It was deadly silent as three figures stood Infront of the Council members. All six of them peered down at the individuals with clear disdain on their faces.

Y/N and her mom stood on either side of Pitou, who currently had their hands cuffed behind their back. They knew they could easily break the flimsy chains, but Y/N told them not to, if they wanted to come out if this whole ordeal alive.

They gazed up at who they assumed was Council Man Niles. By what Y/N described him, he was a 'distasteful old prick who thought he was better than everyone else.'

Their tail bristled from the icy glares each of the council members gave them.

Soon, one of them spoke while sorting through what looked like papers. She had unruly short red hair with greying strands, and wrinkles on her aging face.

"I am Head Councilwoman Imogen, and I, along with the others you see before you, will be giving you your sentence. Shall we begin?" Her voice was rather deep, and had a formal tone to it.

Pitou narrowed their eyes up at all of them, before letting out a sigh.

"Yes."

Council Man Niles spoke after that.

"Neferpitou, first born of the Royal Guards to King Meruem of the Chimera Ants. The only surviving guard. Tell me, what was the last order your King gave you?"

Pitou thought back to that day.

~

"Pitou, heal Komugi. I'm counting on you."

~

Pitou gulped down the growning bile in there throat before speaking.

"He asked me to heal a human girl named Komugi. That is all."

There were quiet murmurs among the Council, but Pitou was able to pick it up.

"Why would the king want a human healed?"

"Maybe he wanted to reproduce with her?"

"It's likely. He probably wouldn't have kept her around otherwise."

Pitou's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at their words. They knew that the King hadn't had those kinds of intentions with Komugi, but hearing these humans talk about it, and taking it out of context, made them mad.

However, they knew they couldn't correct these people, as they all held their fate in their hands.

The Council stopped talking and turned to look at the three before them.

"You've killed countless people. Villages, families, children. Not just you, but your former comrades as well. Tell me, why do you think we should let you live?"

'Because I could kill all six of you in a split second and just leave.' was what they wanted to say before a voice beside them spoke.

"As I have said many times before, dear Councilman. Neferpitou could be a great ally to us in the long run. With their king dead, they no longer have anyone to serve, so they could really benefit us with their help." Y/N was trying really hard to be respectful to the six before her, but was finding it difficult not to run her mouth and snap at them.

Niles narrowed his eyes at her. "And what makes you think we'll listen to you? From what I'm seeing here, you seem to have some sort of bias towards the creature."

It took everything Y/N had not to roll her eyes and curse the man out, and a single warning look from her mother reminded her just what was at stake here.

Taking a deep breath, she held her form. "It is true, that during my time in the Mitene Union, that Neferpitou and I came into contact. I had grown ill and they had taken care of me. Over the course of a few weeks, I began to see them as a friend, despite their biology. I don't know what they think of me, however, but I can assure you, that they could have killed me at any moment and fed me to their King, but they didn't. I implore you to consider letting them live for the time being."

Pitou stared at Y/N with a look of surprise.

'Is she really this concerned for me? Does she really mean it? I guess what she said back in the clinic backs up her statements now.'

Livia stared at her daughter from the other side of Pitou. Never in her life had she seen her so calm and composed. However, she knew that Y/N was boiling on the inside. It'd only take a few more off handed comments for her to snap.

The six Councilman looked at eachother for a few seconds before nodding then writing down something. It took a few moments before they were all done, but then papers were all passed down to Councilwoman Imogen.

She shuffled the papers a bit before looking at all of them, then setting them down.

"The Council members have all cast their statements and votes. It's time to determine your sentence, Neferpitou."

Pitou gulped as they stared up at everyone. Councilwoman Imgoen was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"You may live. But you will be kept in the custody of Miss L/N and her mother."

Letting out a sigh of relief, they let a small smile grace their features when Y/N suddenly hugged them, saying how happy she was.

What appeared to be a guard walked behind Pitou and unlocked the chains on their wrists, letting them go free.

They brought their wrists to their front and popped them, as they had been stiff for quite some time.

They looked up when the Councilwoman spoke again.

"If you fall out of line, or if you ever betray the trust of the ones you see before you, you will be killed immediately. If you eat or kill a human, you will also be killed. Understand?" She said it with such intensity, that Pitou was sure the woman would be swallowed by it.

"Yes, ma'am" Pitou said with a nod. It felt strange to say something like that to someone other than the King. To be completely obedient to someone they didn't respect in the slightest.

Hands were placed on Pitou's shoulders from behind, guiding them to the door of the Court House/Meeting Hall.

