Crossroads of Fate (Naruto x HunterxHunter crossover) (Sakura centric)

I'm back everyone! And you know what that means, it's time for another chapter! A little update, I'm really pushing to get my stories prepped for when I leave so that all updates will arrive on time and I want to say thank you all for your patience and hope you enjoy!

If you have any questions or you want to reach out Please do it through TUMBLR ONLY: tumblr.com/blog/katsura369 

Now standing face to face with the Phantom troupe, Sakura, Gon, and Killua began placing a few of other members by the fliers. But There was one amongst them that was too familiar to dismiss.

'Hisoka,'

The magician, turned away seemingly indifferent to the appearance of the three, while the rest of his fellow troupe members observed the three. He clearly intended for them to play dumb, but Gon was a little too late to catch onto the game and looked at him with recognition.

"Ah!"

'Idiot,' Sakura and Killua thought. They were already aware that Hisoka was a member, but he was fickle and they could probably count on that to help them out of this situation but not if everything was laid out in the open for the rest of the troupe to see.

"What is it?" asked Nobunoga, "You know someone here?"

"Well," Sakura trailed looking to Killua.

When Killua turned to the troupe members and caught sight of the girl Gon arm wrestled, sitting, reading a book he pointed to her. "Yeah, that girl over there!"

"What? Shizuku?"

Shizuku looked up at them only to say, "Nope, never seen them before,"

Sakura pulled back a little, "What…?"

Another member, Feitan, a man with pitch-dark hair and narrow eyes recognized them, "That's right, it's the arm wrestling kid,"

Shizuku still couldn't seem to recollect, but then another one of her comrades, Franklin, a burly man and by far the largest man with long ear-lobes, scars, and piercings covering his face pointed to the friends, "You lost to him in arm-wrestling two days ago,"

"What? That's a lie. I wouldn't lose to a kid," She didn't say it in a manner that indicated she was angry, only stating fact.

"Well, you were using your weaker arm,"

Feitan sighed, "Don't bother. Once Shizuku forgets something she'll never remember,"

Shalnark then noticed the state of the other Troupe members who had just walked in, "Why do you all look like you've been-

"Punched through a building," Machi finished, before turning sharply to Sakura, who glared back in turn. Despite the bullets lodged in her shoulder and thigh, Sakura was prepared to deliver a few more hits if she had to. 

"This pink-haired brat?" Feitan narrowed his eyes.

Phinks craned his neck, "It's not like she landed a fair punch, but it wasn't exactly soft either,"

"They've all got some power it seems," said Nobunaga, then turning to Gon. "Did you beat Shizuku?"

Gon affirmed and that seemed to tip Nobunaga's interest away from the matter at hand for now.

"Alright then, let's see what you've got,"

"Huh?"

Nobunaga gestured to a set of stone slabs that were relatively flat, "Over there, we'll arm-wrestle,"

"Don't take too long," Phinks chided,

"You want to go too?" asked Machi.

"Yeah," He pointed a thumb at Sakura, "See how tough this one is,"

"Well, you're gonna have to wait,"

Sakura just glowered.

..

..

.. 

Every time that small hand, slammed down onto the broken pieces of rubble, scraping more each time until it was raw and bleeding, Sakura would grimace and Killua would wince but they were unable to move from their positions as the rest of the Troupe members surrounded the stone slabs where Nobunaga and Gon were arm-wrestling. They were in such proximity that Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to move quickly enough to grab Killua and Gon and make a run for it. While seemingly with their guard down, there were essentially no blind spots.

In the middle of their sixth round, Nobunaga asked, "Hey, when it comes to arm-wrestling where do I rank?"

"Seventh-eighth?" Franklein answered, hard of recalling. It had been years since the entire group came together for a job, hence it was rather difficult to remember.

"You're not the strongest or the weakest," said Machi.

"Right," Nobunaga nodded indifferently, ignoring Gon's struggle to bring down his arm. "The strongest was this guy called Uvogin. But he was killed by the chain user,"

Killua attempted to reason, to stop Gon's pain. "We already told you we don't know who that is!"

"We shadowed you because of your bounties," Sakura added.

"Hey, you kids!" Nobunaga turned to them, slamming Gon's hand harder than necessary down. "If you speak without permission again, I'll kill you,"

Killua bit the inside of his tongue, but Sakura as she was, wouldn't allow herself to close off silently. She would've loved to take the attention away from Gon so he could recover.

