Their simple plan was growing more complicated by the second. Killua had reported the appearance of several copied buildings, all which were likely to be rigged somehow. Kurapika had sent over one of his comrades, Senritsu, the one who contacted him earlier, to accompany the boy. She apparently had very good ears that would help them.

She had already marked Gon with Stain just in case she lost sight of him during the mission, though there were high chances that the rain would wash it away. She folded up the sheet of paper and tucked it away in her front pocket for when she needed it before her attention was pulled away to Gon's ringing phone.

"The woman's here. She's with her buddies. There are six, moving together. That topknot guy's here too."

Gon made a face at the mention of the long-haired man with the mustache. How lucky of them.

"One more thing," Killua added, "There's one person that wasn't there yesterday. He's probably the leader."

"Can you give us a physical description?"

"He's wearing a black coat, with a St. Peter's cross on his back. He has combed-back black hair. I can't see his face," there was a sudden break off as Rukei tried to build a mental image, "And they're too alert! I'm too afraid to circle around to the front."

Kurapika held out his hand, asking for the phone while opening up a map, "Where are you right now?"

"In front of Motoba Building. They're walking west on Continental Street."

"There's a station nearby. Can you make it onto their train?"

"It depends on the circumstances. If it's busy, I can manage."

Rukei glanced outside uneasily, though she still tried to provide some comfort, "It's near rush hour. He should be fine."

Kurapika nodded and gave instructions for their driver to take them south. Leorio shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and hit the gas, "Okay!"

They were heading to Castor, the same direction of the auction site, as well as the hotel Kurapika and the other bodyguards were assigned too. The later unnerved her a little, and she hoped that his comrades would not be hurt. However her hopes were dashed as they got off Liber station and headed for the same hotel.

Kurapika called to inform one of his co-workers, Squala, of the impending danger. He hung up as Leorio spoke, looking over the cars ahead of them. "The station's over there. Shouldn't we get a little closer?"

"No," the other refused immediately, "If we get any closer, they might sense my animosity. Gon," he called, giving the boy a distance and idea for his plan, "The range I should stay at is the distance from here to the station entrance. I must attack from this distance if I do not want to be noticed. It will take approximately 0.5 seconds to land an attack. That's more than enough time fore them to evade it. Unless they're distracted..."

Visible through the crowds of dark umbrellas and people, easily set apart from the crowd, six Troupe members descended the steps of the station, paying no heed to those who passed by; those who had nothing to do with them.

"Spiders!"

They paused for a moment and stood about talking to one another. The leader, a man matching the description Killua gave, seemed to be giving out instructions to the others. And when he turned, they were off, running at an unbelievable speed.

"Can we get there faster by car?" Gon asked, to which Leorio shook his head and slammed his hand against the wheel.

"It's rush hour. They're probably faster on foot!"

There was a click and when everyone turned around, the blonde previously in his seat had disappeared. What the-

"Wait there until I contact you," he commanded over the pouring rain, already well on his way towards their targets.

Gon was no better as he hopped out of the car after the teen, "Wait, Kurapika!"

Rukei missed the back of his collar as she tried to grab him and hold him back. He was off as well, leaving Rukei and Leorio in the car. The two exchanged an irritated, what-do-we-do-now look before she followed their actions.

"Why can't they just follow orders?"

She navigated her way through the crowds, ducking and dodging past people, trying not to lose the sight of the boy in green. He ran across an intersection and Rukei followed, the only thing on her mind was getting both boys to calm down and not kill themselves.

The red pedestrian light was not on her mind.

The horn blared in her ear and as she turned, she found herself caught in the lights of a cargo truck. Dart forward or jump back? That moment of hesitation would be the end of her had not a blur black tackled her onto the sidewalk.

"You idiot!"

Annoyed blue-green eyes and dark hair. A tattered trench coat and cerise globe.

"Shichi-oneesan."

"Don't 'Shichi-oneesan' me, stupid!" the woman snapped, standing to her feet and roughly hauling up the girl after, "What were you thinking? You don't stop moving in front of a blasted cargo truck! And I didn't think you could get dumber," she muttered, brushing some of the street grime off her jacket.