Glancing behind themselves, they saw Y/N and her mom, both with neutral expressions on their faces.

Pitou then glanced down at what they wore. After being taken out of the clinic for the trial, they had been put back into their torn-to-shreds guard clothes. There was a hole in the middle of their blue overcoat on their chest, exposing the inner sides and bottom half, and the collar was ripped as well from when they had been beheaded. Their orange shorts and socks were also torn and ragged, and they had no shoes, so parts of their toes were left to be seen.

They shivered as the slightly chilly air made contact with the exposed parts of their skin.

Y/N gazed at them as she walked up to their side.

"I can get you some new clothes once we get to my home, ok?" She took off her jacket, handing it to Pitou.

"Wear this until then, and cover your chest. It's not really appropriate for it to be exposed like that, especially since the temperature is dropping." Pitou nodded, taking the jacket and putting it on, using the front the cover their chest.

Livia looked at Y/N from behind Pitou with a raised brow. She had never seen her act so kind.

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Y/N! Hey!"

Y/N, Livia, and Pitou turned their heads in the direction of the voice.

All three of them recognized the bright pink head of hair running towards them, waving.

Anita stopped Infront of Y/N, taking her hands in her own.

"I can't believe I caught up with you in time! I'm assuming it went well?" Her honey eyes shone with concern, her cheeks tinged pink as she leaned into Y/N's face.

Y/N dropped Anita's hands gently, and put her own into the front pockets of her jeans.

"It went well, as you can see." She gestured to Pitou beside her, who was trying really hard not to look awkward.

"The Council is putting Pitou in my mom and I's custody. If they fall out of line for any reason, they'll be killed on the spot, so I'm gonna try and keep that from happening."

Y/N had never told Anita what had occured in East Gorteau, nor had she ever planned to. All she had ever said was that she had gotten sick, found Pitou's body, and taken them back to the Community to be healed. But, it wasn't the full story.

Anita nodded, then turned to look at Pitou.

"I can see you're doing well. Do you have any other aches that I need to heal just in case?"

Pjtou shook their head, scratching at the area behind their right ear. "I'm fine for now. There's still minor bruising, but I'd like to let that heal on its own."

Livia came up and put a hand on Anita's shoulder. "You should get back home before it gets dark. You still have to come into the clinic tomorrow."

Anita smiled at the older woman before she wrapped her arms around Y/N, squeezing her tight.

Y/N gasped for air, patting Anita's back "ok, you can let go now. Can't breathe."

She quickly pulled away "sorry!"

Y/N took a deep breath before giving her friend a small smile "it's fine."

With a quick peck to her friends cheek, Anita took off with the brightness smile that could almost rival the sun.

Y/N sighed, looking at the ground.

Livia rose a brow at her daughter. "I didn't know you and Anita were dating."

The H/C haired girl rolled her eyes and began walking, Pitou following behind her.

"We're not. She's just touchy, and I'm pretty sure she's dropping subtle hints that she likes me."

Pitou tilted their head "I don't understand."

Y/N looked behind her, meeting Pitou's eye, before turning away.

"Liking someone in a romantic way, like how you said the King liked that girl Komugi. Anita likes me in a romantic way, however I don't share those feelings."

Pitou moved to walk right next to Y/N, standing a few inches taller than her.

"Why not?" They asked. "Anita seems like she'd be a fantastic mate."

You cringe internally at the word 'mate' but answer.

"I just don't. I've never really had romantic feelings for anyone."

Pitou had no idea why, but a small part of them died inside as they made of sound of understanding.

Pulling Y/N's jacket tighter around them, they smelled the faint scent of vanilla and lavender on the fabric, and it made them feel a bit tingly and warm inside.

'no, you're a monster. You're not allowed to feel those types of things.' the quick feeling of warmth was quickly replaced by an inner cold.

They didn't deserve to feel this good, they didn't deserve to be happy. They failed in the one thing they promised to do, so their life wasn't worth anything-

"Pitou, we're here." Y/N's voice interrupted to self-destructive thoughts that were entering their head.

Looking up, Pitou noticed Livia going to unlock the door of a house. They automatically assumed it was Y/N's.

Once the door was opened, and they all walked inside, the Chimera Ant was instantly hit with warm air.

The place was homey, not that Pitou knew what that felt like, and was of decent size. A staircase was Infront of them, leading upstairs, along with a large open area to their left. One side of the room had a assortment of red couches, along with a small table in the middle. There was also a strange flat black colored thing mounted on the wall. On the other side of the room was a big table Infront of a fire place, although it wasn't started. Pitou could faintly see counters behind the flight of stairs, and assumed that it was where to kitchen was.

