Do. Your. Worst! »Feitan Portor«

Method 37 - Bittersweet

Pakunoda wasn't wrong when she said Meteor City didn't have a very pleasant outside appearance. Getting closer didn't help it much either.

There were piles upon piles of debris and who-knows-what-else stretching for miles. The land itself had an overlying atmosphere of sorrow floating around, no doubt due to the people here. From what I had heard, Meteor City was essentially a dumping ground for all things unwanted and considering there was supposedly an entire town of people within it, the sorrowful feeling was not at all surprising.

It was almost unreal that I was seeing the place that my once-mother has resided before being taken in by Zeno to marry Father. The more I thought about it, the more I realised she never spoke very much about her past before moving to Kukuroo Mountain. I suppose now I may figure out why.

My mind quickly found itself thinking about the troupe. Meteor City was their home after all. One that they constantly complained about sure, but even I could see that if push came to shove, it was a home they would protect if necessary.

I looked around keenly at the surrounding area. It was interesting, to say the least. I almost wondered just how many lost treasures were left to collect dust amongst the great mounds of rubbish.

For a moment, I even considered scavenging. I'm sure no one would miss the things I'd take.

Pushing the impulse aside, I chose to venture further through. While I wasn't totally sure about the location itself, I had told Paku in advance that I would be on my way. Not only was it the polite thing to do, but it also gave me the slightest bit of hope that if I lost my way, she'd know roughly where I was -- this city was a nightmare to navigate.

As it turns out, however, and despite the lack of direction or signs, I managed to stumble a small town of sorts. Or, as much of a town as they could create while surrounded by waste.

Taking my time to scope out the area (as well as the people within it), I very quickly realised that my presence was not met with the warmth described by Canary all that time ago, as an ex-resident herself, she always had fond words about Meteor City. She'd go on to describe the welcoming people -- how those abandoned would quickly be adopted into the world of those who resided.

I suppose they could tell when something was abandoned in contract to something or someone there by choice.

I doubted they got many visitors after all. Must be quite the shock.

Nonetheless, I continued. Shooting a curt nod to those who got a little too close (presumably to pick-pocket me), disappointment clear when many passing children noted I had nothing of value on my person.

Eventually I found myself at a grave sight, or, more accurately, a monument sight.

The area was small. They needed to prioritise leaving space for the living rather than the dead. I could respect that. Still, they cared for those lost and rather than burying bodies and cramming them below ground, they, instead, honoured the dead using monuments -- some notably more elaborate than others.

In front of one particularly large slab of stone, there was a woman, one with a head of blonde hair that I could recognise near instantly.

Silently, I made my way over, careful to avoid the many stones and sticks poking out of the ground.

I stood there behind her for a length of time, observing the kneeling woman with her head tilted down towards the soil. She appeared lost in her own mind.

I wasn't dumb, I knew who this monument was for, I knew what it meant to her. To them.

The silence continued for a long time, the only sign of life being the wind that coaxed the hairs of our heads to one side, and raised and played with plastic bags (as well as varying dead shrubbery) in the air. Pakunoda soon broke that silence.

"Y/n... do you ever feel like something hasn't happen as it was meant to?" she asked, a blissfully calm expression on her face as she leant her head back towards the sky, eyes closed.

"Of course. It's part of the job description." unfortunately I've had to experience many things not go as planned. It was why as an assassin it was so important to have a back-up plan, hell, even a back-up plan for your back-up plan.

My skin began to itch at the thought of the battle against Silva and Zeno. That certainly was not part of the plan. 

Or, at least, not a part of my plan... My mind found itself wandering to Chrollo. The sly bastard.

A frown slowly etched its way onto Pakunoda's features. "No.. I mean," she paused, attempting to find her words. "do you ever feel like the world is trying to tell you something's gone wrong? And only you can feel it?"

I felt inclined to shake my head, no notable experience like that coming to mind.

She huffed, amused. "I see."

I moved to sit besides her. "Do you feel that way, Paku?" I couldn't help but ask.

The smile returned. "No, of course not. Just a thought."

I didn't press further. Even if I knew she wasn't being sincere.

The silence from before returned, but it wasn't even a minute before Pakunoda spoke again. "He's grateful, you know."

"Uvogin?"

She nodded. "You wear his number. It's like a piece of him managed to live on and get revenge on the Kurta survivor." I didn't say anything after or during her explanation. It was an odd thought. I had shared air with the man a number of times and yet never spoke to him. In fairness I was either passed out or being tortured, so I wasn't exactly to blame.

I wonder if Feitan's ears twitch when he's held accountable for something.

"I do wonder, though.." I looked to her, she mirrored me with the addition of a raised brow. "that night when we kidnapped you during your job, while unconscious you managed to pre-emptively block your ears when Uvogin used a vocal attack. I was just curious how your instincts knew."

"It's simple really.." I began, casting a look to the ground, then the sky. "as a female assassin I was given certain missions my brother's didn't have the right 'equipment' for, so to speak. That also meant I received specific types of training." I explained, and while I was sure Pakunoda could work out the rest, I continued on. "That particular scenario was simply due to my inability to fully relax my muscles while I'm unconscious, that way my brain was still able to respond and act to defend itself." I almost laughed. "Lucky me, only now you tell me I could have lost my hearing?"

"Must have slipped my mind." she laughed quietly to herself, I soon found myself doing the same.

Eventually, Pakunoda stood up with a sigh, dusting of her skirt. "Well, I need a drink. You coming?"

Pakunoda held out her hand, waiting for me to take it. After a moment I did, using her to pull myself up. "Sure thing." I neglected to consider what happened that last time I drank. 

I wasn't here to think about Feitan, I was here to support a friend.

~'⁂'~

A/n: not totally vibing with this chapter... might come back and change it in the future.. for now, it's more of a filler as mentioned in the last a/n. ah well...

unedited