The Razor's Edge [[Feitan x Reader]]

11: The Founding of The Spider

  (This chapter occurs parallel to the last one, from y/n's POV)

   It felt strange waking up in my bedroom at the phantom troupe's base. Part of me had hoped that everything I'd experienced had been a dream, but I knew that it was all too real.

   The rest of the troupe was already downstairs when I joined them—except for Shizuku, who was undoubtedly nursing a hangover, and Machi, who was probably trying to force her out of bed. Shizuku had told me that she and Machi were going into the city today to do some shopping, but she wouldn't tell me what for. I had a suspicion that they were trying to surprise me with something. The thought made me a little uneasy.

   Once I'd entered the main room, I found a nice rock in the corner to sit on. I pulled out my daggers and started cleaning the blades. One was still caked in my dried blood from the day before. I could hear footsteps approaching before I felt Nobunaga towering over me.

   "Can I see one of those?" he asked, holding out his hand.

   "What do you want with it?"

   "Just to look. It wasn't a coincidence that I became an expert swordsman, you know. I've always liked to appreciate fine craftsmanship."

   I nodded and gripped the blade, holding the handle out to him. "Fine."

   "These are nice," he said, taking the dagger and twisting it between his fingers. "They could do with a good sharpening though."

   "Are you offering?" I joked.

   To my surprise, he shrugged and said, "sure," taking out a sharpening stone and sitting on a rock beside me. He got to work on my blade.

   "Oh, uh, thank you."

   "Don't mention it."

   Was this just part of being in the troupe? Did the members just do each other favors  like this without much prompting or without really expecting anything in return? This felt so contradictory of their ruthless reputation, but then again, so had most of my interactions with them.

   "Nobunaga, can I ask you something?"

   His gaze briefly flickered to me before settling back on his hands. "Sure, what is it, kid?"

   "I was wondering what made you want to join the troupe?"

   His movements stuttered for a moment as though my question had dug too deep and uncovered a memory that he'd wanted to keep buried. I hadn't meant to upset him.

   And then, to my surprise, he laughed. "I wasn't the one who wanted to. It was Uvo's idea. He just forced me into it, the stubborn bastard."

   "Uvo?" I asked. "He was the one who went after the chain user, right?"

   He nodded. "Like I said, he's always been stubborn. Anyway, Chrollo—er, the boss—had heard about my skill with the sword and approached me with the idea of forming a group of bandits. You see, we came from Meteor City, where we didn't have much. The point of forming the group was to take control of fate and steal the lives we wanted—the lives we weren't supposed to be able to live. I wasn't going to be a part of it, but Uvo didn't give me much of a choice. So, since I was the first to join, I became number one."

   "And Uvo was number two?"

   He laughed again. "No, he was actually one of the last members that the boss asked to join—I think he did it like that so his ego wouldn't get too big. Enhancers, right?"

   I frowned at his jab.

   Nobunaga continued, pretending not to notice my annoyance. "Uvo ended up being number eleven. That's your number now."

   I hummed. "So, what, everyone but Kortopi joined before him?"

   "Well, the members we have today aren't all of the founding members. Only Feitan, Phinks, Machi, Pakunoda, Franklin, and myself remain."

   "Wow, that's not many. Did some of the other members decide to leave after awhile?"

   "No," he shook his head, "no one leaves the troupe. We're spiders until the day we die, and then our number is passed on to whoever was able to defeat us."

   My blood felt cold in my veins. What a grotesque right-of-passage into the troupe. How could anyone be expected to work alongside someone who had killed one of their friends? After seeing how close some of the troupe members were, such an act seemed unforgivable.

   "Except in cases like yours," he corrected, "where there's a slot available after, well. . . you get it."

   I nodded, not sure what to say to comfort him.

   "So," he changed the subject, sensing my awkward tension, "have you thought about where you're going to put your spider tattoo?"

   I had completely forgotten about it. "Oh, no, I haven't—but now that you mention it, where do I even go to get one? I mean, I'd imagine that you guys aren't advertising your phantom troupe status to just anyone, right? Is there some kind of underground tattoo artist who specializes in this sort of thing?"

   "Uh, not quite." Nobunaga seemed entertained by my theory. "We actually have Feitan do them for us, so you'll have to talk to him about it."

  God fucking dammit. Of course he's the one who does it.

   "Hey, kid, can I ask you a question now?"

   "It only seems fair," I said.

   "I was just wondering why you even have these daggers? I mean, Machi had said that you'd used the beads from your bracelets as weapons, so why bother with these? Are they just a last resort if you run out?"

   "Well, honestly, I'd be more likely to use them on myself than an enemy."

   "What's that supposed to mean?"

   "To activate your nen ability. Is that right?" A familiar, irritating voice asked behind me.

   I turned to Feitan. "How did you know?"

   "It was a guess," he said. "What other conditions do you have to meet to use it?"

   "Well, in order for Poe to lock onto a target, our auras have to come into contact in some way, either through touch or through an object that's been enhanced with aura."

   "Wait, so where do the daggers come in?" Nobunaga asked.

   "To summon Poe, I need to paint an inverted cross onto my chest in my own blood. I use a dagger for the blood sacrifice. I'll just barely slice my palm enough for it to bleed and then I let the cross burn into my chest while she takes over."

   "Is that where the scars on your abdomen came from?" Feitan asked. "Blood sacrifices?"

   "No, uh, those are different."

   "Well, this all sounds pretty cool!" Nobunaga said, saving me from having to elaborate. "I'd love to see your ability. Could you bring her out now?"

   "Sorry, I should have mentioned the other condition: I have to be in danger or actively fighting or whatever. I can't just bring her out whenever I want for my entertainment, she'd get pissed."

   "Well, I have an idea, then," Nobunaga smirked.

   I didn't like the look on his face.

   He stood up and called out to a few of the others in the room. "Hey, Phinks and Hisoka, let's go outside. Y/n has something to show us."