Y/N tapped Pitou on the shoulder once, gesturing for them to follow her upstairs.

"I have some old clothes that may fit you, so come on up while my mom makes dinner."

Pitou nodded, following the girl up the stairs, skipping two as they went because of their long legs.

They followed Y/N to her room, allowing the girl to open the door and invite them in.

Y/N guided them to her closet, opening it up and digging through drawers and hangers.

She pulled out a white button up shirt, dark blue trousers that were similar in color to their overcoat, and a pair of black dress shoes.

"My cousin dropped these off for me about a year ago thinking they'd fit, but they're a bit too big and would probably suit someone more taller, so you can have them." She handed the clothes and shoes to Pitou.

Pitou set the clothes in their arms on Y/N's bed, then began to unbutton their overcoat in the middle of the room.

Y/N's eyes widened as her cheeks became hot "woah, woah, woah! What are you doing?!"

Pitou rose a brow at her "um, changing into the clothes you gave me?"

"In the middle of my room?"

They tilted their head to the side, confusion on their face "yes? Am I not supposed to do that?"

Y/N let out a sigh and dragged her hands down her face. "Pitou, it's so hard to believe that you were actually a member of the ants Royal Guard."

Pitou let out an offended noise "what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that even though you're smart, you're also incredibly stupid" she sighed again "I'm gonna leave the room to let you get changed."

Pitou watched as Y/N closed the door so they could change.

They then looked down at the clothes and began undressing.

From outside the bedroom, Y/N stood on the other side of the door leaned against the wall, her phone in hand. She was reading a news report about the chairman of the Hunters Association and how he had died, and that the Zodiacs were currently trying to find out how to elect a new chairman.

Personally, she didn't like to get involved in the Hunters Associations affairs, since she wasn't really a top hunter, especially since she couldn't use Nen, but that didn't stop her amusement at their struggle.

As she was distracted by the device in her hand, she heard a soft whine from inside her bedroom.

"Y/N, I need help." She heard Pitou say.

Letting out a sigh, Y/N pocketed her phone, before walking into her bedroom.

Her gaze turned dumbstruck as she looked upon Pitou, who was on the floor tangled up in the white button shirt.

Her eyebrow twitched "what the hell happened?"

Pitou grumbled, trying to free themselves from the article of clothing wrapped around their body in a way it wasn't supposed to be.

"I couldn't fit my hands through the sleeves, so then I tried other ways to put it on, and yeah." Their tail flicked from side to side in annoyance.

"Have you never dressed yourself?" Y/N asked.

Pitou shook their head "never had to and didn't see the importance of it."

Y/N pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before walking towards Pitou.

"Lemme help you." She said, beginning to take off the shirt from Pitou.

It took atleast twenty minutes to finally get Pitou properly dressed, and now both Y/N and them were heading down the stairs.

Y/N had also pulled up Pitou's white hair into a short ponytail, their bangs framing their face. They had never had their hair up, and it felt strange.

Walking into the kitchen/dining room, both of them spotted Livia placing three plates of food on the dining room table.

She turned to look at the two and smiled. "Hey! I was just about to call you both down! Sit, sit, c'mon!"

Y/N and Livia had taken a seat at the table while Pitou just stood back, not knowing what to do.

Y/N turned to look at them, an eyebrow raised in a questioning way. "Are you gonna sit down?" She asked.

Pitou's shoulders tensed a bit before they nodded stiffly and took a seat beside Y/N.

They looked down at the plate in front of them with a judgemental gaze "um, what is this, exactly?" They asked.

Livia lifted the spoon she had into her mouth before speaking. "Curry."

Y/N gave them a reassuring grin "it's not human meat, but it's good. Trust me."

Pitou looked her over skeptically before slowly lifting the spoon on the plate to their lips, taking a hesitant bite.

Suddenly, their eyes widened as the explosion of different flavors spread across their tongue, making them swallow the food then proceed to eat the rest of it off the plate in practically one breath.

Y/N laughed. "At least chew your food! You're gonna choke."

Pitou didn't listen to her as they continued inhaling the food on the plate until it was completely spotless.

They pouted when they realized it was gone, before Livia chuckled and gestured to the kitchen. "There's more, don't worry."

Needless to say: Pitou are six more plates of curry before they were finally full.

Longer chapter for you guys since this took forever to get out. And I know it's a bit late to say this since it ends tomorrow, but happy Pride Month!

Here's some fanart I made of Pitou's new outfit: