Wings and Webs: The Journey Begins

Chrollo -Watching- 18

    Naru sits panting heavily in the middle of the ring. Her concealment threatening to break as she glares at directly at me. So much determination and stamina then I expected from her.
    "Your aura is becoming sporadic, don't let emotions cloud your movements. Frustration is pointless. Focus solely on your objective." I speak evenly, not even showing signs of fatigue.
    "Well if you would sit still.." She grumbles out with annoyance, "I been darting around the ground trying to get in close for a touch and you keep dodging me! Not even your clothes are ruffled." She throws her hands up in defeat finally.
    "That seems to be enough for now. It has been hours. You have made good progress at keeping your composure thus far though." I turn and motion towards the exit.
     I can feel her aura shift for a pounce, just as quick though I am ontop of her. I pin Naru firmly against the ground and I  feel a sudden wave of heat building from her. I glance and her cheeks are turning red.
   Unable to help myself, I chuckle softly at the many ways in which she is surprisingly weak. I need to encourage her dependency, so i lean in and kiss her deeply.
   "Nice try Naru, but you are very predictable." I help Naru to her feet with a faint smile.
   "Lunch time?" She rights herself and stands in front of me. Her composure firm and steady once more, "I do have to say, this has been fun to an extent. How do you move so quickly?"
    "Experience mainly." There really is no other way to answer her question.
    "Thats true, nothing beats experience from combat." She nods understandingly.
     "Why are you constantly using manipulation anyway? I notice you are well trained to even maintain it as you sleep.-" She cuts me off before I can even finish.
    "When have you seen me slee-" I cut her off just as quick, wanting to finish my own inquiry first.
     "Yet you can't access most of your nen capabilities nor even see it." I question eagerly tryin to learn more.
    "Well.. ignore my question for now I guess.. Concealment was taught to me before even learning how to walk. It is the only real thing my elder brother ever taught me. I can manipulate my hands and parts of my body already too. However trying to maintain it during fights shows I am not as skilled as I thought. Now when have you-"
     "When do you ever release the manipulation?" She looks at me and laughs hard.
    "When I am alone. Such a foolish question. Now then when did you watch me sleep?" Naru's eyes are burning with frustration.
   "I have my ways Naru. Please continue dear." I smile warmly, waiting for her to answer.
    "Well there have a been a few times where Hisoka has pushed me and I lost control. He has seen more then I wish honestly." She rolls her eyes as she speaks of him.
   "I want to see you as well. May I?" I can not help but continue to smile invitingly as I reach for her hand.
    "If I don't keep myself in control tomorrow night, everyone will see me anyway." Naru shrug's her arms, pulling away from me.
    "It be best if we didn't let everyone see you. I find it rather disturbing that even Hisoka has seen you before I." I surprise myself with that statement. I blurted it out without thinking, "Why is it, that I feel such oddness around you? Do you know?"
    "Hisoka is my pet no need for such emotions Chrollo, I even call him my Jester. I nearly killed him twice already, successfully last time. That's probably why he left, to go sort his thoughts." She sighs deeply and keeps walking forward, "As to your own feelings, I can barely understand my own let alone yours especially with how little I know you.."
    We head towards the church, slowly I start to feel others present in there. She looks towards me with trepidation as we get closer. She can sense them already too.
     "Some spiders have returned to the den I take it?" Her question felt more like an accretion.
    "Just a few it appears, don't fret. They won't bite." I chuckle softly as I take her up in my arms bridal style.
    A new excitement washes over me as I rush forward at an insane speed I didn't even show Naru in the ring. I was holding back at the stadium and she knows it now. As I felt her ripple of frustration wash over her.
     We arrive in front of the beautifully broken church, and my grip tightens on Naru as I walk into the main hall. My face holds clear excitement but my demeanor instanly changes from before.
    I see 3 lurking shadows with eyes staring into Naru. Her demeanor truly reflecting her predatory nature. Her body tenses and her breathing forcefully steadies. I don't even need to read her mind to know Naru feels as though landing in den of predators.
   She whispers so lowly I can barely her her words, "Truly they are spiders, all their auras radiating respect and.... slight confusion."  