It had been nearly a year since Rukei had seen Shichi, and a year's worth of that was beginning to break loose. When the older teen turned back to give the girl some more of her mind, her words faltered and a more panicked look took over the woman's face.

"H-hey, y-you don't have to cry," Shichi started slowly, as Rukei looked down at her shoes, with hands balled into fists, "I guess I was kinda mean, I take it back- please don't do that," the older sister requested nervously as she heard very muffled sniffling.

Rukei obeyed, wiping at her face with dirtied and filthy yellow sleeves. Shichi was not only feeling awkward, but incredibly guilty as the girl held back whatever feelings she had at the moment for the sake of her crass older sister, as if Rukei didn't hold back her feelings enough.

Shichi sighed, digging around in her pockets for a clean handkerchief and held it out to the other, "That's nasty. Here, take it, wipe your face, and let's get moving," Shichi instructed tiredly as Rukei looked up, "We should stop your idiot friends."

The sisters had barely managed to make it into the alleyway in time to see the white-haired boy step out to face the Troupe in their command.

"What do you want?" the woman with threads questioned, "The Mafia who put a reward on us are gone."

Rukei silently questioned the woman's word choice. 'The Mafia are gone'? They're talking about the reward, aren't they? She dismissed it as poor wording and continued to listen on.

"Wh-what? Really?" Killua feigned surprise at the information, "Why?"

Lightning flickered against the clouds, lighting the leader's face. Unreadable and cold. Rukei glanced at her sister, who seemed to be barely holding herself back from beating the man up. Had something happened in between them?

"Where's the brunette?" The woman interrogated. They didn't answer but she wouldn't let up, "The eidetic. Where is she?"

"She left Yorknew this morning," Killua lied through his teeth.

The woman exhaled and shrugged, taking his answer, "What do we do, boss?"

"Tie them up."

The woman did as her boss said, though she still had some doubts, as she wrapped the wires around her two friends, "Shouldn't we just kill them?"

Worry spiked with her heartbeat, and she reached for the weapon in her holster immediately. If they even- "No. I trust your instincts. If they're connected to the chain user somehow, we should keep them alive."

She was suddenly very grateful for the instincts of the woman with threads but dared not to breathe for relief in fear that her friends' sacrifice would be in vain.

"I have a question."

Everyone looked down towards Gon. Why they were listening, she didn't know. Perhaps, they themselves didn't know either. Lightning struck again, illuminating two different sets of eyes, somehow, both honest in an odd way.

"How can you kill people who have nothing to do with you?"

The light had stolen away those on the streets, and she could hardly see the leader's face anymore, "You look pretty hostile, considering you just surrendered," he leaned back and seemed to search the sky for an answer, "Why, indeed? Because they have nothing to do with us? No. On second thought, it isn't that simple. How to verbally express our motives...," he turned away, still pondering, "I'm not fond of it. But oddly enough... Or perhaps it's not that odd. Is that the key to understanding myself?"

'The key to understanding myself'? Rukei blinked away some of the rain that had gotten in her eyes as she tried to search for something in the leader's face. She couldn't find anything.

"Head to the hotel and wait for Phinks and the others. If they try to escape, you can kill them."

Rukei made a move to follow them, but Shichi quickly shoved the girl back behind her, "They're too alert. We know where they're heading so we don't need to shadow them anymore."

"But-"

"Rukei."

The brunette returned to her position; behind Shichi. "Understood."

So they watched silently as Senritsu and Kurapika stepped out into the open streets. "They've put their guard up," the woman noted, "We have to keep this distance, or they'll notice us. Make sure you're concealing your presence."

Kurapika cursed, hardly glancing at the woman as it took everything he had not to dash off from the spot he stood.

"You must be patient," Senritsu chided, turning to face the young man, who did not want to hear this kind of thing.

"I understand!" He snapped angrily, raising his voice against the woman.

She did the same, the quiet soothing voice that put her at ease now putting the boy to shame, "You don't understand! Your reckless pursuit exposed them to needless danger. Do you know why they let themselves be captured? If you're caught here, no one will be able to stop the Troupe!"

Kurapika let his hand drop to his side and his breathing came to a slower, calmer pace. The chains disappeared along with it's angry chilling rattle. "I'm sorry..."

