49. Bound for Aiai

Ey guys I'm back from my writing only period! While I was writing this book went to like 30k thank you so much seriously-

I've changed a few things about this book:

-The first chapter: This changed the most, so if you want to reread anything, I suggest ch.1 . I made it so Feitan kills Pairo instead of some stupid toddler (for feels). I also completely rewrote how Rein met the Troupe. (Phinks was the one that found her blah blah ooc Blah angst foreshadowing yada yada yada.)

-I got rid of Bacon (the cat) after the Hunter Exam. though he was nice comic relief and a great headcanon for Feitan, I just didn't think he should have stayed. But if you liked the cat, fear not! I plan to place him in a different book soon (feitan needs a cat okay).

-So the entire reason I even put Miraculous in here was because I was unoriginal but now I'm just making them mysterious jewels so all mentions towards it will be cut

-I tried making the Hunter Exam less long, boring and cringey but you don't have to read through that again.

Now a quick review of the plot: They're in Greed Island, and have been dealing with someone who has been attacking them through warping Nen arrows. Shal claims that he knows where he is and they're going to go there now. Aside from the attacker, there is also a texter who's been informing Kurapika about their movements (known to only the audience).

Thanks for sticking around guys! I hope you look forward to:
-people becoming parents
-Lucky backstory
-Kurapika reunion and villain origin hah
-angst (duh)
-a soft fluffy ending

Once again, just thank you all for reading and liking this book. And special thanks to those who supported me through my writing period! Enjoy the daily updates!

(if none of this stuff makes sense to you, you most likely read this book after i put this up.)



"Let me make it crystal clear. I didn't see the attacker. But," Shalnark emphasized with an optimistic look, "I did see the background of where he was as the portal was closing. There was a fountain with a statue of a cupid. Can anyone guess where that is?" When no one answered, he gave his own little drumroll and exclaimed: "Aiai!"

No one responded.

He dropped his jazz hands. "Aiai? You know, that city not that far from here?"

Kalluto inclined his head. "I know the place."

"See? He gets it!" Shal looked for any sign of recognition on their faces, only to receive none. He sighed heavily, and set his hands upon his hips firmly. "Listen up. Aiai is the closest city from our base, about three hours on foot leisurely. You can't trade cards there, but it is a big city. There's a ton of people there, and the attacker has got to be in the crowd."

"And we're all going there to search?" Rein asked.

"You bet. It's a large place, so it'll take a while, but that just means more witnesses to find. There's bound to be information if we ask around, and we'll corner him in no time. So pa-"

"What about the Nen remover?" Machi interrupted. "You saw through the attacker's portal because you happened to be watching him getting attacked, right. Is he safe?"

"As I was saying," Shalnark said, waving off all concerns, "pack if you must in our expedition to the one and only city of love. We're going to cut the three hour time in half and make it an hour long trek," he announced, shooing them all out of the tent with orders to make it quick.

As he was being herded out, Zushi paused to count on his fingers, puzzled when something didn't add up. "Didn't he say three hours to walk?" he asked Lucky, double-checking on his fingers. "In half is... well, I'm pretty sure half of three isn't one-"

"You know, Freckles," sighed Lucky, patting his shoulder and pushing him outside, "normally I'm not one to let a math mistake slide, but we don't question the Devil."

As soon as the others had stepped out of the tent to get ready, Feitan grabbed Shalnark by the collar and snarled. This was starting to become procedure.

Shalnark smiled radiantly. "A problem, Fei?"

"I said I would handle attacker. Me alone. No need for the rest of you to go. I kill."

Shal laughed brightly, and it took every ounce of self-restraint in Feitan's body to not break his wrist right then and there. "It's going to be an excellent learning experience!" Shal said, eyes sparkling and blond hair nearly floating. Fei wanted to rip it off his skull. "They can work on tracking people and training in a different environment for once. This place is diverse, but they've been stuck here since you guys arrived. I think a change of pace would be nice."