    Clealry they want to know who I am holding so strangely, only one of my spiders seem to hold no questions about Naru. He doesn't even glance at her as I go to stand in front of them.
    "Feitan, welcome back," I greet the first shadow.
    "Boss" he bows slightly stepping into a ray of light.
   Feitan is of small stature but is also lean and muscular. He has black, mid-length hair, grey eyes, and a pale complexion. He wears dark and baggy long-sleeved clothes, and a bandana with a skull crest over his mouth.
    I continue my way forward, still with Naru in my arms. She stays motionless, studying these new people around her.
   "Kalluto. Good to see you again." I bow slightly to this little figure.
     Kalluto has a feminine appearance but I can tell it's just his facade. He has short jet black hair, with a glint of sliver traces. He wears a black Kimono, red flowers adorning the edges, and wooden sandals.
    "You as well Boss." He nods and remains sitting.
     A pink hair girl wearing a traditional Japanese-style clothing, approaches us next. I know she will have words about my company.
    "Boss," she takes in my appearance then turns to look down at Naru.
     She looks like a ninja. Her outfit consists of a pair of light tan shorts under a pale purple, almost pink uwagi. To finish the outfit off she has an obi sash worn around her waist and an obijime is tied over it.
    "Ah Machi. A pleasure as always." I smile warmly at her.
    "What is this that you are holding?" She glares at me with pure adrenaline.
    "Oh excuse my rudeness," I set Naru down. "This is Lady Naru. A business partner of mine." I look down to watch as Naru's aura shifts to her own facade. 
     "Pleasure to meet the spiders of this den." She nods slightly to the group as a whole.
     "She is a stranger and you bring her here?" Machi steps toward Naru clearly unhappy, with killing intent strong.
     "She is not a stranger Machi. Watch your tongue immediately." Kalluto speaks up and steps towards her before I have a chance to intervene.
     "Oh do you know her then Kalluto?" A hidden voice chirps harshly, pulling Kalluto's attention.
    "My family is associated with hers, Nobunaga. She is Lady Yukinaru Zarin." Kalluto turns and bows towards Naru.
    "Oh, you are a little Zoldyck I take it? I didn't see you at the manor." Naru replies warmly putting on her charms. "It is nice to met you." She then bows slightly as well.
    "Enough with the formalities, let's eat and celebrate our reunion. I have planned a hiest to commerate this auspicious occasion." I walk into them with a new warmth I didn't think I could have.
     I notice Naru watching my interactions with the Troupe with slight discomfort. The look of unease growing ever present in her longing eyes.
   "I will be taking my leave now Chrollo." She whispers lowly as she turns to slip out.
   I watch her leave and turn back to my comrades, "We have much to discuss but for now stay close. I will send word when I return and will catch you all up to speed then."
   "Boss, are you gonna follow her? One of us could-" I cut Nobunaga off.
   "No. None of you will interfere with Yukinaru. Leave her be, it is the utmost importance that only I interact with her. I will explain in more detail later but for now gather all the intel you can on the current underground leaders." I turn leaving them there swiftly.
    She isn't that far yet, I can still sense her presence as she seems to be wondering aimlessly about at the moment. I remain hidden and follow her through the city.
   I watch as a dirty man tries to appoarch Naru but she kills him before he can even finish lifting his hand towards her. Other then that encounter she continues to the edge of the city..
    "Where am I?" Naru looks around as fir coming out of the fog.
     I can't help a small chuckle as she talks to herself. I watch as she glances more intently around her surroundings for the first real time since leaving the church.  Her lack of concern shows me how complacent she feels in these lands. Compared to the Dark Continent, this must feel like a walk amongst mere flowers and insects.
    Naru tilts her head upwards, the breeze flowing freely through her long silken hair. I watch as different emotions play across her closed eyes.  
     Naru seemingly diets with the wind, following it further into the darkening woods. I am but a few feet away yet she still remains oblivious to my presence. No wonder Illumi can tail her so easily.
    "Do I really just constantly live hiding from even myself?" She speaks to herself once more and jumps up on a branch of a large oak tree and settle in shade of its leaves. "Hisoka said the same thing now that I think about it. I always hide, even when I am alone." I watch in astonishment as her trueself surfaces.