Senritsu nodded in approval, giving him a little rest with a little wisdom, "Humans have to lower their guard at some point. It's an endurance test. We must wait."

"Wow, looks like your in a pinch."

Rukei didn't realize that Shichi wasn't standing in front of her anymore, but had already walked out after them, sending droplets from city puddles flying. The brunette quickly followed her, wondering why Shichi always had to be so... Insensitive.

"Shichi," Kurapika acknowledged her with a wary surprise, "Why are you here?"

"You've met?" Rukei blurted and suddenly remembered Kurapika telling her that she "very strongly reminded him of someone he had met in the past few days".

The woman gave the girl a look that said 'that's-my-fault-sorry', "Anyways, I wanted to give you some information about the Phantom Troupe, but it looks like you already got the memo. And then, I heard you were hanging out with the little lady and if something happened to her, Glass and Crimson would kill me. Which is why I'm here."

In reality, Shichi just said that so it wouldn't look like she was super overprotective over her kid sister.

"I'm willing to lend a hand," Shichi informed cooly, giving a glance back towards her guitar case, "And ready."

-

"Excuse me. Hello, our company got a call from Beitacle Hotel to check up on your electrical system."

Rukei kept her breathing to a minimum, conserving the air in the little cardboard box being lifted around on the dolly. She listened in on the conversation between the disguised Shichi and the receptionist.

Shichi's acting was pretty good, really. She had been mostly working as a spy in the Zakuya, so she had to learn at some point. "Wait, there wasn't a call? That's weird... I even got materials and everything."

She heard a couple knocks on the box so she assumed that Shichi had gestured to it or something. The receptionist asked for Shichi to take a look at their system anyways and offered to guide the teen back to the electrical room.

There was a pause and the sound of someone opening up the door and a loud 'thwack!' Right after that. That meant coast clear, and Rukei popped out of the box with Shichi's guitar strapped around the brunette's back, shifting to hand it over. "Did you kill him?"

Shichi took the case into her hands with a bewildered look across her face, "'Did I kill him'? What are you talking about? Of course not," the woman shot down the idea while sitting up the unconscious employee against the wall.

"But you said this mission would be like old times," Rukei justified herself as she crawled out of the box, feeling relieved that the man was alive nonetheless.

The teen rolled her eyes while retrieving a knife from her pocket and handing it to the girl, "You need to stop taking things so seriously."

The brunette gave an annoyed huff while opening up a couple panels and looking for the right wires. She did not take her eyes off as she shut one of the doors, "How much time do we have left?"

Shichi hummed, pulling back a sleeve to look at her watch. "About three minutes, there was a rustling sound of Shichi preparing herself to set out, "I'm supposed to meet up with Kurapika and the others at the airport. I should catch a cab or something. You can navigate through here in the dark, right?"

Rukei nodded, as she found what she needed, flipping open the blade and holding it close, "Of course. I marked the passages just in case though."

"Good work," the older noted and just as she swung open the door to leave, she was stopped.

"Can I talk to you later?"

There it was. Shichi smiled tiredly to herself at the words. Shichi was finally going to get that stupid verbal lashing she deserved for being such a jerk of an idiot. From yelling at her, basically breaking a promise, taking advantage of her mental state, hiding from her, and not being there when Rukei needed her most, Shichi was finally going to get the punishment she deserved. "Yeah. Sure thing."

The older girl gave Rukei what was supposed to be a carefree grin and took off the grayish blue electrician cap and pulled it over the brunette's eyes. The girl fixed the hat to were she could see and looked up in a mixture of confusion and annoyance at the action.

"Rukei. Don't be an idiot."

-

Rukei thought she would suffocate on the intense atmosphere.

"I didn't expect the chain user to be a woman."

The brunette knew once this guy started talking, things would roll down from there. Unfortunately, she was right.

"Did I say I was?" Kurapika replied, a very sharp edge to his tone as he pulled off the silver wig, "You shouldn't let appearances deceive you. Anyway, you should watch what you say. It may be the last thing out of your mouth."

"You won't kill me," the man replied immediately, "You left your precious friends behind."

"I'm not so composed that I will ignore your taunts!"

