Warnings: unsafe driving, panic attacks.

Y/N ran after Pitou, who had fled the auditorium in a haste, ignoring her mother's rushed words of shock that had followed.

She had never felt someone else's Nen before, due to the fact that she didn't have that ability herself, but the sheer feeling of Pitou's anxiety and bloodlust was so powerful she could still feel the goosebumps on her arms.

There were other people running around frantically, probably from having felt such potent energy disappear so suddenly.

She ignored them all, but one thing stuck out to her.

They were all saying the name Neferpitou.

'Dammit.' thought Y/N as she continued to run through the building. These people were sure to try and kill her friend if they all had the chance, not like they would succeeded or anything, but the very though of Pitou being hurt in their vulnerable state of mind struck a cord in her.

She could feel their presence again before she even got outside. Their aura was hysteric, borderline of a breakdown.

There were Hunters surrounding her car when she got out, but none of them were close enough to be able to open it, not that they wanted to, due to the intensity of the air around them all.

She made her way through, ignoring the suffocating feeling Pitou's aura caused deep in her body.

It was like a weight pushing her down and away, she's felt this before, back in the NGL.

There was no doubt that Pitou was aware that she was near, which made the intensity of their aura even stronger.

Animals nearby ran away, Hunters were practically glued to the ground in fear -no, terror.

This feeling her friends presence caused was pure, unadulterated terror.

Despite that, however, she pushed through her rising anxiety and panic, and managed to get to the car.

She practically ripped the back door off of it's hinges with the way she swung it open to get inside. As she did, she heard the sounds of guns and weapons being drawn and cocked, and the Hunters behind her protesting for her to get away.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing?!" One shouted. "That thing will kill you!"

Another had gotten the courage to move, and ran towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder and tried to pull her away.

All go a sudden, a deep, animalistic growl sounded from the car, causing everyone -including her- to stop in their tracks.

Everyone peered inside the vehicle, where it seemed to be completely dark inside save for two glowing red and yellow eyes, which were wide with rage and bloodlust.

The Hunter that had been trying to take her moved his hand, prompting another growl from the car at his movement.

Taking a deep breath and gulping, Y/N slowly walked forward, taking cautious steps.

Pitou didn't react to her movement, letting her slide into the car and close the door behind her, as well as letting her lock it.

The feeling of being alone with them made her feel like prey being cornered by their predator. The air was thick with tension and unchecked panic. Pitou was scared, angry, and every possible negative emotion they could be at the moment.

There was more commotion outside, and Y/N turned to look behind her, and out the tinted windows, seeing her mother fighting through Hunters trying to get to the car.

She took a deep breath, and turned back to Pitou, who was hunched in on themselves and muttering, pulling at their hair.

Y/N didn't know what made Pitou suddenly break down like this, what made them expose their Nen to an entire auditorium of Hunters, but what she did know, was that they needed her.

"Hey," she muttered softly, reaching slowly for their wrist. "Hey, it's OK. It's just me, you're OK."

Everything was certainly not OK, but they didn't need to know that right now.

"Shh, it's gonna be fine, you're fine. Look at me, OK? Just look at me."

Pitou raised their head out if their knees to look at her, their fingers still gripping at their hair and pulling at it.

Y/N slowly grabbed their wrists, pulling their arms down and looking into their tearful eyes.

"Good, see? You did good. Can you take deep breaths for me?"

The Chimera Ant rapidly shook their head, lips quivering as they tried not to sob.

"I need you to take big breaths for me, OK? Like this-" Y/N held up four fingers and breathed out, putting each digit down as she went, then breathing in as she put her fingers back up.

"Four breaths in, four breaths out, can you do that?"

Pitou nodded as they began following her instructions, listening to her count, and watching the movement of her fingers.

As their breathing slowly evened out, so did the intense and horrific feeling of their Nen, and their ruby and gold eyes found Y/N's, seeking approval.

They saw her grin, her hands coming up to cup their damp cheeks as she smiled.

"Good job, that was perfect. Can you talk?"

Pitou found the question odd, but thought for a moment before shaking their head.

The woman Infront of them nodded, still holding their face.

"That's OK, you don't have to talk, just tap me once for yes, and twice for no, OK?"

They nodded.

"Can you move?"

One tap.

"Can you feel me touching you?"

One tap.

"Can you feel the car seat you're sitting in?"

Another tap.

"Do you want to leave the car?"

Two rapid taps.

"OK, no leaving the car, got it. Here, take this-"

Y/N began pulling off the sweater she was wearing, revealing the white tank top she wore underneath, then handed it to Pitou.