    I watch her fangs slowly appear and her slender finger traces along them. The tips sharp, instantly drawing blood from her finger tip. I can smell her blood, sweet and wiyh a hint of poison. I watch as Naru then licks her own blood, the wound instantly sealing over
    I continue to observe her actions, curious about her inner nature. Naru has a set of black horns utop her head, like a crown. They look out of place, they they aren't hers naturally. Taking a note that those might be have been created for her.
     What I see next is unparalleled beauty, pure snow white wings unfurl from her back. The likes of which I have never seen even on a bird. They are large, easily at least my height and even wider then that. I smile from behind my hidden veil, grateful at seeing what she really looks like.
    "I am just like the rest of the family but my wings are all wrong." Naru sighs with clear hatred, "I wish I had the black wings like that of them."
   I must fix Naru's veiw of herself. It only dims her shine as the treasure she is. Naru fianlly climbs down the tree and goes even deeper into the woods. It slowly darkens as the forest grows larger and thicker around us. Soon we are at a little stream and follow it up the mountain. Before I realize is her concealment is fully gone. Her aura and bloodlust following freely with the flutter of her wings.
   They drift behind us, sending small feathers floating in the breeze with each step forward. Her fangs rest perfectly down the sides her lips. I watch as leafs get caught in her horns and hair, it has become a tangled mess now.
     "Pesky things," She reaches up and pulls leaves from her hair.
   Soon I see an an open field along the stream. It has a great number of large trees encircling it. Such a beautiful sight with a sky clear above it, I watch her attention shift to the center of the field.
    Following her gaze I see a deer in the distance and not long after the rumbles from her empty stomach. "Hmm I did skip lunch in coming here.." Naru shrugs indifferently and starts to track the deer.
    She moves far better exposed then when she is concealed. I can see why she easily frustrates when having to fight while hiding. It takes away all of her natural advantages. Naru lunges at the deer and has her hands latch to its throat in mere moments, before the creature even knew what happened.
    Her body pinning it down firmly as it struggles. I watch her moments closely but it is her words that continue to surprise me.
    "Rest now. Know that your body will nourish mine." Naru sinks her fangs deep into it, ending its life instantly.
    I can't help but continue to study her as she eats and drinks her fill. Blood drips down her body as I watch her slowly drink it in. Truly an inhuman from the Dark Continent. I didn't think such exquisite creatures existed there.
    All the books I've read said no human could survive there, yet here is a woman who is remarkably human even with that unique form.
    She finishes her meal wasting nothing, just well cleaned bones and the pelt are left. She makes her way over to the stream and I follow from shadows. Naru is pure beauty in my eyes, so much so I can't help but watch as she flows water down her hair.
    It trails over her spiral horns and drips down the feathers of her wings. The slight sunlight reflecting off her wings gives her an anglic glow. Naru seems to be feeling so free in this moment, like a wild animal returning to its natural habitat.
     She starts to build a little shelter now, definitely seems to be a place she is claiming as hers now. I watch her skillfully weave vines and branches together, making the walls of her shelter. Next thing she goes to do is gather large lilly leaves from the stream and thatch them for a roof.
     Naru then takes the skin from the deer and cleans it before fixing it up as a door. Stepping back I take in the shelter she constructed and it isn't bad if I must say so.
    Finally her aura shifts and I can see her nen seeding out, clearing trying to find something.
   "Bingo, a bear! Their fur is so soft and usually smells of berries." Naur giggles loudly with excitement and bolts forward.
   I continue to follow closely behind her, interested in what she is hunting now. It doesn't take long before I see a fluffy fox bear and she kills it swiftly. She slips infront of it instantly and slits the throat cleanly.
  Before much time has passed we back at the shelter she had made and goes to work turning the bear pelt into the fluffiest bed I have ever laid eyes on. Naru pulls a strand of her hair and uses it to sew the pelt as she stuffs it with feathers from her own wings.
      Such surprising survival skills and adoption have I ever witnessed. Realizing she truly has no intention of returning to the city, I make my presence known finally.
    I slowly dip down with the setting sun and stand among the trees facing her stunned face as she walks out of her nest.