𝖌𝖚𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖎

s i x t y . o n e

[name], chrollo, kurapika and melody stood together in a line in the aircraft as they stared forward at pakunoda, who stared back in a composed manner.

"now, for verification... are you pakunoda, from the troupe?" kurapika inquired, eyes narrowing at the tall woman in a plum coloured suit who stood in front of them.

"of course," the woman replied, making kurapika move his eyes down at melody beside him, who confirmed she was telling the truth.

"i will present each of you with two conditions. if you abide by them, i will release your leader," kurapika stated, lifting his arm to make his chains drop. "i'll begin with your leader. first, you are forbidden to using nen. second..."

pakunoda stared intently, awaiting his second condition.. but it didn't come. kurapika's mouth opened and closed and his breathing became unstable. he gritted his teeth. [name] turned to look at the male.

he's finally realised... that even if he disables the head of the spider, the spider will still continue to move. that his top priority is not to destroy the phantom troupe, but to rescue his two friends... [name] thought, smiling when kurapika finally returned to a stable state.

"second, you may not contact any member of the phantom troupe. those are the two conditions. and to make certain that you adhere to them, i will use my judgment chain, the arbiter little finger, on your leader. you decide if this is acceptable, pakunoda."

"...okay," pakunda confirmed after a moment of intense silence, making kurapika activate his ability and throw his chain in chrollo's direction.

the sharp cross at the end of his chain stabbed through the man's chest, wrapping around his heart and piercing it. kurapika turned to face the suited woman.

"you're next, pakunoda. first, release gon and killua unharmed, before midnight, without any tricks. second, you may not speak a single word about me. if you have no objections, i will use my chain on you," kurapika explained, readying his chain.

"okay."

with that, kurapika aimed his chain in pakunoda's direction and it sucessfully pierced her chest. after a moment of pain and shock, pakunoda stared down at her chest and placed her hand on the area in which she had felt the pain. nothing was there.

kurapika lowered his body to whisper to melody while [name] stared at pakunoda, then moved her attention to the man beside her - phantom troupe leader and someone who was very special to her. chrollo's eyes moved to meet [name]'s.

"trust me. you won't die, yet," [name] whispered, lips stretching into an assuring smile. "i won't allow it."

chrollo just stared at her, before looking away to face pakunoda. [name] chuckled, knowing he was smiling under the chains that covered his mouth and what he was thinking. 'if you weren't going to allow me to die, why work with the person who was to kill me?' is what he was thinking - or at least what [name] thought he was. 

she didn't have a definite answer, but she was sure she'd find out someday; maybe when this was all done, maybe on a random winter morning at a busy café, maybe when she was on her death bed.

"very well. you have a deal. take me back to lingon airport," pakunoda spoke, turning to face the door behind her.

"why haven't you asked any questions?" kurapika questioned, grinding his teeth in exasperation. "you know who i am, don't you? you aren't worried? you don't find this deal unreasonable? do you truly believe i'll return your leader?"

"yes," pakunoda bluntly responded, making kurapika flinch. "you wouldn't ask those questions if you intended to deceive me."

there was a long, intense silence. no words were exchanged, but it seemed so deafening and painful. suddenly, [name] spoke, piercing through the thick atmosphere and making all eyes turn to her.

"kurapika. let me go with her," she requested, turning her whole body to face the male. "this isn't a matter of trust. this is a personal request."

kurapika and [name] stared at one another, eyes shining with determination and passion. kurapika's body had relaxed and his eyes had returned to normal by the time he had moved his eyes away from [name]. he sighed with a small smile.

"alright."

~

"does he really expect us to accept those conditions?" phinks, the blonde man in the track suit, questioned with crossed arms and a vexed expression. "tell us where he is, pakunoda. we'll kill the kids, then deal with the chain user."

"unfortunately, i won't be allowing that," [name] interrupted from pakunoda's right, arms crossed over one another and chest puffed. "i'm here to protect these kids and pakunoda, and i'm here to do my job right. i won't let you kill them even if it means i'll suffer the consequences."

[name]'s eyes were narrowed and glowing as they bore holes in between phinks' eyes. the man was taken aback at her dedication and how willing she was to endanger her life for the safety of two children and a woman who he thought meant nothing to her. she had changed. phinks hastily disguised his surprise with a forced glare.

"i don't care. if you don't tell us, i won't let any of you leave."

"i refuse to tell you where he is, and i am taking the kids alone with [name]. don't interfere."

"interfere? who's the one interfering with our plans, hah?!"

"go, pakunoda. we'll stop them," machi assured, glaring at the man with furrowed eyebrows.

"stop us? are you trying to insult us?" feitan spoke in a hushed voice, glaring right back at the pink haired woman.

pakunoda, kortopi, machi, feitan and phinks glared at one another as their nen energy was activated as a threat to each other. they continued to argue, as [name] chuckled in amusement and turned to face shalnark.

"though it's not the time, it feels rather nostalgic seeing them argue like this. it's been a while," she whispered to the blonde, who sent an affectionate smile and a small nod.

"is it really so hard to understand?" gon suddenly spoke, making eyes turn to him. "you don't understand why pakunoda wants to leave without a word? you don't understand why machi is stopping you? you honestly think they're being controlled? they want to rescue your boss! is it so hard to understand the desire to save a friend?!"

"shut up, kid!! are you that desperate to be spared?!"

then, gon tensed his muscles and pushed outwards to break the chains that constricted him to a stone slab. he picked himself up to stand upright with his hands balled into fists.

"i'm not doing this for my sake," gon muttered, eyebrows furrowing into large arcs and face darkening with fury. "take back those words!"