left your precious friends behind," the leader responds indifferently.

"I'm not so composed that I will ignore your threats!" the blonde raises his voice, anger bubbling within him as he glares at the man sitting beside him. Leorio calls his name, attempting to calm the Kurta survivor before anything impulsive happens.

"That girl's fortune didn't mention this. Therefore, this event isn't significant enough to matter," Chrollo states, looking over at Kurapika with a slight smile. "Iris had mentioned that you were working with some allies. She was right, as always." Kurapika's anger intensifies, turning his body to the ringleader with a scowl – even Melody and Leorio were unhelpful in easing the vengeance that was pooling inside of him. "Do you need further explanation? I consider this situation the same as an afternoon coffee break. A peaceful outing."

The blonde's eyes turn scarlet and his teeth grind against itself to prevent himself from lashing out on the hostage but fails as he raises a fist and collides it with the leader's cheek. "Calm down, Kurapika! We're on equal footing now! Nothing has changed," Leorio tells his friend, turning back momentarily to look at the pair before looking back at the road.

"Equal footing? You're sorely mistaken," the slick-back ravenette states, looking over at the driver and then at the blonde beside him. "First of all, you've made the wrong assumption. I have no value as a hostage."

"If you insist on babbling—"

"He isn't lying," Melody's soft voice breaks the tension, her body turning back to look at the two rivals from the passenger seat. "Everything he says is true."

"There you have it. This is reality. You people are the ones on the ropes."

Ignoring him, the hunter turns to his friend – hands grabbing onto the headrests of the driver's and passenger seats. "What do you mean?" he questions the female who turns away from the blonde.

"His heartbeat is normal. He isn't shaken by any of this. He isn't worried or frightened of death. I can hear that he's accepted death. I can hear that he walks with death every day," she explains, slowly deteriorating at the sounds of Chrollo's heart; sinking into her seat and gripping the ends of her hat over her eyes. "How is he capable of producing such a sound? No more! I can't take any more of this! I don't want to listen to you or him!"

"Melody..."

"He truly believes that he has no value as a hostage. But the fact remains that he is the leader."

"What are you? What are you people?"

Chrollo smiles at the question, turning his head to look out the car window. "The Spider."