Leorio yelled out the boy's name in a reprimanding manner, giving wary glances towards the back of the car.

It's not like Rukei could blame him. He was sitting right next to the man who organized the murder of his entire clan, of his family and he couldn't end the man's life right now. And here this man was, mocking him for leaving his friends in the hands of spiders again.

"The girl's fortune didn't mention this," the man mused and Rukei was starting to have the incessant need to smash his face in, "Therefore, this event isn't significant enough to matter."

There was an icy scream of chains and Rukei tensed up. She hated it, she hated it so much but she couldn't let anything happen. But maybe if Kurapika killed him now, then her friend would no longer have to destroy his life on revenge. Maybe it would all just end.

But to protect Gon and Killua, she had to protect the leader of the spiders. But would that cost Kurapika? Would that-

"Kurapika, if you kill him, I'm going to beat the crap out of you!" Leorio threatened.

The man smiled wider, "Do you need further explanation? I consider this situation the same as an afternoon coffee break. A peaceful outing."

Grayish brown set fire to a deep scarlet. Kurapika struck him across the face in a vision of red, and Rukei straightened up and told him to act within the plan. It was painful to say that to someone who was waiting for this chance for so long, who had been burning in that anger for years. But Rukei had to stay true to her mission.

Right now, her emotions didn't matter. And neither did Kurapika's.

"Calm down, Kurapika! We're on equal footing," Leorio reminded him, frantically looking in between the rearview mirror and the window ahead, "Nothing has changed."

"Equal footing?" The man repeated in disbelief, "You are sorely mistaken. First of all, you've made the wrong assumption. I have no value for the hostage."

"If you insist on babbling-"

"He isn't lying," Senritsu put in hurriedly, "Everything he says is true."

The man did not even look Kurapika in the Scarlet Eyes. "There you go. This is reality. You people are the ones on the ropes."

Kurapika looked forward, deciding to listen to his comrade for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Senritsu explained, her voice quick with worry, "His heartbeat is normal. He isn't shaken by any of this. He isn't worried or frightened of death. I can hear that he's accepted death. I can hear that he walks with death everyday. How is he capable of producing such a sound?" Senritsu's voice turned distressed as she pulled her cap over her ears in an attempt to block it out, "No more! I don't want to hear anymore of this! I don't want to listen to you or him!"

This, this at least got Kurapika to calm down a little at the sight of the woman suffering due to the both if them.

"He truly believes that he has no value as a hostage. But the fact remains that he is the leader," Senritsu added, to restore hope, even if it was just a little.

"What... What are you people?"

The leader smiled. "The spider."

Rukei wanted nothing more than air at the moment.

"Five years ago, were you the leader when the Troupe slaughtered the Kurta of the Scarlet Eyes?" Fire returned, Scarlet returned, Hatred returned. "Answer me!"

A different kind of hatred was reflected back. "Are those the chains you used to kill Uvo? What were Uvo's last words?"

"I don't remember."

"You're lying," the man chuckled, looking forward, "Am I right, miss?" His smile turned into one of resentment and the edges of his eyes grew dark, "I can relate. I feel the same way. I have nothing to say to you."

Leorio said what he could to stop Kurapika from ending the man's life right then and there. There were harsh seconds, but the Nen blade was retracted and Kurapika turned away to face the window.

"They will listen."

She felt eyes on her as she spoke. The weight was heavy but Rukei would bear it. If it would provide just a little relief and rest in Kurapika's mind, as well as Leorio and Senritsu.

"'Live for us. Die for us.' That's how organizations work. That's what members are ordered to do. Members are ordered to live and die for the idea. Not the individual. Us is different than I," Rukei informed monotonously, her voice clear from emotion, "But the members never reach that ideal. It's impossible. If they did, they wouldn't have to be hurt."

We wouldn't have to be hurt. If Shichi and Rukei had gotten there, if they had even touched that idea, then they wouldn't be as damaged as they were now. But she was going to take that damage, and do something with it.

"Rest assured. His comrades will act accordingly. I learned something," Rukei paused as each memory passed over her mind. From the rebellion, the Hunter Exam, Heaven's Arena, till this point, "Not everyone follows orders."