"No. I am trainer. Me." Feitan stuck his hands deep in his pockets, eyes darkened. "I decide what they do and where they go. Not you. If they don't have Hatsu, they don't go against Nen user. Done."

"Feitan," Machi said, voice low as she broke between them. "You need to push them sometimes. If they don't get exposed to someone stronger, they can't develop. If anything goes wrong, we can just kill the attacker first."

The Spider seemed to be in deep thought, unconsciously chewing on the ends of his raven hair. "Kids go. Lucky stays behind."

Machi gave him a firm look. This wasn't to say she didn't understand where he was coming from. Lucky was injured. It made sense to leave him behind, but that in itself was a danger. It would be better if they moved collectively in a group, so if anything happened, she could arrive on time to fix anything. While he was clumsy and far from responsible, there was something about him that made Machi think he wouldn't be so easy to kill. Her gut feeling. "He needs to get out."

"Still has arrow wound," he said sharply, and caught himself. The breaths he took were silent as he tried to calm down. "Won't be able to keep up."

Shal's mouth was twitching gleefully as he considered teasing him about how utterly mother-like he was acting, but he refrained. If he pushed Feitan's buttons anymore than he already had, blood would be shed. "A group's better. You should trust them with the risk."

"The chances for a negative outcome are very low." Machi's electric blue eyes turned on him. "Unless you don't have any confidence against the attacker."

He scowled, unable to press further for his case. Where was Phinks to back him up when he needed him? "Fine," he bit, turning on his heel. "Do what you want."

Feitan did not storm out. Storming out meant that he left with damp rage in the air, with electric shots of spite and thundering complaints. But he'd never been one to make a fuss like that. The way he left was quick, like a swift gale of wind that had come and gone; but it bothered them nonetheless. Feitan was not pleased.

Here there was a nen-user with ill intent, and Machi and Shalnark thought sending inexperienced infants straight to him was a good idea. Idiotic, idiotic and stupid and quite a few more powerful words.

Feitan wasn't very good at expressing his rapid thoughts. In his mother tongue, sure, but not in the Hunter language. Even if he expressed everything, it would be a rushing string of sharp consonants and prolonged vowels, falling deaf on their ears. In short, nothing he could say, though he was obviously in the right, would get them to change the opinions they held against him.

"You." Fei addressed Lucky  as he walked past. "Restrain aura in crisis."

"Uh... okay?" Lucky peered questioningly at Feitan, not getting any response from him as he slinked by.

As for Emo Loser in question, he kept his head low, digging around in his memory for any clues or leads as to what could possibly occur during their trip to Aiai. He'd always had a survival instinct running through his veins, subconsciously driving him to safety. It was how he'd stayed alive until now. But that subconscious only kicked up at certain times, so even though he knew something was wrong, no matter how he pounded his head for guidance, nothing came forward. Something was going to happen soon, he could tell. And whatever that something was, he didn't like it.

* * *

With everything—hard terrain, Lucky limping along with support from Machi and Zushi hopping around them in concern, Rein starting to collect rocks again and swooping down whenever she saw a nice pebble, to Fei furiously trying to think amidst the action—it was by a miracle they managed to get to the city within an hour.

They'd all been split up immediately. The programming of the city certainly made it hard to stay in a large group. Shalnark ended up with Rein and Kalluto. A strange party, but they were sure to get some work done.

If only... If only Shalnark weren't so pretty.

Aiai was a city of love and anime cliches. On every block they hit up to search for leads on the attacker, it seemed some sort of person would be trying to sell him roses, tail him around singing a love song, or bump into him on 'accident' and blush. People who he'd never met before called him 'senpai'. It was insane. Rein and Kalluto had had to drag him out of compromising situations multiple times.

Rein seemed very troubled by this, confusion scribbled all over her face. Her hair was mussed from fighting away anyone who wasn't of any help and assisting Shal's efforts to escape, dangling loose over her eyes as she tried to gasp for breath after the last episode.

Kalluto seemed unfazed.

"Alright, I think we're safe," Shal whispered after the three had come running from a particularly tricky situation.

