(Book 2) Neferpitou and the human Royal Guard

Chapter 23 Sorry this took a while again :(

"Wait a minute, why are we running away?!" Gon shouts as he and I are being carried off by Jovesworth.

The professor doesn't answer.

Nor do I, the simple act of breathing being agonizing at this point.

Rather than try to squirm out, like I expected he would, Gon soon goes quiet as we enter a part of the ruined city that appears to be devoid of any enemies, now tucked away in a ruined building. Gotta give the kid props, he's brash, but he has good survival instincts... sometimes.

Once the coast is clear, Jovesworth sets Gon and I down. As soon as he does, still in his monstrous form, he immediately berates me in a deep and distorted voice "Confound it, boy! Have you lost all sense of reason?! What in heaven's name possessed you to venture here alone?! Oh what am I saying, you didn't come alone, you made sure to bring Hina, a non-combatant! And where is she by the by?! For the love of sanity and reason, please tell me your foolishness didn't get her killed. Have you the slightest inkling as to how much you ruffled my feathers with this foolish little stunt?! It is nothing short of miraculous that you are still alive!"

After the scolding, I allow silence to wash over the three of us, noticing Gon frozen in place, looking ashamed as if he were the one who was being scolded by Jovesworth. After the moment passes, I respond simply, through labored breaths "Good to... see you to... professor. And... Hina's fine." every word singeing my lungs as I speak.

The professor continues to glare at me menacingly for a while, though eventually he lets out a long exhale. "My goodness, Alejandro... what in the world were you thinking?" he asks as his body began turning back to it's usual owl form. He then continues "I am getting far too old for this nonsense, my heart cannot take another scare like that. This isn't like you, my boy..."

I don't respond, I won't pretend that this whole thing was a good idea. It wasn't. I'm an idiot who didn't think any of this through.

"I..." he sighs "I suppose I can't exactly blame you for your anger, given everything that has recently transpired, but I know I taught you better than this."

Wanting to move on from this conversation, I abruptly shift the subject. "How's... Pitou-Chan doing?"

The professor pauses momentarily, looking away for a moment, then he turns back to face me. "You can ask her yourself when we find her."

"W-what?" I ask, perplexed by his statement.

"You heard me, my boy. You didn't actually think I would come back here alone, did you? For all I know, she's already on her way here." he responds. "What with all the ruckus you've made in your little scuffle, I'd wager she isn't too far behind."

It takes me a while to process this. I lay there, contemplating the implications of this information, and inevitably ask "What of... King Meruem?"

"He has yet to make a decision, but I wouldn't get my hopes up, Allie." I hear voice say out of my line of sight. And that voice can only belong to one person...

"Pitou-Chan?" I mutter weakly.

"In the flesh." she says, entering my field of vision. Blue blood covers her face, and her expression appears blank, leaving me guessing on what she is thinking right now.

The blank expression makes me ponder Is she upset? Relieved? Both? Either way, I really hope she doesn't hit me right now.

Before I can contemplate further, Pitou uses her hatsu. "Doctor Blythe." She says, bringing forth that creepy nen doll.

I wince in pain when the first needle is injected into my body, pain coursing throughout. I wince again when moments later when the doll produces a scalpel that cuts into my arm, causing me to let out a quiet grunt. Quiet as it might have been, however, Pitou seemed to be able to hear it well enough.