-

Kurapika's call had gone without a hitch, aside from one of the spiders trying to provoke Kurapika by claiming he had broken a few bones, but it had very pathetically backfired on him. They were on the airship, and the conditions were being given out to both Pakunoda and the boss, Rukei's job was to escort Pakunoda to the base and come back with Killua and Gon.

Rukei offered to take the position, though it was more like she asked for it. She felt useless hanging around in the ship unable to do anything for her friends but Kurapika still concluded that sending her over would put her in unnecessary danger and they would lose leverage.

But when Rukei brought up that she needed to have a chance to speak with Hisoka about the Zakuya and the Alliance, Kurapika relented. Without that information, Rukei and Shichi were likely to be put in later danger.

She was to report if something was wrong as Stain had indeed been washed away. Pakunoda was restricted from saying a word about their escort and Rukei was smart and skilled enough to stay out of the rest of the Troupe's sight. She found herself believing the most difficult part of this whole exchange was convincing Shichi that Rukei was able to handle it.

And so, she was sent back with Pakunoda, the first Troupe member that she had met.

-

"Does he really expect us to accept those conditions?"

She knew it was going to be like this. Rukei hid behind the stone, cocking the weapon in her hand and glancing back warily. They could kill her, easily, but her hand was ready on the call button of her phone to report so she would die on her mission.

"Tell us where he is, Pakunoda," Phinks demanded, "We'll kill the brats, then deal with the chain user."

"You're insisting?" Machi questioned, her voice raising a bit to a challenging level.

"I insist," he replied back immediately, "If you don't tell us, I won't let you leave."

Pakunoda did not comply to either of these commands, with a voice just as even and strong, "I refuse to tell you where he is, and I am taking the kids alone. Don't interfere."

"Interfere?" He repeated angrily, "Who's the one interfering with our plans?!"

Machi was not taking any more from the man, "Go, Pakunoda. We'll stop them."

Feitan finally spoke up, feeling that he was being mocked by the woman's words, "Stop us? Are you trying to insult us?"

There was an immediate spike of aura in the room from several different people and Rukei knew she didn't stand a chance. "You're serious? I don't get it. Have you lost your minds?"

"I bet they were defeated by the chain user before we arrived," Feitan began to theorize, "They're probably under his control. This is a waste of time. I'll make them talk."

"Is it really so hard to understand?"

Oh no. Was Gon really doing this again?

Gon was unintimidated by Phink's condescending glare as the boy went on, "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?" Rukei was just about ready to smack the boy on his recklessness but she stopped as she saw his eyes.

After seeing so much hatred, rage, coldness, fear, panic, and sadness in the span of those few hours she had been put through, she found herself taking a moment to breathe. For some reason, when she saw Gon's eyes, she felt like she had received air. It didn't change the situation, but it changed something.

"They want to rescue your boss! Is it so hard to understand the desire to save a friend?!"

Phinks and Feitan were not going to listen to this brat talk smack about them again as the man snarled, "Shut up, kid! Are you that desperate to be spared?"

This got a reaction of equal hostility from Gon, as he snapped the chains and stood. Rukei withheld a sigh; he had blown their cover completely though Rukei tried to cover up her suddenly emotional and very touched state with annoyed, business-like, professional disappointment. Not like anyone was even watching in the first place.

"I'm not doing this for my sake," Gon growled, "Take that back!"

Killua who had been watching with a bored look the entire time, broke away the bondages that held him just as easily, "Good grief."

Phinks was getting pretty irritated that some twelve year old kid was trying to pick a fight with him, "Yeah, no. If you got a problem, come here. The second you take a step, I'll rip your head off."

It was amazing how Gon could make someone else look like a complete idiot by acting like a complete idiot. "Then I won't budge an inch!" the boy yelled while sticking out his tongue, "Kurapika isn't like you. No matter how much he hates someone, he wouldn't lose control and kill them without mercy! If he makes a promise, he will definitely keep his word! After meeting him in person, Pakunoda knows this. If you follow his conditions, he'll return your boss!"

"You've been yapping for a while, brat...," Phinks snarled, "Don't think you can say whatever you want!"

"That's enough."