He turned the corner and he was not safe.

He'd bumped into another girl, sending the stack of papers she'd been holding in her arms flying all over the pavement. "Oh no, I'm terribly sorry," she mumbled, frantically trying to pick up her schoolwork.

Shalnark sighed heavily and bent down to help her out. This person, with a drawn back demeanor and shyness hanging around her, was probably their safest bet. "Hey, you seem like a smart girl," he commented, handing her back a pile of papers with a warm smile on his face. "Do you think you could help me out?"

"O-oh, I..." She looked up to meet his gaze. "I... of course."

His breath hitched. Her large eyes were rimmed with thick glasses, their dark frames emphasizing her innocent look even more. She held the books tight against her chest with unrealistically large breasts for her slim figure, and the skirt of her uniform was ridiculously short for something the school board had issued. "I... uh...." He cleared his throat. "Have you seen any archers around here lately? Arrow-wielders?"

"Oh, yes, plenty!"

His eyes lit up, sage sparkling. "Really?"

She nodded, pointing at a Cupid statue. The girl didn't seem to notice how disappointed Shal was, and instead lowered her gaze bashfully. "Was that helpful?"

His breath caught in his chest again. The glasses sliding down her face revealed the rest of her stunning beauty, and briefly made Shalnark think that she was the most wonderful girl he'd ever seen. The girl left with a blush and a quick mention of 'senpai' or another and Shal gazed at her receding back, a small blush mirrored on his face as well. "Bye," he whispered, waving after her with a dazed expression on his face and a hand softly over his heart.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kalluto said bitterly, and swatted down Shalnark's lingering arm. "Don't tell me you're falling into the trap of this city."

Rein shook her head at Shalnark. "And after all the trouble we went through for you."

"Er, uh, right." Shal slapped both sides of his face and snapped out of it, leaving the muddled daze behind and cursing whatever spell the city had cast upon him. Leaning against the statue carved of lime the girl had pointed at, he tilted his head up to a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. "Come to a place with thousands of people and we still have no leads," he sighed. "I expected this to be easy. What kind of cursed place is this?"

Giving yet another heavy exhale, he slipped off his shoes and rubbed the soles of his feet, reddening. He'd been running about ever since his knee had healed, trying to track down the exorcist and attacker. Except for the times when someone tagged along—even if they did come, it wasn't like they'd helped—he had been alone, with his aching feet and no one to complain to. "Why didn't we just use a card to get here?" Shal moaned, back of his head against the base of the statue.

Both Kalluto and Rein had also leaned back to take a break, tired from stressful running and exhausting situations. At the Spider's words, she picked up her head, puzzled.

"A card?" Rein repeated after a pause. "With a 'd'?"

Gradually, the light entered back into Shalnark's eyes. "That's right, you guys haven't used cards since you got here!" He held out his hand, the expression on his face smug and the corners of his mouth twitching, as if he could barely hold back his excitement. "Book."

Rein jumped back, startled when a book appeared in front of her in a puff of smoke. "Stars..." She looked back at Shalnark, who seemed very pleased with himself. "This was a part of the tutorial when we first entered the game?" It came out more a question. She adjusted her stance and held out her hand, a tentative look on her face that contradicted her next strong word. "Book."

Nothing happened.

Shalnark descended into a fit of laughter as Rein glared and Kalluto watched the whole thing unravel. "It's," he wheezed, "not your fault." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small item and tossed it to her. "Fei told me to confiscate your rings so you wouldn't use them during training."

"Why not?" She caught the ring neatly and slipped it onto her finger. It was a bit loose, but with a burst of Nen it shrunk down to fit snugly, the embedded stone gleaming as it did so. She held out her hand once more. "Book." This time it worked, and the manual appeared before her in a cartoon-like puff. She poked the mysterious floating object once before poking at it again, and finally flipped through its pages; thick paper, with a shimmer that almost deceived her eyes into thinking it was laminated.

"What do you think of it? Fascinating, isn't it?"