"Yeah? Would you like another bruise on your other cheek so they can match?"

Shalnark laughed softly, "She's brave huh?"

"Well she did send us all through a wall," Machi pointed out,

"Though I wouldn't get cocky," said Feitan, glaring at Sakura, who returned the stare with her own release of bloodlust. "Unless you want more holes in you,"

"There's enough already, and I need her arms intact Feitan," warned Phinks.

"Sakura!" Killua gripped the girl's wrist hard, terrified for her wellbeing. He had to stop her before she said anything else.

"But she doesn't need her tongue, so you better watch your mouth or I'll cut it out," Nobunaga warned, then returning to Gon. "One more time,"

Sakura and Killua watched the drop of blood fall from Gon's hand as he gripped Nobunaga's again. And the tension returned as if nothing happened.

"Uvogin was an enhancer. Simple-minded and straightforward. He loved a good fight but was fussy about time, and would always get into fights with me and Franklin He'd beat the crap out of me in an unarmed brawl. I've known him since before the Troupe was formed. He would never…. lose in a fair fight!"

That's when they saw the tears in Nobunaga's eyes, mixed with anger, frustration, and sadness of mourning it was almost too unbelievable.

"I will make his killer pay," declared Nobunaga. Sakura watched Gon's handshake in his grasp, "I'll find him, no matter how many I have to kill. The chain user bears a strong grudge against us. He was hired recently by the Mafia's Nostrade family. You might not know him directly but you may have heard rumors about him! Think hard…"

Gon might not have bothered to even try to piece this together, but the image was becoming clearer to Sakura and Killua whose intellect had been honed to a sharp point. There was only one person they knew who bared a strong grudge against the Phantom Troupe, who they hadn't been able to contact despite the agreement to meet in Yorknew on a deadline, and who would be looking to take down the Troupe….

Sakura did her best to remain passive in expression when the realization dawned on her.

'Oh crap, Kurapika…'

"I don't know but even if I did, I would never tell you!" Gon said in a firm, promising tone. He clutched Nobunaga's hand tighter, forgetting the burning sensation of his wounds, now fired with fury in his gut and determined to let it burn. "I thought you were all a bunch of heartless monsters, but you shed tears for your friend…..Why couldn't you spare a fraction of that grief for the people you've killed!?"

Gon's aura began to surge through his arm, and it enhanced his strength, enough to bring down Nobunaga's hand to his side. It was a victory very short-lived when Feitan appeared behind Gon, grabbing the winning arm and twisting it behind his back, with such swiftness it was difficult to follow.

"You're getting too cocky,"

"Gon!"

Sakura attempted to leap forward, pushing chakra to her legs gave her a blinding boost to end up behind Feitan, ready to deal a powerful blow to his head but then she barely saw the shadow behind her before her ability to breathe was restricted, her windpipe squeezing shut and her back hitting the ground hard. She looked up and with blurry caught sight of Phink's combed back blonde hair.

"Whoa there now,"

"Bastard!" She croaked with a non-existent voice. 

Killua was also stuck, having attempted to step forward only for Hisoka to appear behind him, holding a card at his ceratoid artery. Daring him to take the plunge, but he couldn't move, his fear swallowing him entirely.

"One more step and I'll cut you,"

"Answer the question, do you know who the chain user is?" Feitan said, deciding to take over this slow interrogation.

"I already told you I don't!" Gon hissed.

Seeing how his fellow troupe member was ready to move in, Nobunaga intervened, "Feitan stop,"

"Stop what?"

"Stop what you're about to do,"

"You know what I'm about to do?"

"You're going to break his arm right?"

"Not immediately," Feitan answered nonchalantly, "I'd start with a finger, peel off a nail,"

Sakura glowered at this, "You'll have to kill me before you can even think about-

Again her head was slammed into the concrete, cracking behind her, "That's enough out of you,"

She still glared silently with that defiance in her eyes. She didn't want to allow herself to fall into this state of intimidation anymore, not with these people. Not when she could compare them to the enemies back in her world ones she had stood against with comrades.

"Just stop," said Nobunaga.

"Why are you giving me orders?" Feitan countered, "I have no reason to listen to you,"

For Gon, Killua, and Sakura it felt like the air had grown too hard to breathe into their lungs without becoming a weight that would sink them.

"Cut it out Nobunaga," Franklin said.

"Have you forgotten the rules?" chided Machi, passively joined by Shizuku.

"No serious fights among Troupe members,"

Nobunaga dug into his pocket, pulling out a gold coin, one side with a spider carved and the other a web. "I know. All disputes are settled with a coin toss,"

He flipped the coin, Feitan calling 'tails' and Nobunaga 'heads. When he revealed it, the three felt their stomachs churn ready to expel their lunch. It was heads.

"Let him go,"

Feitan released Gon, Phinks released Sakura and Hisoka released Killua; each from their own death grips. Sakura immediately stood up, craning her aching shoulder, but she wasn't able to return to her friend's as she wanted.

"Come on, it's your turn," said Phinks, stepping over to the makeshift table. Sakura hesitated in stepping forward; she wanted to go back to Gon and Killua after that episode, but she knew she wouldn't be able to until she played. It was odd. She doubted this would ever happen within the Akatsuki and somehow she would've preferred that.

This was just out of her element.

Sakura clasped hands with Phinks, readying herself and it was as if everything had returned to the way it was when Gon was arm-wrestling Nobunaga. Sakura didn't know where Phinks ranked amongst the Spiders, but when she felt his grip tighten and heard him call go; she realized it was really high because her hand when slamming down before she even realized what happened.

"Hey now, that was too easy," Phinks said, disappointed with his win. "Let's go again,"

Sakura glared, holding up her hand but she didn't put any chakra behind it just like the first time She wanted to assess if she should even put her real strength behind it and not just her physical.

 She hadn't felt it when she attacked, but it was likely that this person was stronger than Hisoka, physically at least. She always felt the creaking pain in her shoulder whenever she moved her arm against Phinks and she would surrender her arm to stop her muscles from clenching around the bullet in her shoulder.

"Again,"

"Oh come on!" Sakura hissed. Was she really going to have to get serious with this? What would happen then? The same response as when Gon won his match?

"We need to wrap this up, Phinks," Shalnark reminded. 

"When I'm finished," Phinks snapped, "Hey what happened to that strength you had earlier? Don't tell me you're holding out. If you don't do this for real…." Sakura felt the tension of bloodlust falls over her like a net, trapping her in. "I'll kill one of your little friends,"

Without saying anything but raging in expression, seeing that she was finally going to take this seriously Phinks brought up his hand to grab hers, enhanced with his Nen. Sakura held up her arm, pouring every ounce of chakra into it remembering as Gon had done, and then focusing her Nen as well to protect her hand.

'Nen and chakra…..'

The sensation surged differently than what she remembered, but still, she held on. Feeling her arm strengthen, as if the muscles, tendons, joints, even her skin, grow hard. Phinks had already started trying to push down her arm, but it wasn't budging.

Everyone watched, hearing the slightest cracks of the concrete beneath them.

"Look at that," Shizuku said.

Phinks struggled to maintain his hold on the kunoichi's arm, Sakura smirked, gripping his hand even tighter that it would've shattered the bone of anyone else, but reinforced with nen, he was able to prevent that.

'Is she…..

"CHA!" With a heavy slam, she pushed back, with all the force that it brought not only Phinks's hand down, but his entire body, through the stone, breaking the ground further and rattling the entire building from the force.

"Whoa!" Gon shook, nearly losing his balance when he had to jump back because of the crater that was forming from the crumbling ground.

"Geez!" hissed Killua. 'We're in trouble now for sure!'

The dust cleared and she was able to assess the damage her temperament had caused; still clutching his hand, she saw that he was completely unharmed from the impact; just staring with a small gape.

He smirked, "That's more like it. Let's go again-

"No!" exclaimed Shalnark, "We can't have you bringing down the whole building,"

"He has a point," agreed Shizuku.

Sakura stood up, shaking her wrist, "There satisfied? If you're done can you let us go already?"

She wanted to leave and inform Kurapika of all of this. The Troupe was after him. She couldn't think of anything else who would be here in Yorknew and start taking out this group.

"What do you guys think?" asked Shalnark,

"They haven't told us anything about the chain user," said Franklin "If they don't know anything, we can just let them go. Well, Pakunoda?"

"I checked them on the way here. They have no memories of the chain user,"

"Seems your instinct was off this time Machi," said Nobunaga.

"That's odd. But if Pakunoda says it, it must be true,"

Killua and Sakura were already analyzing what the Troupe was talking about right in front of them. As far as interrogations went, this was a very lax one. While they all may have been telling the truth at the time they were asked those questions, it wasn't as if they could prove it was a lie. Sakura remembered Pakunoda stepping up to Gon….

'Does she have some ability that allows her to scan memories?'

Ino and her father were gifted in that department and could scan the memories of individuals. With Nen, it wasn't hard to believe there wasn't a similar ability.

'But if that's the case, we're in big trouble,' Sakura swallowed heavily. She didn't know at the time who the chain user was-but she now had a distinct feeling.

They had to get out of here.

"If they aren't connected to the chain user, let's just let them go," Franklin said again.

"Yeah," said Shalnark, "There's no point in keeping them here,"

Phinks interrupted, "We can't be sure that they're completely unrelated. It's possible they're being used. If the chain user typically conceals his chains, they wouldn't know it was him. We shouldn't release them until they tell us who they're working for,"

"If they are working for someone it wouldn't be the chain user because he works alone," Shalnark pointed out, "Rather than using a couple of kids, we can just get the information we need through the Nostrade family. Since we know the chain user is a member."

No one disagreed with this.

"Our only target is the chain user. We should ignore everyone else,"

Feitan smirked at the three, "There you go. You are lucky,"

Though insulted by blatant disregard, Sakura contained any outbursts, reducing to a simple glare while Gon just stuck out his tongue fearlessly.

But then, sitting quietly at the end of a broken indoor fountain, Nobunaga called. "No, I'm not letting them go," he looked at Gon, "Kid join the spiders. Team up with me,"

'Oh come on!'

Gon gave no hesitance to answer, "No way. I'd rather die than join you guys,"

Nobunaga snickered, "He hates us huh? You're an enhancer right?"

"Yeah,"

"I knew it!" Nobunaga began to laugh almost hysterically, enough to get questioning looks from the rest of the Phantom Troupe but he stopped just as quickly. "Hey, we're keeping them here until the boss gets back,"

'What?' The last thing Sakura wanted was to meet their leader but that wasn't even the most surprising thing she heard. It was what came after.

"I'm going to recommend we recruit them,"

"Are you serious?" asked Phinks,

"How many people can out-muscle you?" Nobunaga asked.

Feitan shook his head, "The boss will never agree to this,"

"Well it's your call, but you've got to watch them. Don't blame us if they escape," stated Machi.

Sakura exhaled in frustration, 'Just great…'

..

..

..

The night had fallen, casting a shroud of darkness over the city. The Phantom Troupe members dispersed into the night, each on the hunt for the elusive chain user. Nobunaga, however, stayed behind to guard their captives. Gon, Killua, and Sakura were led into a dim, windowless room. The only source of light came from the candles Nobunaga had placed in front of the door where he now sat, his sword resting casually on his shoulder. His eyes, sharp and vigilant, never left them, making it clear that any attempt to escape or communicate covertly would be met with swift retaliation.

"Ow…" Gon winced, holding his wounded hand. Sakura gently took it in hers.

"You okay?"

He nodded, and though his eyes showed clear frustration, Sakura started healing his hand.

"Sakura you're hurt too." Part of Sakura's top was now soaked with drying blood but she only focused on healing Gon's injuries. The open flesh began moving closer towards each other, with a cooling sensation that he was able to ignore the sting of it. 

"I'm fine," She assured. But he could see she had become pale, and she was in constant discomfort. 

"Healing too huh?" Nobunaga observed, "You've got a lot of interesting abilities. Why didn't you just heal your wounds too?"

"I'm not interested in having pieces of metal stuck inside my body," Sakura hissed back; but her face turned soft again when she was looking into Gon's eyes. "Anything else in pain? Your arm?"

He shook his head, smiling, "Thanks Sakura,"

She turned to her assassin friend who had become oddly quiet, "Hey Killua…."

He didn't turn, he didn't even hear her. Killua was drowning in his thoughts, trying to breathe, but he was weighted down by his older brother's conviction; that he would not have been able to save Gon or Sakura if he needed to. Illumi's voice was so strong, it blocked out the sound of the present.

"Your only concern when you meet someone is whether or not you should kill them,"

'You're wrong,'

"Never fight an enemy you can't defeat. I drilled that into you,"

Killua could see his hand reaching out for him.

"YOU'RE WRONG!"

The outbursts shocked Sakura, she had to stumble back landing on the ground. "K-Killua?"

He wasn't listening. Killua's aura was trembling out of him, his eyes fixed on Nobunaga in front of the door. The man stood up, holding his sword. "Scary. You look like you want to kill me,"

His aura began to surface, "Let me warn you first. Step into range and I'll cut you down,"

This wasn't a bluff, it was a promise. Still, Killua proceeded despite his friend's protests behind him, but each step forward was like digging into quicksand and pulling out.

'I'll show him….I'll show him,'

But at some point, Killua's will dwindled as he neared and Nobunaga's presence became stronger that he had to step away; sick inside by his actions. His fear of dying. He punched the wall hard enough to crack it behind them and sat down again, wiping away the beads of sweat that fell down his chin.

'I have no chance,'

"Killua," He tensed when he felt that gloved hand on his shoulder, brushing along his skin. He couldn't look up.

"Are you okay?" Gon asked.

"Yeah," There was no effort to hide the truth this time.

 "I wonder if Leorio was able to get in touch with Zepile-san?"

Sakura frowned, "Gon?"

Tensions were high and it was difficult to breathe right now, but Sakura didn't think that now was the time to try and break it.

"Let's see, Zepile-san taught us welding, exposing….what else was there?"

"I forgot,"

Sakura squinted, "Gon, I don't think right now is the best time for this,"

"Come on, I can't remember," Gon said almost whining. "Side-stomping…

"Gon, Sakura," Killua finally turned up, "I'll act as the decoy. You two use that chance to escape,"

Sakura gaped at him, "Are you out of your mind!?"

"Seriously," Attention dropped to Nobunaga, "Forget it. You know how much stronger I am. There won't be any chances,"

Killua knew that, but Sakura was injured and he wasn't about to have Gon or her risk their lives for the sake of letting him escape. It would be far worse than twisting a knife in his gut. It would mean that everything his brother said about him was correct.

Killua knew that with Nobunaga's skills, as kaido master, he would probably be able to strike him down with a single blow but that was the point. None of them had long-range attacks.

"You can't do it,"

Killua stood up, screaming, that expression of determination and fear molded, "Shut up! I won't know until I try!"

Gon put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Killua what are you thinking?"

"Yes, this is crazy," Sakura said.

"I'll stop his shodachi, even if it kills me. You two use that chance to run away!"

Sakura and Gon looked at one another; raised their fist and brought it down at the back of Killua's head at the same time. The white-haired boy stumbled a little.

"What did you do that for!?"

"Don't be so selfish!" Gon exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Sakura added, "You can't just go saying things like that! Even if it kills you?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Hey last I checked, you two did the same thing!" Killua yelled back.

"I'm allowed to!" Sakura and Gon countered together; but then they glared at each other shouting, "No you're not!"

"WHAT?" Killua growled feeling a vein throb on his forehead. Ticking.

"If anything I should be the decoy in this plan since I'm faster than both of you," Sakura pointed to herself.

"Are you nuts!? You're the one with the most injuries right now!" Killua poked her forehead.

"Yeah, you're being unfair again Sakura!" Gon exclaimed, "You're trying to carry us!"

 "And this time it will kill you!"

"I don't care!"

"Is there a brain behind that forehead of yours? Don't treat us like kids when you look like one yourself!"

"What was that you pocket-size compulsive-gambling-chocoholic!"

"What did you call me?! You cotton-candy head!"

"Enough you two, you're both being stupid!"

"Look who's talking!"

"HEY"

"We can't escape unless we're prepared to die!"

"How about I kill you now since you don't mind!?" Sakura sneered back at him.

Nobunaga couldn't hold back his laughter, watching the three banter with each other. Regardless of power, they were just kids. But damn amusing nonetheless.

"You kids are hilarious! Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. Just behave yourselves. I know you're serious. Don't throw your lives away." By now, they had gone silent again. "Wait until the boss gets back. If he won't give his approval you can leave,"

But if he did, that meant they would be forced to join the ranks of the Spiders and that didn't appeal to them either.

"But if you try to escape, I'll kill you," Nobunaga warned, "Don't make me draw my sword, or you'll die."

The threat seemed to settle them but Gon suddenly gasped and turned to his friends with a wide smile that would disturb anyone in their situation. Luckily they were the exception.

"Side-stepping!"

"Huh?"

"What Zepile-san told us about! Welding, exposing, and the last one was side-stepping!"

The mark hit its target when Gon hardened his face as Sakura and Killua replayed that memory.

"Do you remember now?"

"Yeah!" Sakura grinned,

"I sure do!"

"See?"

"How could we forget something so simple?" Killua threw himself forward,

"I'm so embarrassed," Sakura shook her head.

They turned back to a confused Nobunaga, their aura bursting from Ren, taking a defensive pose. "Let's go!"

Nobunaga stood up, holding his sword. "Are you serious? I'm not skilled or merciful enough to temper my strength,"

"Sakura, stay close," said Killua. "You're still injured."

"I got you,"

With one powerful takeoff, they were rushing forward toward Nobunaga, he waited for them to reach him, about to draw his sword but then all stopped, stepping in two different directions. Gon crossing from Killua and Sakura, they broke through the walls of the room, creating their exits. Just as Zepile had taught them about.

And they were mentally kicking themselves for only thinking about this now.

Nobunaga rushed after Gon, knowing that the other two would've made it down the stairs by now, even with Sakura's injuries, she could still move and Gon would at least still be on the same floor. He went through the hole, into the next room and saw another, following through that one as well. But there was no sign of Gon or any holes in the wall or door. Then he realized the reason. It had been a decoy to lure him into this room while Gon hid in the previous one.

"Are you guys there?"

"Yeah!"

"We're here!"

"We can beat him together!"

He kicked down the door leading into the hallway where he heard the voices, but there wasn't a trace of their presence. Fortunately, there was one way for him to counter something like Zetsu.

'En,'

An application of Ten and Ren would expand the aura away from the body creating something of a detection barrier. Anything that entered would be noticed.

'Come to me, I'm ready,'

Unfortunately for Nobunaga, he failed to remember that there was something distinct about these three; nen-users yes, eager fighters, indeed but they were also kids who weren't above pranking adults.

..

..

..

"You can just stand there forever you dumbass!" called Killua, knowing Nobunaga couldn't hear him from the distance they had run from the building. Still, he was eager to leave this whole area, just in case any more spiders came crawling out of the shadows.

"Man I wanted to stay and fight," Gon pouted.

Sakura gritted her teeth, "Gon, could be a little less eager to die?"

"Is he really that tough?"

"He can kill you twice before you land a hit," Killua stated before jumping over the high fence. "We only know the basics of Nen, we'd need more training to stand a chance,"

Gon grinned at Killua, "I'm glad you're back to normal."

"What?"

"Well, acting recklessly is my job. You're supposed to stay cool and stop me-well us," 

Sakura clicked her tongue, feeling the wounds ache being exposed to the cold air, but she kept running. "You were acting strange, what happened?"

Killua turned away, "Nothing,"

"Well, either way, we need at least one person in this group to be the voice of reason. And it's not Gon,"

"Sakura!"

Killua smirked, "Yeah, and you're just as bad,"

"Oh shut it, I should get to be a little reckless" Sakura's hostile voice escaped a pleasant smile.

"So what do we do now?" Killua asked Gon.

"I want to beat those guys,"

Sakura sighed, "Figures. I'd like to say let's just forget about these guys but we've got to got help out Kurapika."

Gon tilted his head with eyes that reminded her of a lost puppy. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" asked Killua, "He's the chain user they're looking for and if we want to improve our Nen to stand a chance we should go and ask Kurapika about it. Since he managed to defeat one of them,"

Gon's smile widened, "Let's go!"

"Wait!"

Sakura and Gon stopped, "What is it Killua?"

"We need to keep running, I want to put as much distance as we can and frankly this isn't far enough yet,"

Killua gave her a pointed look, "The blood stain on your shirt is obvious and I can see the hole in your leg. Shouldn't you take care of those before we keep going?"

"Killua's right,"

Sakura sighed, "I'd like to, but I need to take out these things first, not exactly something I can do on the street, so let's get going,"

"But isn't it hard to run?"

Sakura rubbed her neck, "I can manage fine."

Killua sighed, ready to say something but closed his mouth when Gon intervened, crouching down with his back to Sakura. Giving a winsome grin, "Climb on!"

"Huh!?"

"Let's go!" Gon said.

"Gon that's embarrassing!"

"Why?"

Sakura wanted to explain to him how ridiculous it would look for a twelve-year-old to be carrying her piggyback, but he continued to insist and they were burning time. And learning quickly how stubborn Gon truly was, Sakura surrendered to his demand. She climbed on top of Gon's back and they took off again.

..

..

..

Gon waited impatiently for the phone to ring, already deciding that he wouldn't stop until he heard the voice he needed on the other end of the line. If it went to voicemail, he would call again, and again.

He didn't need to though, because Kurapika answered after two rings and Gon was able to hear his voice after six months apart.

"Kurapika?"

"Is this Gon?!"

"Yes, can you talk right now?"

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of something right now. I call you back,"

"No wait!" Gon exclaimed. Sakura leaned back a little when Gon raised his voice but leaned in again. "Just wait a moment. I have something to tell you. Killua, Sakura, and I…. ran into the Phantom Troupe. Well, actually they caught us,"

Kurapika was silent at the end of the line for only a moment, "What the hell were you thinking!? Do you realize how dangerous they are?"

Killua held out his hand for the phone, "Let me talk," Gon passed on the phone, "I thought we knew but seeing them made it painfully clear. They're strong and we've got no chance against them. That's why we need your help," 

"I'm not helping you get yourselves killed!"

"Don't you want to know where their base is?"

"I have my source for information."

"Do you know all of their powers?"

"Enough! Just stay away from the Troupe!"

"You're the chain user who killed one of the members right? They're looking everywhere for you. If you won't treat us as friends or equals, we'll do whatever we must to help!"

"Okay…." Sakura gently took the phone from Killua's hand which looked ready to crack under his grasp, "Kurapika, I know you don't want us to get involved but it's too late for that. Those guys are bent on revenge for what happened to their friend and they are coming after you," 

"This is my choice Sakura, I know the consequences." Kurapika's voice had calmed, "There's no reason for you three to get involved,"

"Like hell, there isn't!" Sakura hissed, "Do you even understand what you've done by starting to take revenge? This is a wheel that won't stop spinning and as your friend, I'm not going to let you lose yourself to that cycle; to just abandon everything else for this. If you want to continue what you're doing that's fine with me but I'm not going to just sit back and watch either!"

"This has nothing to do with you!"

"It has everything to do with me because I'm your friend!"

"I'll call you back,"

Sakura angrily slammed her finger to end the call and tossed the phone back to Gon hastily. The three stood silently next to the staircase leading into the subway. They listened to the busy streets.

Sakura slung her arm around Gon, raising her leg to ease the pain. "Let's get back to the hotel,"

..

..

..

"Do you think Kurapika will call us back?" Gon asked when they stopped in front of their hotel room.

"I'm sure he will," Sakura said, smiling softly. "He is determined to achieve his revenge, but that doesn't mean he's a bad friend. He's a good friend, and they're hard to come by."

She just hoped she could avoid him reaching that point of no return, she didn't want to fail him as she failed Sasuke.

"Wonder if you're right," Killua opened the door and pulled his face as the suffocating scent of Tabaco entered his nose.

Sakura looked at the laughing, red-faced Leorio and Zebro sitting on the floor surrounded by cans and bottles of alcohol, a full ash-tray of cigarette buds, and open packs of chips.

"Seriously? They were drinking while we were captured?" Killua glared at the two.

"Like I said, good friends are hard to come by-however stupid ones are lying all over the place,"

Leorio grinned up at them with a slurred voice, "Hey you're back! Come drink with us!"

"We're not old enough to drink and I'm sure you aren't either," stated Killua.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "I thought the rules were different here, but since it's not-why the hell are you drinking?"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Leorio waved, "Where I come from you can start when you're sixteen, though I started as twelve…"

"Great, now I'm going to need someone else to get the tweezers and get these bullets out of me. Because there is no way that," she pointed to Leorio, "Is coming anywhere near me. So who isn't afraid to watch me bleed out?"

Killua raised his hand, "I'll get the tweezers,"

..

..

..

Once Killua removed the bullets, Sakura healed herself and returned to the circle in a fresh change of blood-free clothing. Leorio and Zepile had some time to sober up as well and they were able to tell the two what had happened with the Phantom Troupe without mentioning the conversation they had with Kurapika.

"I'm amazed you escaped alive," said Leorio.

"I'm amazed there aren't any more holes in Sakura with the way she was mouthing off to them," Sakura slapped Killua over his head.

"It's not my fault, they ticked me off!"

"Is the Phantom Troupe that dangerous?"

"You don't know the half of it," Sakura told Zepile.

Gon smiled at the appraiser, "We used one of the appraisal techniques you told us about to escape. Side-stepping!"

"Oh, I'm glad I was able to help in some way," Zepile took another puff of his cigarette before Sakura grabbed it and put it out in the ashtray.

"Enough already, I'd like to go to sleep without choking on air tonight,"

"Sorry. But I can't believe a con artist's tricks actually came in handy against the Troupe,"

Sakura leaned back against the foot of the bed, "It's a good thing Gon thought of it,"

Leorio laughed, "I know what you mean, I've been learning quite a bit from Zepile too. And tomorrow we'll hit the auction,"

"Before that," Gon said, "We have to get Kurapika to teach us about Nen,"

"Wait you got a hold of Kurapika?"

Sakura huffed, throwing her hands behind her head, "Oh yeah,"

Leorio pointed to the pinkette, "What's up with her?"

Killua sighed, "Long story short, she's mad at him,"

"Wait did you just say you want to learn Nen from Kurapika?"

"That's right," Gon affirmed.

"But he also just recently learned about Nen right?"

"Yes, but Kurapika managed to defeat a member of the Phantom Troupe,"

"And piss off the rest of the members," Sakura finished for Gon.

"Seriously?" Leorio asked stunned.

Killua nodded, "He must know some secret about Nen. Something that doesn't require experience or power."

Sakura held her chin in thought, admitting that she was worried about that. "Gaining power out of nowhere isn't unusual, but there are typically consequences; which is why I wanted to talk to him. But he doesn't want us getting involved with the Troupe, and we ended up arguing instead."

Leorio looked at his feet "He sure is determined,"

"A determined avenger is a dangerous thing,"

There was a quiet that would've settled around them for the entire night, had it not been for the sudden buzzing in Gon's pocket. He immediately answered his phone when he saw the caller ID. "Kurapika!?"

"He's calling already?" Killua asked out loud.

The call wasn't long enough for anyone to talk; not even Gon before Kurapika ended the call. But something was off.

"What's the matter, is he alright?" Sakura asked quickly, her eyes filled with worry.

"The Phantom Troupe is no more," Gon said with wide eyes.

"What?" Killua shot up, "What are you talking about?"

"Kurapika just told me…..there's no need to bother with the Troupe anymore because the Spiders were dead,"

"That's impossible," Sakura said. How could the Phantom Troupe be defeated already? What's more, how and when did that happen? It wasn't that long ago they had escaped from Nobunaga and the others had left.

Leorio checked the news and he quickly found a report on an attempted attack on the auction again. Only this time they had apprehended those responsible and the mafia killed them. There were bodies found to confirm this. 

"No way," Killua shook his head, looking at the article. "We can probably get more information from the hunter website but that's going to cost us,"

"No," Sakura said, moving away from the monitor, "Don't bother. Kurapika was probably there to confirm everything himself,"

Sakura didn't want to look anymore into this, maybe because she wanted to believe what she saw for once; she wanted to believe what was on the surface. That the Phantom Troupe was gone. It would mean a lot to have things as simple as it appeared to be. Just this once she hoped with everything that it was true.

Yet a nagging feeling in her kept whispering she was wrong.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and Remember to stay strong!

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NEW STORY: Kunoichi amongst Reapers (Sneak peek on Tumblr)

-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)

 Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) ( 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (78, 79, 80)

-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams

-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter ( 33,34, 35)

-Crossroads of Fate chapter 24, 25, 26, 27

-Through the Looking Glass chapter 30, 31, 32. 33, 34

-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6

-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi

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