Everyone turned at one of them who had not spoken up until this point. The large man, Franklin.

"Let Pakunoda go."

Phinks dropped the subject with the kids and turned back to the Troupe, "You're siding with them?"

"Shal," Franklin called for an evaluation from the boy, "Right now, what would be our worst case scenario?"

He hummed, giving it a moment of thought, "The boss is already dead, Pakunoda and the others are being controlled, we can't find the chain user, and the two kids escape."

"Then you got it wrong," the large man corrected harshly, "The worst case scenario would be we all die and the spider perishes. By comparison, your scenario would be quite pleasant. Am I wrong?"

No one dared to correct him. He was obviously right. "I don't care about your reasons. You're being to reliant on the boss. If the Troupe falls apart as a result, that's the greatest betrayal you could make towards the boss. If we keep bickering, that could well happen. Cool off. Let them have their way... Pakunoda can take the kids. If the boss doesn't return, we kill the members being controlled and rebuild the spider. It's extremely simple."

"I'm fine with that," Machi agreed, "If that's what it takes to satisfy you. Well, I'm not being controlled and it won't be easy to kill me."

They had come to a conclusion, and thankfully Rukei didn't have to make any calls. A series of beeps echoed through the room and Phinks picked it up, "Hello-"

Apparently, Kurapika had cut the man off and given a command, and Phinks took out his anger on Shalnark's phone as Phinks threw it at Gon with an irritated yell of "It's your mom, brat!"

"Don't break it!" the owner warned.

Gon informed Kurapika that everyone was present before flinging it back at Phinks.

"Hey!"

Phinks clicked his tongue in annoyance before finally speaking to Kurapika with the decision. "We're following your orders."

-

She sat as far away as possible from the clown.

Everyone was casting distasteful glances towards the jester who forced his way on board with the threat of killing Gon, Killua, and herself and was currently shuffling through his cards.

And though she would have preferred just to keep doing so silently, she had to speak in order to come closer to the information she needed. "You knew about Elaine."

A pause and amused smile. "I did."

"How?"

Hisoka grinned, looking up from the deck of cards towards her, "Solriss."

Solriss.

"Rukei!"

She wasn't aware till then that she was standing with the gun out of her holster or that one of her friends was holding her back. The jester's laugh filled her mind that she was already having a hard time sorting through. Golden eyes burned through hers and she refused to break way her gaze even if that put her through more turmoil.

However blue intercepted that and placed a hand over her own holding up the weapon, "Calm down, Rukei," he stated with such a familiar boredom and nonchalant normalcy to it that she could take a moment to breathe. Rukei lowered her aim, coming to her senses.

Gon released his hold on her when she realized she wasn't going to do anything dangerous. Rukei wouldn't know, but they were startled by her sudden jolt to her feet and everyone watched with confusion and worry as an uncommon glare mixed with shock crossed her face.

She didn't understand Solriss or Hisoka. Things in the Zakuya stayed within the Zakuya; Solriss was part of the syndicate too. He knew how things operated and the how things were to be done. Then why, why, did this man know so much that he shouldn't? Why was the idea so frightening? She wasn't even this scared when she was faced against the illusion with Elaine.

"You look surprised," Hisoka mused and his tone lifted up into a taunting manner.

"Hisoka."

Pakunoda who had sat there in silence watching finally spoke, arms and legs crossed and with a disapproving look on her face. The jester returned all of this with his ever present smile. "Yes?"

"Shut up."

-

Across from the barren slab of rock stood Kurapika, Leorio, Senritsu, Shichi, and the leader of the spiders. Killua was instructed to put the phone next to his heart, and it was concluded that no one was being controlled.

"Okay. Let's begin the exchange!"

And so, Gon, Killua, and Rukei passed the boss as they made their way back to their friends. They were met with high-fives, a tired smile, and rough pats on the head. They were together again.

Chrollo and Pakunoda did not share a glance.

-

"I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

Gon shook his head, just glad that everyone was together and no one was hurt, "No, it's okay. You used your chains on the boss, right?"

"Yes, but... This isn't the end."

Rukei was aware of how tired Kurapika looked. Tired probably wasn't the right word for it, and she didn't think exhausted would cut it either. Kurapika looked like he needed to rest as soon as he could and as much as he could.