She flicked to the next page. "It's empty."

"Yes, because I've been confiscating your rings." Shal suddenly threw up his hands. "Fei's fault, not mine, don't blame me."

Blowing a light raspberry, Rein took off the ring, not knowing how else to make the book go away. She handed it back to Shal, dropping it into his hold. "So how exactly does the whole thing work?"

His eyes lit up with a crushing glint. "I," he said, "am glad you asked." He summoned his own book with such enthusiasm that Rein almost regretted asking. He pulled out a few cards and explained before pulling out a few special ones. "And these are magic cards. There are some for protection, or for hiding your storage from other people, and some can teleport you entirely!"

She snatched a few from his hold and observed them from an angle. "Why didn't we use these?"

Shalnark shrugged. "We used up our stock a while ago, and a lot of traveling cards have been getting stocked up by other players. Besides, it's not like we'll be needing it. We know the attacker is here, and we'll be settling this matter by today. We can handle him with just ourselves. We already know he's a weak Nen-user."

He flashed a smile and slipped his shoes back on to get them going, and asked the one question he probably shouldn't have.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

Feitan knew nothing about how the others were faring at the moment, but for now, he had the utmost confidence that his situation was the absolute worst.

"To your left! Eight o'clock!"

He swung away from the direction, just in time to avoid the woman who'd launched herself at him. He swerved away and landed a hasty chop to the back of her neck, her body falling to the ground with a loud thud. What a pity that he didn't have the time to enjoy it. "Behind!" he barked back at Phinks, who was at the foot of the steps trying to ward off any others who tried to come Feitan's way.

These people coming at him were not skilled, but they were missing a few screws for sure, and that alone was enough to grant them inordinate power. Force came in truckloads if you exchanged it for your own sense of self and well-being. And these women running madly towards Feitan? Phinks chuckled dryly, and knocked as many unconscious as he possibly could with a light hammer blow that only managed to make a dent in the crowd. These people didn't care about themselves in the least.

Feitan caught the arm of one and threw her down the stairs, which Phinks caught and used to swipe away a few of the others. But they kept coming. Lethal force was definitely an option, and at this point, they definitely would have considered using it. But upon entering the city, the saccharine-sweetness of its sickly aura had tangled up in their hearts, suffocating them and blocking their aura nodes. In short, the pair of Spiders were weakened at the moment, and as long as no one was coming after them with terrible intent, they would not use more energy than they had to. There was a Nen user hidden somewhere here trying to kill off their little group, after all. Fei and Phinks couldn't waste all their energy on these deranged extras.

They finished with the surging crowd only a few minutes later, but to both of them, it had been the longest and most tiring few minutes since they'd arrived at Greed Island.

They sat down side by side on the rooftop, finally having space to breathe.

"What is up with these people?" Phinks asked. "We've been chased by at least half the city's population of women. Game-programmed people or not, this is sick."

Feitan stayed silent. Phinks had tried to fight them back, but some had slipped by and set themselves on attacking Feitan. He'd tried to kill a few, but some force stopped him. He hadn't been able to physically hurt any of them.

He rubbed his aching neck from where girls had clung to him. Ever since he'd entered the city, it seemed as if he couldn't catch a break, people practically throwing themselves at their pair, and he and Phinks trying their best to fight or run away. Not to mention the Nen surrounding this city was messing with their own aura. This was not a good day.

His sharp eyes flew right to something behind the corner. He reached and grabbed the hiding female, twisting her into a hold. He slammed her into the concrete, pulling her arm up and keeping her grounded, not even allowing her time to yelp.

"Nen user with arrows," Feitan growled as he tugged back on her arm, threatening to snap it. He set his weight on her back so as not to let her escape. "Spit it out or you going to get it."

The girl looked up, and he was shocked by the delirium swimming in her eyes. Her face was flushed a deep red and her eyes were bloodshot as her canines flashed a creepy gleam worthy of Hisoka's, looking at Feitan with half-closed eyelids. "You can do what ever you want to m-"

In a panic, Feitan threw her off the roof, trying to fling her as far away from him as possible.

