Curse of the Spider [HxH!Trouble Trio x Reader]

1 🕷 Starting From the Bottom

"Stolen last night from the Zaban City Annual Gala was the Ring of Emperors, said to be passed down the royal family for ages—"

Turning off the T.V. in disinterest, you rolled over on your dingy hotel bed, holding your hand up above only to admire the gaudy ring on your finger. It certainly wasn't your style — the band was a blinding gold, and the gems, while dazzling by themselves, all seemed to clash horrifically together in a cacophony of blues, reds, greens, and silvers.

The 'Ring of Emperors', they had called it? You had seen children's jewelry in the dollar store more appealing than this junk. However... It certainly didn't change the obscenely high price tag on it.

Grinning to yourself, you rolled back over onto your stomach, pulling your phone out of your pocket with little effort and unlocking it. Having left off on the news tab, your grin became wry at the first article that popped out at you.

Shadow Thief Strikes Again — Ring of Emperors Stolen At 47th Annual Zaban City Gala.

Seriously? Did they have to call you Shadow Thief? They couldn't even try to make it a tad bit more interesting?

Exiting out of the tab, you opened up one of the black market tabs you had, looking at the forums about the ring. As expected, people were freaking out about it. Good.

You were going to get a hefty price for this.

Hands in your pockets as you strolled down the lively city, you couldn't help but be disgruntled, muttering under your breath. "That stupid, godforsaken ring is worth way more than this guy is offering. If his information is useless, I am literally going to kill him."

You had found a mysterious buyer, one who had offered you a billion jenny and some "valuable" information. Sure, it was a lot, but worth the price of such a coveted and one of a kind ring? You think not. However, you didn't want to stick in Zaban City for long, and were desperate to get this ring off your hands. Wanted posters of you already littered the city, not like anybody would recognize you. Hell, law enforcement still believed you were a guy. You weren't about to try and prove them different, and your thieving outfit made sure to obscure all features. Did they really expect you to waltz around dressed like that during the day?

Seeing a seedy bar, creatively named Zaban Pub, you let yourself in. He said he would be sitting at the end of the bar with a martini, and sure enough your eyes landed on a blond sipping a martini casually at the end of the bar top. For such a shady place, he certainly stood out in a horrendous, brown striped suit. It wasn't even pinstripes, just thick stripes of alternating light and dark browns. Talk about conspicuous.

Strolling up in a leisure manner, you sat next to him. You had told him over messages that you would order a soda so he knew it was you, and you did exactly that, ordering your favorite soda. He didn't glance over at all, but you saw his lips curve upwards in amusement.

"You certainly weren't what I was expecting."

His voice was smooth as honey, but poisonous — he didn't seem like the type of person you could trust at all. A snake. Staring down at your soda, you scoffed.

"Neither were you. Are you trying to stand out?"

He said nothing, instead finishing his martini. "Do you have it?"

You weren't stupid. You knew full well what he was talking about, and stirred the soda with your straw listlessly. "Money first, then the goods, then information."

He pulled out his phone — he had your information already, and sure enough you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. You didn't need to take your phone out to double-check as he showed you the confirmation screen of the bank transfer. Nodding once, you pulled a small box out that nestled the ring safely, sliding it over to him. He peeked inside, humming in acknowledgement before pocketing it.