There was a wry laugh from the woman propping herself up against the wall. Rukei could barely catch the quiet reminiscing words. "'It's not over', huh? Not always a bad thing."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask for a while," Killua brought up suddenly while pointing to the said woman in the back, "But who the heck are you?"

Shichi huffed at the crass question, not that she herself was any better, as the woman folded her arms, "Shichi Tsujou. XX Alliance Hunter."

Gon stared before bursting out into a smile of amazement, "Wow! You're Shichi-oneesan?!" He stopped suddenly when he realized what he called the near stranger, "Sorry, Rukei calls you that so much... She talks about you a lot!"

A very light blush was evident on the brunette's face as she called out the boy's name with a very passive aggressive sharpness to it that told him to shut up before he said something embarrassing.

Killua caught on to this though and had a most annoying, smug smirk upon his face, "Yeah, Rukei talks about you all the time! It's always 'Shichi-oneesan' this, and 'Shichi-oneesan' that."

"No, I don't!" Rukei denied furiously, while stealing glances in between the boys and Shichi, not sure which one she should watch more.

"Really?" Shichi questioned raising an eyebrow and leaning in to ask, "What does she say?"

"She goes, 'Shichi-oneesan is the strongest- ow!"

Rukei didn't glare, but the elbow to his side said enough, along with her now red iron face. Killua, however, was not afraid to scowl and ask 'what was that for?!'. Rukei replied with a monotonous 'it should be obvious', granted her voice was in a slightly higher pitch than it normally was.

The older sister laughed, hands shoved into pockets, "Aw, come on. What's wrong with it? You've been through more embarrassing situations. Like when you flipped the nice delivery man because you thought he was breaking in. Pinned him down and everything."

Gon was trying to be nice enough to hold back his laugh, but his puffed cheeks of holding it in obviously didn't do much. Killua first started with snickers before doubling over in cackles. Rukei told the three to cut it out in the most intimidating manner possible. As intimidating as a squeak could be.

The atmosphere was broken when Kurapika suddenly collapsed.

Kurapika had fallen ill to the point where either Leorio and Senritsu were by the blonde's side 24/7. Rukei found it hard to watch, but she felt needed there and that it would be wrong just to leave her friend suffering.

"Rukei," Shichi called. She wanted to give Rukei a break from her stupid mentality and thinking, though she knew that the brunette would never listen to her if her older sister told her that. Kurapika would be fine, Shichi was sure. When they both were finally by themselves in the hallway, Shichi spoke up. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Shichi was prepared for whatever whooping she was going to take. Rukei could unconsciously say some really nasty things every once and a while, and Shichi felt like this would be once and a while.

But for some reason, Rukei's expression lit up. It was refreshing, since she always seemed so depressed and dull since Kurapika had gotten sick, but Shichi was really confused as to why she seemed so happy and excited...

"Ah, I wanted to tell you about everything that happened last year," Rukei announced with a small smile and brilliant coral eyes, "I learned a lot, Shichi-oneesan."

Oh.

That's right.

No matter how many times Shichi messed up, let her down, hurt her, Rukei would still be there, coral eyes shining. Shichi made her angry, made her sad, made her suffer, but Rukei would never see that with the stupidly expressive eyes. No matter what Shichi did or didn't do, Rukei would always call her the same stupid thing, Rukei would see the same stupid thing.

Shichi-oneesan.

"You're such an idiot," Shichi muttered and Rukei gave an annoyed look at the random words, "Well. Go on. What happened?"

And so Shichi listened as Rukei retold her adventures, feelings, and friends.

But that didn't mean Shichi was getting off asparagus-free for revealing Rukei's embarrassing moments.

。。。

Woah. 900 reads guys... I mean, I know I made a lot of chapters, but still, this is super awesome! Thank you everyone for reading! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

The next chapter focuses a little more on Rukei's Nen and I can't wait to write that. Greed Island is also coming soon and we get to meet the old granny and all of Ging's friends and this will be great! (That moment when you have a new opening after sticking to an arc for the longest time (granted they use the same song but I love it))

Again, thank you for supporting and reading!