Itsy Bitsy Spider

13. Just A Theory

Shocked didn't even begin to cover how Leorio felt.

"Really? That happened." Leorio hung his head, but looked up at the two boys. To think they'd undergone so much while he and Zepile had been happily drinking their common sense away. He had been doing stupid things while his friends were captured by the Phantom Troupe. The Phantom Troupe, the A-class bounty Spiders, who had killed all of Kurapika's tribe and had gotten away with much more horrifying things. Gon and Killua, as strong as they were, were only twelve. They must have been scared for their lives, yet here they were, unscathed and looking perfectly fine. Gon was smiling, even. "It's amazing you two escaped alive."

Zepile furrowed his neatly groomed eyebrows and frowned, concerned. "The Phantom Troupe is that dangerous?"

"You have no idea," Rein laughed. She cleared her throat awkwardly when the others stared at her at the lightness of a tone she was taking. She tried to darken it.

"They are ruthless criminals with almost a one hundred percent success rate in everything they do. They're crazy powerful, and won't hesitate for anything. So many people have died, so many valuable things have been stolen by them. All their Hatsu abilities are amazing, and their physical ability just in itself is incredible. Only very few can beat one of them in combat, and even if an entire army goes up against just one, they will all be dead in a matter of minutes, seconds, even. Just taking a single individual's count of how many they've killed must be in the thousands or so. They can kill without even having to take a step and-" Rein's words died in her throat as she looked around her.

Zepile's mouth was hanging open, shocked at the sheer amount of very dark information coming from a little girl who was still just a young child. Gon was nodding, but his lips were pulled taut, the concern that had been etched in Zepile's face now moving onto his. Killua sucked in a breath and nodded along with his friend. Leorio's hand froze in the middle of pushing his glasses further up his nose.

Rein had said a bit too much.

"At- at least that's what I've heard." A lame attempt to smooth out her words, and the faces of everyone around her showed it. She definitely had said too much. Had she just wanted to brag?

Zepile's voice shook. "You two were captured by people... monsters like that?"

"Yeah."

Rein almost snorted at how monotonous Killua's answer was.

Gon continued off of Killua's single word. "Nobunaga—the guy who wanted us to join the Troupe—" he clarified, "Kept us in a room and blocked the exit, but we got an idea from the technique you showed us. I smashed through one wall and Killua smashed through the other, then we met back at the bottom of the building. Rein just kind of," Gon waved an arm. "Appeared at some point."

"Say." Leorio tilted his head toward Rein. "Not to call you out, but why are you here?"

Rein felt her stomach do a somersault. "What? Me? Well yes, of course."

"Come to think of it, you never said why you were with Killua," Gon said thoughtfully. "Why were you even at the Spider's base?"

"You were at the Spider's..." Leorio trailed off, and his eyes widened, alarmed. "You're not one of them, right? Are you a Spider?"

Rein blew a raspberry and immediately winced at how she'd reacted. She made a mental note to blow raspberries more often so they wouldn't think her reaction just now was out of the ordinary.