Phantom Troupe's Web

Chapter 39.

Back at the hideout, Illuki sat beside Chrollo with a childish grin plastered on her face as she skimmed through a magazine the leader had given her. The two of them had finished devising a plan to save Uvogin from his kidnappers, handing the task over to Shalnark while the others waited for Feitan to retrieve the auction treasures from Owl.

"Oh, I just remembered," Hisoka's voice rang throughout the open space, his figure standing from where he sat on the ground floor as he faced Chrollo and Illuki. "I was supposed to meet someone today. I'll be heading out," he informs the pair.

"Sure, go ahead," Chrollo says, not looking up from his novel. "As long as you're back by 6pm tomorrow. Up to no good again, Hisoka?" the ravenette asked as Hisoka began walking out.

"But of course," the magician responds, leaving the hideout.

Illuki lightly hums, blue eyes following after the magician's stature from the top of the magazine; she sets it down, turning to Chrollo with a small smile. "I'm going to make a quick call~," she tells him, hopping down to the ground level and walking out of the hideout. She activates her Zetsu, trailing after Hisoka who makes his way to an abandoned theme park, sitting on the horse-carousel ride – waiting for someone. Illuki lays on the roof of the ride, her legs swinging in the air as she lays on her stomach; her chin resting on the back of her interlaced fingers, rosy lips curling into a chesire grin as she eyes the approaching figure.

"You're early," Hisoka comments, throwing one of his play cards to the ground. "Don't worry. I have no interest in fighting you now..," his eyes narrowing at the blonde.

"Get to the point," Kurapika grumbles, glaring. "Tell me about the Troupe," he demands, shoulders tensing.

"Really? But I love idle chitchat," Hisoka jokes, earning silence from the blonde across from him; he smirks, humming before continuing on. "There are 13 spiders in all, identifiable by their numbered spider tattoos. Members can be replaced at a moment's notice, an applicant can defeat a current member to join. If the Troupe loses one for other reasons, the leader fills the vacancy," the magician explains to the blonde. "They mainly steal and kill, though they do some philanthropic work once in a while – all with the help of their beloved Web."

"That much I know already, but nothing about this Web," Kurapika interrupts with a stern gaze.

"I replaced number 4 a couple of years ago," Hisoka shrugs the topic about the troupe's Web away.

"For what purpose?"

"So that I could fight the leader," the magician reveals, causing the blonde to question his intentions. "Because he's strong...Who knows? It just...It turns me on. Thinking about fighting the boss," the redhead tilts his head back, a perved expression appearing before it disappears. "But I've never had the opportunity. He never lowers his guard. He's always with at least two others or the Web. And when a job ends, he and their Web vanishes. Without a trace."

'That's because I make sure no one follows us' Illuki thought, staring down at the pair with bored eyes.

"So I reached a conclusion that would benefit us both. Don't you think our goals are hard to achieve by ourselves?" Hisoka lowered his gaze to Kurapika, eyes narrowing with a murderous aura around him.

"What are you trying to say?" Kurapika grits his teeth, staring at the redhead.

"I can tell you the Troupe members' abilities. There are seven whose powers I already know. Interested in teaming up with me?"

'Hisoka most definitely knows about Machi's ability along with some of mine. He'd know something about Chrollo's seeing as he wants to fight him' Illuki thought, tilting her head to the side as she observed their interactions.

"Well? What are you going to do? Will you work with me? Or will you fight alone?" Hisoka asked Kurapika who merely glares at him, silence wrapping around them before a ringing sound interrupts it. The Kurta survivor picks up the phone, holding a conversation before hanging up and turning to the magician.

"Hisoka, I have a question for you. Do you know where the Scarlet Eyes are?" the blonde asks.

"Unfortunately, that was before I joined. The leader sells every item after revelling in the spoils for a while. I assume the Scarlet Eyes were no exception. That's all I know, but keep this in mind. A spider will keep going until you crush its head. I asked if you wanted to team up, but I was not suggesting that we fight side by side. Merely that we exchange information, in a give-and-take relationship," Hisoka explains to Kurapika, comfortable in his sitting position on the horse carousel ride. "If it ceases to be beneficial to either party, there will be no further obligation to cooperate. Simple enough, yes?" he offers.

Kurapika turns, walking away when the redhead calls out to him. "I'll be back here tomorrow, at the same time," he tells the magician, returning to his bodyguard duties. Illuki's smirk widens, inaudibly giggling as she watches Hisoka stand from his spot and begin leaving the abandoned theme park. Once she knew he was gone, she jumped down from the roof of the ride, arms crossing as she stared in the direction of the entrance.

•••

As the sun rises in the city of York New, a trio of new hunters formulate a plan to earn themselves enough money to purchase a copy of a well-known game, Greed Island. They took to the streets, setting their scheme in their previous spot yesterday evening with the same tactic when two figures pushed through the crowd in suits.

"Oh, do we have our first challenger?" Leorio emcees, looking at the tall, muscular man.

"No," the trio turn their attention to the direction of the voice, finding a man half the size of the first one. "I already know that my man can't beat your kid. I was watching yesterday."

"Then what do you want?" Leorio asked the man.

"Interested in making some real money?" the short man asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know where you can make big bucks instead of the pocket change you're getting here. You can make hundreds – no, thousands of times more."

This sparks their interest and thus the trio of hunters were following after the two suit-wearing men to a disclosed location. They walked through the alleyways until they reached a small building, entering it and standing in an elevator that led them down to a basement where a hidden, underground arm-wrestle range was.

"Oh! I can feel the bloodlust!" Killua says.

"The arm wrestling competition here accepts all comers, and it pays out. The spectators bet on each match, and the winner receives 10% of all bets placed. We're talking billions of bets on each match," the head man explains to them, a large grin erupting on Leorio's face.

"That would mean millions with each win!" he leans forward with his hands gesturing outwards, a wide grin plastered on his face.

The man continues to explain the ratings of the matches to the man who excitedly agrees, gesturing for his young friend to take on a match when suddenly the lights are turned on and a stranger in skimpy clothing appears in the arena with a microphone.

"Sorry, by the arm wrestling is cancelled! We'll be doing some conditional auctioning now!" the crowd in the underground building erupted with jeers at the newcomer who ignored them and continued. "To win, you must play hide-and-seek!" Leorio, Gon and Killua took a flyer from one of the people, letting out surprised gasps as they inspected the images. "We'll start by passing out flyers! Examine the pictures on the flyer. Those eight people are your targets!"

"Hey, that girl with the glasses was..," Leorio began.

Gon nods his head. "Yep, she arm-wrestled me."

Killua remains silent, staring at one particular image that was between a pink-haired woman and a man with long ears. "Hey, are they the ones responsible for what happened last night?" the white-haired assassin perked at the gossip, glancing out of the corner of his eye at two citizens.

"Yeah, you mean the attack on the auction?" Killua gasped at the mention of the auction.

"In order to win the bid, you must capture and deliver a target to us. For each target brought in, you will receive a nice sum of 2 billion Jenny!" the announcer reveals, further adding information to the hide-and-seek bet, ignoring everything and staring at the images in front of him.