A small boom sounded at the base of the building as Phinks went and leaned over the railing to check. The woman had brushed herself off and proceeded to walk elsewhere. Surviving a retaliation from Fei at this height? Phinks shrugged. "Murder just isn't romantic, I guess."

After his breathing had calmed, Fei seemed thoroughly confused at the word.

"What, you haven't noticed? All these women have been running after you." He rolled around his shoulders, trying to get the tension out of them from all the fighting earlier. "Aiai, huh? Lust-lust is what they should've called this place."

Lust? With him, Feitan Portor? His eyebrows twisted at the thought before a snicker escaped his lips. "No one coming for you, eh."

Phinks suddenly straightened, defensive. "Hey, I'm plenty handsome."

"Not by city standards you not."

He harrumphed, crossing his arms. "At least I have height like an actual man," he spit, jutting out his jaw and staring down his friend.

"At least I have fan base," Feitan shot back. He grabbed another woman who'd been sneaking up from behind and sent her sailing off the building as well. "Look." He pointed at the flying person. "They love me."

Phinks gave a scornful laugh. "And what a miserable life you're living because of it," he teased. It seemed as if most of the women population of the city had already been taken care of by them, but there were still a few stragglers that made their way up. They weren't too hard to put out of commission, but it was tiring work. He scowled. "Seriously, why'd I have to get stuck with you?"

"Machi say she stay with Lucky so he doesn't die." Feitan started to count off the others, but suddenly realized he knew nothing else. They'd been split up in the city so quickly that he hadn't had time to see where the others went, or who they were with. He dipped his head. "Shal said be in groups. So suck it up."

"For protection against the arrow-user or these fangirls?" he asked, knocking another one unconscious who'd been trying to come up to them. "I'm feeling more threatened by these ladies than some person who relies on a hit-and-run process."

Feitan looked at the sky, at the sun's positioning. "An hour to meet-up. Need info soon."

Phinks rubbed at his wrist. So many people to torture and question for information, but none of them were useful. He sure hoped the others were having more luck than they were. With Fei and the city to work with, he suspected they weren't going to get anything done.

* * *

Kurapika
Have you managed to get a slot into the game yet?

Unentered number
I only have a few things to wrap up, and I'll be on my way shortly.

Kurapika
Good.

After a momental pause of wondering whether to send his next thoughts, he did.

Kurapika
I thank you for your work, truly.

Kurapika placed his phone down and sighed an empty breath, gazing into the darkness of his room.

He knew the dead would never hear him. The ones he wanted to talk to had been gone for years, and no matter how he screamed or pleaded, he never got a response. He'd learned the futility of it quickly. Still, sometimes, when he was alone, he would try. He would turn off the light, close his eyes, and with only his thoughts to ring in his ears, he would imagine he could reach them. Pairo, he yearned to say to his best friend, Pairo, leave everything to me. She'll be okay.

This hollowness inside of him, it didn't seem to heal. It wouldn't heal, and it hurt. The eyes he'd retrieved for his clan, he knew, would only give him a temporary satisfaction. He would be surrounded by his family, yes, but he would be surrounded by their remains. And that, while better than having the Scarlet Eyes admired by an entitled rich person, didn't bring him lasting comfort. But he had a purpose now, a motive to strive for. To save someone he had failed to save before.

Kurapika reached up and brushed his hair back, feeling the single stone earring dangling from his ear. It was red, her favorite color.

Aira's going to be okay, so you don't have to worry for her, Pairo.




haha wow the beginning of this was not good but hopefully i made up for it with the end.

ALSO just realized that the outfit Kurapika wears when he fights the spiders is the spitting image of the one Pairo had and I am NOT OKAY

I know I implied something about "she was really pretty without her glasses", but lemme just say this is NOT MY VIEW. In my personal opinion, I think people are beautiful glasses or not and all my friends with glasses look great in them. You are beautiful and handsome with glasses and let no one tell you otherwise.

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