Itsy Bitsy Spider

26. What You Wish For

Stars, she couldn't see anything. Stars, this was bad.

The all-too-familiar snap of chains rang beside her, and her hands quickly dove into her pocket. Rein fired some of her smoother stones without thinking, and she felt them hit a target.

But as her eyes started to grow adjusted to the darkness, her breathing tightened. She could hardly see though the dimness, but she could see enough. Enough to know that... No. Her target, the one she had to make bleed and bend over, her enemy... was the Chain User. Not... not him.

Leorio was in front of her, trying to smile at her through the pain. "I thought I told you to take it easy," he managed before crumpling to the ground.

No.

That one word was the only thing echoing in her head for a few seconds when Shizuku broke it.

"Wait, where's Danchou?"

All eyes danced around the area before falling to a collective conclusion.

"The boss is gone," Nobunaga remarked, seemingly not bothered in the least. He said it with as much ease and casualty like he was joining Chrollo for their afternoon tea session. "Shizuku, hold this guy for me," he said, pushing Gon toward her, the boy still upside-down.

Rein raked in a breath. Eyes now completely adjusted to the dark, she was now able to observe freely, and she did not like what she saw.

Paku, her arm cradled carefully against her side and a hand to her cheek. Most likely injured. Machi, with a certain stone set expression that—after years of knowing her—Rein knew meant she was in pain. The absolute lack of Chrollo. The two boys, while restrained and captured still, wearing a satisfied look at what they'd just accomplished with the Chain User. Somehow, she couldn't find the will to be mad at them for it. While her eye was on Gon, his gaze swiveled towards her and landed on the man on the ground. The room was still dim, but even so, his horror-stricken face drove her stomach to knots.

"Leorio!" Gon shouted.

Yes. And Leorio, who just... who she just...

Killua turned his head. His eyes widened at the sight. "Hey, you." Killua lowered his gaze, aura becoming darker and dangerous. When he finally looked up, his eyes shone with a malice she'd never seen before. "What did you do to him?"

Even though he was effectively held back by Machi, Rein took a step back at the threatening pressure. "I-I didn't—" Her eyes flitted to Leorio. Bleeding. "It was an accident!" she croaked. A lame excuse.

Killua huffed, concealing his bloodlust. "That's not an apology, and it's not fixing anything. You..." He trailed off. "I still don't trust you, but check Leorio. Don't try and hurt him more like you just did." He muttered something more. "Traitor."

All she could do was nod as she turned to take care of the man. She apologized, even though it was meaningless now.

This was Leorio she'd shot. Leorio, who'd legitimately cared for her even though she was a stranger. He'd tried to comfort her at her made-up trauma. Repeatedly told her to rest so she would stay healthy. Warned her about straining her limits and tried to preserve her mental health. He'd done that. He'd done all of that.

When she tried to shoot for the Chain User, Leorio took his place. Stars. Stars, stars, stars, stars.

Rein tried to collect her thoughts and looked for something staunch the bleeding. She would've gotten Machi to heal him if possible, but Machi was injured right now. She wasn't in any condition to use her Nen stitches.

In a stroke of realization, she dumped out her rocks from her pockets and pulled off her skirt, suddenly extremely glad she wore shorts under them. While her legs felt a bit chillier than usual, Rein ignored it as she pressed the flannel to Leorio's wound. She winced at his hiss.