"Put this on, I'm gonna climb in the front seat."

Pitou slipped the sweater on over their head and reveled in its warmth, the familiar scent of lavender and citrus filling their sensitive nose.

As Y/N got in the driver's seat, she looked out the window to still see her mother fighting against the Hunters.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the car keys out of the pocket of her sweat pants, and started it.

The sudden sound of the engine starting alerted everyone outside the car, making them all stop.

'This might get me arrested eventually, but fuck it.'

She heard her mom outside the car screaming at her.

"Go! Get out of here!" She yelled.

Putting the car in reverse, Y/N slammed on the gas pedal, making the car fly backwards, before she put the gear back into drive, then took off.

She dodged cars, ignoring the honking of horns and curses of people as she sped down the streets, her foot not letting up on the gas until she could get far enough away.

Now, she wouldn't call herself a good driver. She's only been behind the wheel a few times, under her mother's supervision of course, but this was a special case.

That special case getting the fuck away.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Y/N saw Pitou gripping the seat they were in for dear life, their claws tearing the faux leather open.

Looking back to the road, despite the fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins, Y/N found herself grinning wildly, a manic look in her eyes.

She wove the car around others, ignoring the shouts of profanities that were thrown her way, along with the occasional middle finger, and kept speeding.

Hey, if she was breaking the law, she might as well have fun doing it.

She noticed Pitou climbing up front from the back seat and getting in the passengers, gripping the headrest with fear.

"You're a very unsafe driver!" Was the first thing they said.

Y/N laughed, the sound coming off as hysterical.

"Hey, you spoke! And yeah! I don't have my license!"

"That isn't something to be proud of!" Pitou shouted.

"Hey, if I'm gonna do something illegal, it might as well be with my best friend, right?!"

The Chimera Ant stilled for a moment, processing the fact that Y/N called them her best friend, before shaking their head.

"Can we just focus on getting away from the people who want to kill me?!"

Y/N grinned and honked the car horn twice, the loud noise ringing throughout the car.

"Already on it, babes!"

They drove all the way to The Community, driving past houses and roughly pulling into the driveway of their own home, swinging open the car doors and running into the house after unlocking the door.

"OK, OK, adrenaline high over, freak out now." Y/N rambled as she rushed up the stairs and into her room.

"What are you planning to do? All those Hunters probably know where you live, they'll contact the council, they'll have me killed." Pitou said, holding onto the bedroom door frame and watching as Y/N pulled a duffel bag out from her closet and started shoving clothes in it.

"We need to leave if that's the case. We have my Hunters License, but they'll probably suspend that. I have a bit of money in my bank account from my trip to the NGL, it should last us awhile. We need to keep you disguised, so here."

She tossed a grey hoodie at them, letting them slip it over their head in order to hide their ears.

As Y/N was continuing to pack away clothes and Pitou had begun to tuck their tail into the leg of their pants, an electronic rhythmic jingle sounded throughout the entire house.

The both froze at the sound of the door bell, and the girl on the ground slowly stood up and moved towards the window, moving aside the curtain and peeking out discreetly.

They couldn't have been here that quick, right?

"It's Anita." She whispered, backing away from the window and rushing down the stairs.

Pitou followed behind her, standing at the top of the stairs and watching as she opened the door frantically.

"Hey, Y/N." Anita started. "I-I just wanted to say sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way with my confession or- woah!"

Her sentence was interrupted when Y/N dragged her inside by the forearm, holding her tightly to the wall in an attempt to stay hidden while peeking out the window.

"Stay quiet." Y/N gritted out.

From the top of the stairs, Pitou saw Anita's cheeks flush red at hers and Y/N's close proximity, making a churning feeling stir in their gut.

After a few moments of silence, Y/N stepped away from Anita and sighed.

"If we get moving now, they won't find us. Pitou, you wanna go grab the bag?"

They nodded, rushing back up the stairs and keeping their ears perked in order to listen to Y/N talking.

"Y/N, what is going on?! Who are you concerned about finding you?!"

There was the sound of rummaging as Y/N spoke.

"The Hunters Association. Pitou accidentally let their Nen out. I don't know what caused it, I didn't even know they could still use Nen. But, Pitou is supposed to be dead, but now everyone knows they're not, and everyone knows that me and my mom are involved, so they're gonna come after me too. My mom stayed behind so we could get away."

They heard her sniffle a little bit, then take a deep breath.

"I know a few places we could hide for awhile, but we'll have to be on the move constantly. So, we might not see eachother for awhile."

There was a bit of silence before Anita spoke.

"Let me come."

"What?! No!"

"Uh, yes! One, you're my best friend, I'm not gonna let you do this on your own. Two, I have nothing for me here, my brother is gone and my parents want nothing to do with me. Three, you can't use Nen, Pitou is practically a walking talking death trap with their Nen, what if you get hurt? I need to be able to heal you."

"Pitou has Doctor Blythe, if I get hurt, I'll be fine."

"We don't know how stable they are right now with their Nen, if you got hurt I'd never forgive myself knowing you were out there."

Y/N let out a frustrated noise. "No, no. I'm not letting you come with me!"

"Why not?! Is it because you feel uncomfortable around me now?!"

"Who said anything about that?! Is that what this is about?! You feel bad and remorseful that I don't like you back, so you're gonna put yourself in danger to make up for it?!"

"No! I want to come because I care about you! You're my only friend, I want to help!"

"I don't need your help! I don't need anyone's help! All I want is to make sure my friend doesn't die again!" Y/N's voice cracked with the last sentence, on the verge of a breakdown.

Another beat of silence.

"Again? Y/N, you said they were still alive when you found them."

"Yeah, well, I obviously lied." Y/N said in a small voice.

Deciding that they should step in before anything escalated again, Pitou hoisted the duffel bag onto their shoulders and headed downstairs.

"Anita, if you're coming, do it now. We don't have time to stand around fighting."

Y/N and Anita shared a heated look, before Anita faced Pitou with a determined face.

"I'm coming."

Y/N let out a huff of anger before storming out the front door.

Pitou glanced at the pink haired girl beside them.

"Do you know how to drive?"

She stared over at them, honey gold eyes blinking in confusion.

"Um, yes?"

The Chimera Ant nodded approvingly.

"Good. I don't trust her to drive angry."

Anita sighed dejectedly.

"Me neither. C'mon, before she tears something apart."

Apparently, Y/N didn't trust herself to drive angry either, because she was seated in the passenger seat with her arms crossed and a frustrated pout on her face.

Anita git into the driver's seat, while Pitou got in the back, glancing at the other hoodie they had left in the car as they put the duffel bag on the floorboard.

Well, atleast they had an alternative for warmth.

"So, if I was on the run from The Hunters Association, where would I hide?" Anita asked.

The question hung in the air for a few silent moments before Y/N answered.

"I'd say Meteor City, but that's the first place they'd look. Hey, don't the Zoldyks live in The Republic of Padokea?"

"Uh, yeah? But why? That's pretty far." Anita questioned as she started the car.

"They might be of some help."

"What could the Zoldyks do for us?"

Y/N shrugged.

"It's worth a try. And if they don't, we have literally anywhere else in the world."

Anita sighed, but backed out of the driveway anyway.

"Republic of Padokea it is."

~~~

Livia sat in a large white room, glaring at the four blank walls while bound in rope, clenching her hands.

A hole outlined in blue appeared in the ceiling, and falling through came a thin man in a black suit and glasses with a flat cap on his head, and then a larger figure fell through right behind the young man, this one wearing sunglasses and with chin length white hair.

The smaller man approached her, hands stiffly to the side of him as he bent down to her level.

"My name is Knov, this is my partner Morel, and you're going to tell us everything you know about Neferpitou and the girl it was with."

Just so everyone knows ahead of time, I don't dislike Knov and Morel, although they aren't my favorite in regards to other Hunters.

They refer to Pitou as "it" because no one in the Hunters Association sees them as an actual being with a conscience.

And, because this chapter took so long to get out, let me make you all aware of everyone's sexualities and preferences in this story, so there's no confusion.

Now, remember that these are my personal headcanons and you don't have to agree with them if you don't want to.

These are in order of how much of a role each character will play in the overall arc of the story.

Y/N: (yes, even this sexuality has been decided ahead of time, it's rather important.) Bi/demiromantic, asexual. Pronouns are she/her.

Pitou: lesbian, demiromantic, asexual, non-binary. Pronouns are they/them

Anita: pansexual. Pronouns are she/her

Livia: bisexual. Pronouns are she/her

Killua: gay/demiromantic, asexual. Pronouns are he/him

Gon: panromantic, asexual. Pronouns are he/him.

Alluka: aro/ace, trans girl. Pronouns are she/her.

Bisky: bisexual. Pronouns are she/her

Hisoka: pansexual. Pronouns are he/him.

Illumi: gay and homophobic. Pronouns are he/him

Edit: removed the Kurapika head cannon because 1) I don't actually think he's gonna be in the story that much, if at all, and 2) there seemed to be some... issues with it, I wanna say, so I've removed it for my sanity alone, and I removed Leorio's for the same reason.