Evira frowned. Everyone in the room grimaced and held themselves up against the sheer force around her. The room itself shook and trembled like we were hit by an earthquake. Indistinct people, one by one, started to appear in my vision. Like they were NPCs that were being loaded up by a faulty game trying to load the character models onto the map. The vibration in my back pocket shaking the world back into something coherent. I realized what was happening.

She was drowning the area with her Aura, her Ren a volcanic eruption that warped my vision and senses. I had felt her Aura from the ground floor, maybe even a few blocks away. Being in front of her, her entire rage unveiled in full...

It was like Zhulong's...

Yet, I gritted through it. I grinned through it. My hand went for my phone in my pants like it was a weapon. All I could think about was victory...

The shapeless forms, blinded by fear, moved in response to her power and my action. I felt someone hit me from behind and knock me onto a single knee, my phone spilled out as a result: just as I pressed to answer it. The cheap burner phone clattered to the ground and a voice answered from the speaker.

Kurapika's voice filtered through the fury.

"Hello, Evira."

The world stopped shaking, the high pitched fear gone, and the threat of a heart-attack disappeared as Evira's Aura petered out. She closed her eyes, somehow still maintaining her dignity when faced with whatever Kurapika was about to unleash.

"If you're wondering why and how you lost, Evira. I'll gladly explain..."

Four days ago

Kalvin walked through the spacious sewers of York New with Claudette behind him. Without restraints.

She rubbed her neck as she did her best to avoid stepping on any of the disgustingness that was the sewer system Of York New City. It built centuries before modern sanitation systems were implemented, so it was unnecessarily enormous. Rats the size of small dogs and cockroaches the size of small rats. Crocodiles and giant, humanoid turtles could actually survive in these tunnels. If they so wished. As long as the reptiles didn't mind the smell.

A river of water, waste, and whatever the hell they could imagine flowed down at their left as they continued to walk to one of the safehouses Claudette knew by memory. It hadn't been used for years and she doubted anyone would find them there.

She frowned as she looked at the back of Kalvin's head, "You could have waited to kidnap me after Briannaisa left..."

Kalvin frowned as he avoided a scurrying rat in the dark, dank tunnels. He turned his head back to speak over the sound of refuge and water flowing into the canal.

"If we did not make a show of it she'd have suspected something. In fact, I did not know she was that capable of a fighter."

Claudette mimicked her sister's sneer as she made sure her dress wasn't annihilated by the literal tunnel of shit she was in. Her tone was sharp and irritate.

"The forest was as much practice for you guy as it was for James. Don't get full of yourself, especially not when we got Mercutio on our butts,"

Kalvin shrugged, "It is difficult being this perfect, Claudette. Besides, I doubt that hitman could find us now."

The yellowed haired, off-duty maid, resisted the urge to clutch her head. She would bet money that her sister would push Kalvin into the river after an hour of this. She'd have preferred if Kalvin was captured instead of Clyde, but she'd work with what she got.

Claudette sighed before answering, "You've only been a Hunter for a year, so don't get cocky. Fact is: everyone on Mercutio's squad is strong enough to pass the Hunter Exam, first try. They just don't because they'd be in trouble with the association for their, um, profession. They've killed every Blacklist Hunter that came to York New... It's the only reason why I'm helping you guys... on top of not agreeing with what my mom's doing to James- ew!" she squealed as she wiped something slimy that fell on her left shoulder.

Kalvin turned again to her and grimaced what fell on her, before turning forward, "Yes. I was surprised when Clyde suggested asking for your, but I guess overthinking things has some benefits"

"As opposed to not thinking at all?"

"If everything goes well, why would I need to think?! Hahaha!"

Claudette couldn't help but clutch her head. This is why she found enhancers annoying. 2 + 2 = 4, unless it became five, in which case they'd beat up 2 until it turned into 3.

Kalvin frowned, "But you are right. I did not know that Evira was threatening him in such a way. I also did not know his new friends were being leveraged either."

"My mom... does whatever it takes to get ahead. It's... why she got where she is. She doesn't have the average person's morality," she said with a frown, looking away for a moment. Considering the average person's morality in this world, it was quite a statement.

"That is plain to see. I am unfamiliar with the criminal underground. My father has done his best to keep us uninformed. It was quite shouting match when we told him we would stay in the City," he said as he took a left turn to reveal a small hallway with a steel door that looked brand new. With a twist of the metal handle, the door open and they walked into a room as big as the one James, Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika rested in during Trick Tower. Kalvin continued speaking.

"Well, do not worry your little head. My father called in a favor from Morel. Morel was busy, but agreed to send his apprentices to help."

"Knuckles! I haven't seen him in forever! He's such a big softie," Claudette said with lights in her eyes. Kalvin stared at her with disbelief.

"That demon?"

"Yeah! That's good, but my mom won't give in with just us two. It'd be close... but I'm positive my mom wouldn't negotiate based on that. Not if James' friends' are as valuable as Killua is. The only way is if they kidnapped one of the Princes as well. I know where all of them are located, and how to get to them."

She dialed Knuckle's number and prayed. A moment later... the man, the myth, the legend of York New City streets answered: Knuckle Bines.

"Huh? Who's this?"

"Knuckles! Where are you right now?"

"Huh? Who's this?" repeated without hesitation

Claudette sighed, "It's me, Claudette. You remember?"

"Oh yeah! How's it been?!"

"Good! But now's not the time! Clyde told me Morel sent you and Shoot to help out Mayer's apprentice, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok, so this is where they'll probably be based on Pairo's old addresses. Tell Shoot too, so..."

Three Days Ago

...stared at the man in blue as his disembodied fist slammed into the man's left eye. The cracking sound of a fist hitting flesh reverberated through the street.

The man twisted his head and went with the blow, his body flying through the air as he corkscrewed like a spinning log. The man landed with a slide onto his feet, touching where his eye.

He whistled, high and shrill, "Man... that hurt. Why'd you got to butt in?" the man said as he stood up to stare at the new arrival.

Shoot McMahon stood among the crowd of people who parted ways. He started to sweat as his position was revealed, but he kept focused.

"Killua, I'm assuming?"

Killua stared at the new arrival we shock, before nodding his head and refocusing.

"Good. Take your friend and get out of here. Whatever this man's ability is, it should disappear the moment you get out of range. Grab him and get out of here as fast you can," Shoot said while making sure never to keep the man out of his sight.

A cage floated next to Shoot as he tried his best to keep his distance between the man and himself. His fists floating through the crowd, low to the ground, hidden among the people's clothing. He needed to maintain this tactical advantage. At least until the boy could escape. Then he could retreat to the rendezvous point.

He just had to make sure that the enemy didn't touch his clothing. An enemy like this was devastating at close range. From the way he moved with the punch showed that he was an agile and experienced combatant. His ability with Nen was still mostly unknown, but for now, Shoot had the advantage. He knew the man had to touch him, while Shoot could keep attacking from his blind spots and keep his distance.

With a burst of speed, Killua dashed to Leorio. The moment the man in blue tried to intercept by casually jogging the relatively short distance towards Leorio, another fist flew from underneath a nearby car. It zoomed towards the man: a punch to the knee to slow him down.

The man lept in the air without pausing or even noticing the fist. Killua and Shoot's eyes widened in surprise.

The moment the man landed, three fists began hovering around the man at high-speeds. They swooped, covered, and flew straight at the man respectively... only for the man to contort his body in such a way that all the punches missed. He looked like a posing scarecrow or man dancing as he pulled up one leg, bent an arm, and hunched his head over. A fist sailed over his head, a fist flew underneath one of his armpits, and a fist passed by his raised leg. All three of them completely missing their mark.

Then, without missing a beat, the man continued jogging forward and cut Killua off. The former assassin stared Evira's current assassin. Shoot Grimaced and yelled.

"Get out of here now! If he touches you it'll be over! I'll see if I can get your friend, but if you're captured it'll all be pointless!" Shoot said as he began to focus. This was no longer going to be simple.

Killua hesitated for a moment, before cursing and nodding in agreement. He spun around and ran for it. The man chased for a moment, only to be cut off by a fist flying down towards the sky aimed directly on the top of his head. The man leaned back, then jumped into a corkscrew spin as another fist tried to hit him from behind.

The moment Killua was safely away, the battle began in earnest.

The enforcer scowled as fists faster than most trained fighters could see assaulted him from every direction. Up. Down. Left. Right. From overhead. From below. From all different types of awkward and strange directions that any normal fighter would have difficulty dodging. But the man avoided all the strikes effortlessly and gracefully. Without any hesitation and fluidly. Without even looking around him. Shoot worried as the man slowly, ever so slowly, began closing the distance. Almost dancing toward him.

"Crap... my opponent's mastery of En is unbelievable. Combined with his natural agility, reflexes, and dexterity... he's a dangerous opponent indeed," Shoot thought with worry as he took his first jump back from his opponent. The man had finally crossed the street and arrived onto the sidewalk Shoot was on.

Shoot analyzed his surroundings as he tried to figure out some strategy to pin his opponent down. He realized it was too risky to try and hold down his opponent, even if he did manage to. If anyone came by at that moment, he would be down his Hatsu. He frowned as he realized his predicament.

Hotel Rafflesia was his only option. He ran straight towards the man, moving past the crowds of gawkers who never had any sense of self-preservation in any city. The man in blue's eyes widened in surprise at the change in strategy but nodded in respect. Then he dashed forward to meet his opponent.

Clashes of air rippled through the area as fist hit fist the air at high speeds. The windows of a minivan next to them exploded into glass. The feet below them cracked and rippled. They stood there, in the middle of the street, a flurry of machine-gun punches cutting through the air with a rapid-fire series of 'foosh' that sounded similar to speeding bullets. The man in blue unleashed a seemingly unending string of punches with both hands. Shoot doing his best to pair and block the punches to avoid his clothing being touched with one hand, while his other hands swooped in from behind his opponent.

The man in blue let out a breath as he did the impossible again and twisted his body into a spinning backflip to avoid four attacks at the same time. He landed onto the ground and looked up to see Shoot glaring with frustration. The man sighed as he stood up to his full, two meters of height.

"Sorry, but once I decide I don't want to be touched... I ain't gonna' be touched," he said with an indifferent sniff of his nose. He closed his eyes and shrugged.

"Besides, you're outnumbered."

Shoot's eyes widened as a silver comet landed on a car behind him. He took the risk to look behind to find the strangest sight ever saw in his life.

A woman in a silver costume with a vaguely grasshopper-like mask on her head. A long, silver scarf and a silver sash around her waist. White boots and white gloves were on the ends of her limbs as she posed something ridiculous. One arm outstretched to her left and the other bent at the elbow, an open hand next to her face. The costumed crusader was crouched low, as though posing for some sort of children's TV Show.

"STOP YOU, VILLAIN! SILVER RIDER IS HERE!" Silver rider said in a theatrical, over-the-top yell.

The crowd of people cheered, murmured, and snapped pictures of the scarfed crusader.

Shoot's eyebrows shaded his eyes as he looked on in disbelief. He snapped out of it and pointed to himself.

"Are you calling me the villain?!"

Silver Rider stood up to her full height, heroic height(which was not tall at all, frankly). The seemingly deranged woman pointed a finger at Shoot with her left, while grabbing her hip. She tilted her head back to bellow out a dramatic laugh before answering.

"YES, DEVIOUS VILLAIN! IT IS OBVIOUS FROM YOUR APPEARANCE YOU ARE HARASSING AND KIDNAPPING PEOPLE! WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS! SPARROW, I SHALL ASSIST YOU!" she said as she pointed to Leorio, wiggling around in frustration in his cloth cocoon.

Shoot gripped his head as he twitched disbelief. Knuckles did warn me York New was a big out there...

Sparrow held back a laugh as he walked up to Shoot, though in a calm and reassuring way. One hand in his pocket while the other raised as a sign of peace.

"Hey man, we aren't even gonna hurt 'em. We're under orders to bring him back unharmed. Now I gotta bring you along, though," he scratched the back of his head and sighed explosively," Maaaan... if only that guy didn't say Kurapika, I coulda' ignored them..."

For some reason, Leorio stopped struggling. His cocoon deflating and looking more like an inert sleeping bag.

Shoot stared at Sparrow, narrowing his eyes as he read the man's face. He spoke up.

"Only if you promise that no harm will fall them. If you promise that, I'll gladly come quietly. I don't like fighting in the first place..." said as a bead of sweat slid down his head.

The man named Sparrow nodded seriously as he could and answered, "I promise," his face relaxed as he smirked, "besides, I don't like fighting either. Too tiring. Hey, Grasshopper. We good!"

Silver Rider, code name Grasshopper, deflated as her pose wilted. When she spoke, her voice was no longer bombastic.

"A-are you sure? Maaaan... I practiced that entrance for so long..." as she hung her arms limply in front of her.

Shoot looked between the two, stone-faced, "York New City... is definitely strange."

Sparrow chuckled as he walked over to Leorio to retrieve him like a bag, "Heh, you ain't seen nothing yet..."

Shoot sighed. Hopefully, Knuckles was more successful in finding the other two...

One Day Ago

"Jeez! Where are these guys?! They can't be that much different than their description!" Knuckles said as he walked with as wagger, kicking his legs out with every step like the Bancho he was.

He stared at the horrific doodles of Gon and Kurapika. Gon looked like asparagus and Kurapika looked vaguely like a kappa. The man the street youth called The Bancho King of Yorkshin couldn't understand why he couldn't find them...

"Damn it! Where are they?! They're supposed to be around here!" he said as he passed by two people who avoided eye contact with the man with newspapers.

"Psst, Kurapika. You think that guy is one of Evira's people?" the disguised Gon whispered. Dressed in a brown wig, a yellow shirt, and blue shorts with red shoes.

The long, black-haired, black dressed Kurapika nodded, "Without a doubt. His appearance makes it obvious he is a high-ranking member Evira's organization-"

"COME OUT OF HERE, YOU BASTARDS! WHY ARE YOU SO HARD TO FIND?! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU TWO?!"

The glanced at Knuckles with 'T' eyes and a side glance. Kurapika whispered their shared thoughts, "We should leave before a miracle allows him to figure us out. But, the fact he is here does confirm Pairo should be around."

Gon stared up at the forlorn and tentative Kurapika. He nodded and gave his friend a confident stare and a small smile.

"Don't worry. I bet he'll be happy to see you, you're his best friend after all!" Gon said with wisdom beyond his age. Kurapika was taken aback... before smiling and nodding.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're correct. From Jays'," Kurapika sighed, he really hoped Leorio remembered their fake names, " information he should be in traditional Kurta clothing. They look similar to mine, but he preferred red. We'll split up and see if we can find any information, starting with the market. Ok?"

Gon nodded before walking off to speak with some of the various vendors. Kurapika watched as Gon wandered off as he scanned the area, eyes focused, and narrowed.

'Pairo was always interested in trinkets. He always wanted to try haggling with shopkeepers, just like in Dino Hunter...' Kurapika thought with a smile. His eyebrows furrowed as his will and determination coalesced and burned inside his chest.

We will win.

He strode off into the market place. Thousands of people haggling and arguing for prices for various things. From food to weapons, to things of great value and things of small value.

They blended in as easily as paper in a snow storm. There were too many people and too many stalls Gon and Kurapika to be spotted. They asked questions, poked answers, and desired the destination of a man named Pairo. People hawed, peopled hmmed, but few knew who Pairo was. Assuming and quiet as he was.

Except for one stall...

Kurapika walked to the stall that Pairo and James had visited weeks earlier. The man held a sneer as he looked down at Kurapika. There was something in the man's eyes that disturbed Kurapika, but it was not a lecherous leer, but a look of greedy familiarity.

"Do I know you?" the stall owner said with abruptness. Kurapika narrowed his eyes.

"No sir. I've never met you before..."

"You are a foreigner, aren't you?"

"What if I am?" Kurapika said with a glare.

"That skin, those features... they remind me of a person I met weeks ago..." he said as he made a show of rubbing his chin and slowly reached under his table.

Kurapika pulled out his hidden blade and held it to the man's throat, leaning over the table with deadly intent in his eyes. A dark whisper escaped from Kurapika's lips.

"I recommend you rethink your course of action..."

The fat, bulbous man with eyes too wide and breath acrid slowly raised his arms, "O-ok. Let's not get hasty here. W-what?!"

Kurapika quickly looked left and right to see if anyone had noticed them. They hadn't. Jumping over the stall, he walked over and found the man's shotgun underneath the table. Kurapika looked at the man with distaste as he grabbed the shotgun and threw it deep into the stall's tent.

"Do you know where this man I 'remind' you of lives?"

The man squirmed at knifepoint, then nodded, "Y-yeah! Kinda! He lives around the neighborhood, but I know nothing about him! If you're trying to find him..."

A roaring, angry yell echoed throughout the market place that shivered the vendor's souls. They all made faces of fear and shock when they heard that man's voice.

"I thought- no, not him!" the man at knifepoint said as he ignored Kurapika's knife and began looking for something to carry his stalls belongings.

Kurapika stared at the man in surprise and shock. The stall-owner completely ignored the knife and began packing things into a bag while muttering to himself.

"What, what are you talk-"

He didn't need much understanding when he heard a man yell and an entire stall flew into the sky. Several of Evira's henchmen were orbiting the piece of debris as well.

"YOU BASTARDS!"

Knuckle Bines had become angry.

Kurapika turned to the direction of the commotion. In the distance, he saw the same gangster in white from before with a whimpering dog under his armpit. His face filled with veins, teeth clenched in rage, and a fist held as tightly as a bank vault.

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU WORK FOR! NO ONE KICKS A DOG!"

Mayhem was unleashed. It became worse when he heard the man behind yell out as he scrambled over his stall.

"Help! Help! That's one of the people the Tao Long are after! HELP!"

Kurapika grimaced in worry as several plain-clothed people around him suddenly revealed themselves to be mobsters in disguise. They pulled out weapons such as knives, batons, and tasers as men in suits emerged through the crowds of people. One by one they came out to surround Kurapika.

His grimace deepened as he heard a conversation that sent chills down his spine. Chills of disbelief.

"Hey, kid! You're not bad! Name's Knuckles, what's yours?"

Kurapika turned to see Gon helping the bancho fight back the mobsters. Gon don't say-

"My name's Gon! I mean Gawain!"

"Gon? Hey, I'm looking for a Gon! He's got dark green hair, brown eyes. I'm supposed to help him as a favor to my master,"

"What?!" Gon said with a surprise, before tearing off his wig. Knuckles shook in surprise and said," Whoa! It's like your an entirely different person! No wonder you looked nothing like my picture!"

Kurapika didn't know what to say, standing there in abject disbelief. He snapped out of it as one of the men walked up to him, like a man trying to appease a Tiger.

"Now take it easy. We're under orders to escort you to our boss, ok? No need to make this difficult..."

The Hunter's response was simply a shake of his head and a narrowing of his eyes. The atmosphere changed as he revealed something to the world that no one outside his four friends had seen. The gift Killua and Gon gave him and Leorio when James was separated from the others.

All so Evira would be all the more unprepared.

The overwhelming killing intent filtered through the area as the men and women began to step back in fear. One man, of weaker will than his comrades, shook in terror. The pulling out his gun and leveled it shakily at Kurapika. With a click of the trigger, the gun fired.

Kurapika's eyes widened as he stopped channeling his emotions into his Aura and moved fast. Fast. Incredibly fast. Faster than any person in the area could see. One moment he was there, the next.

The next...

The next everyone was knocked out. Seven men and four women in disguise dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Kurapika breathed heavily as he wiped off the sweat from his brow. His talent was on par with the other four, but he realized his Aura reserves were not as high as theirs. He had learned the basics in less than a day, while Leorio took a bit longer. While they had no solid comparison to other users, Leorio's Aura reserves were, frankly, absurd. Yet, all he could manage so far was Zetsu and brute-forcing of Ten. Kurapika himself was still learning the full scope of Nen and his limits.

'They can still react even under my Killing Intent. I'll keep that in mind. I need to use Ren sparingly,' Kurapika thought as he looked around, 'This isn't good. Evira made sure Pairo was heavily guarded. These associate members aren't dangerous, but all this commotion will draw attention to those who are. I need to meet up with Gon and escape.'

Kurapika looked across the distance from himself to Gon. Stalls, armed goons, and a raging Knuckles with a dog underneath his left arm was in between him and his friend. Knuckles was more dangerous by accident than on purpose, his anger making him tear through the area like a wild animal as he used every part of his body except his left. Kurapika was surprised at how much stamina the man had. He didn't seem to pause or stop for even a moment's rest.

The short odyssey began. Kurapika moved through the market, his feet clattering against the cobblestone street with a hard, horse-like clobber. He moved fast, reserving his Aura by using Ten, which was still blindly fast to the average human. Men with guns took to aim and failed to hit their mark against the speeding blur. Women with weapons tried to slow him down with swipes from their electricized equipment, only to swing greedily against air.

The world could not keep up to Kurapika as he found a position to call over Gon. He found it as he circled around a group of men with batons and a cart full of fruit. A single kick sent the wooden wagon tumbling on to the men, arms flailing as they were pinned against the ground. Round green fruit and various others splattered against the ground Kurapika leaped off it and onto an expansive, green tent filled to the brim with grocery.

He fought to run up it, the tight clothing slipping against the women's clogs he was wearing. With strength and dexterity beyond human, he fought against friction and gravity as he bounded up to the top and reached the central pole of the tent. A quick grab of the pole and he held himself up and scanned the plaza below him. Gon tore through guards threw themselves at him with reckless abandon. Knuckles assisted him with yells and screams as he mashed opponents with brutal punches and kicks.

Kurapika took a deep breath and yelled out to Gon. A look of surprise flashed onto Gon and Knuckles as they looked up at Kurapika. Gon turned to Knuckles and said something, the Bancho flashing a thumbs up and a quick 'good luck'. Gon speed off towards Kurapika, right as the tent collapsed.

He rocked back and forth on the unstable surface, holding on with effort as the tent became a deflated piece of cloth. He turned down to the area below him to see men cutting the rope holding the entire tent together. With quick thought and even quicker eyes, he scanned the poles and found the last remaining ties to the ground and jumped towards it. He slid down the slopped tent like a snowboarder without the board, shifting and balancing his upper body to avoid from falling.

Two men suited men greeted him at the bottom, only to be welcomed by Kurapika with two quick kicks to each of their faces. He twisted in the air and landed into a crouch, then sprinting forward without missing a beat.

He felt a vibration in his back pocket. With practiced ease, he spun around a goon going for a punch and pulled out the phone. The man fell face-first into a nearby stall as people scattered. Kurapika sprinted past several mobsters as he saw Gon in the distance. It was mayhem, but they had to stick together.

Kurapika ran as he caught up to Gon. He looked down at his phone and nodded before putting it away. He turned to Gon, who no longer had his wig on as he threw it away at the first sign of trouble. Much to Kurapika's chagrin.

"Gon! James just sent me a message with the location of Pairo. We need to hurry!"

Gon nodded as they ran through the market. The entire area was crawling with a seemingly endless amount of men. The moment one man called with suspicions, it was as if mobsters appeared from thin air… and endless reserve of foot soldiers.

Even if they arrived at Pairo's apartment, the Tao Long was making sure that they would never reach the other remaining Kurta Clan Member…

Gon ducked and punched a man in the gut, before turning to his friend, who was currently disguised as a woman. His face dead serious, even at the absurdity of the situation, "Kurapika! We need to figure out some way to shake these guys o-"

The sound of exploding stalls echoed through the area as something started rampaging through the market with reckless abandon. A giant, speeding dust cloud tore right through empty stalls. Sending tables and equipment sailing overhead that fell back to earth as a shower. A shower of debris, pain, and destruction that fell onto countless Mafia associates with no care or regard for them. The lucky ones that weren't immediately knocked out by the aerial bombardment ran for their lives as a peal of rhythmic laughter echoed through the area. Coming from whoever raced toward Gon and Killua at blistering speeds...

Kurapika and Gon began running for their lives as the enemy came down upon them...

They saw a speeding man with a large yellow raincoat, baby blue teeth, a white shirt covered by blue overalls, and black rain boots. His skin was sunweathered brown with blue hair that was spikey and sharp, almost as sharp as his shark-like teeth. A massive grin was plastered on his face as he laughed with sheer joy. His speed faster than any dragster as he ran through stalls as if they styrofoam. Fingerless gloves stretched out as he leaped toward the two, escaping the dust cloud as if he were a shark humanoid shark attacking bait...

The sound of crashing echoed and pained shouts echoed throughout the market.

"CABO!"

Knuckle's foot drove into the blue-haired man with a loud thud as the Beast Hunter's kick overcame the speeding Cabo's momentum. A split second later and the shark-like man was launched into several stalls. Wood, fruit, vegetables, and any unfortunate merchandise in the way flying into the air. Several mobsters regained their courage as they ran towards the Bancho the two other Hunters.

The pompadoured man landed with grace as he stared at the people around him... a dog underneath his arm. Said dog was completely unaware of the situation as its tongue bobbed in out of its mouth, blank, cheerful face on its canine head. Mobsters made way as someone stepped forward.

A man with a black pin-stripped suit and, fedora, and greasy hair exited from the crowd of goons. He looked bored and annoyed at the entire situation. On the other hand, Knuckles gripped his fist tightly and waved it at the man.

"Damn it Mercutio! Fight me like a man! And why are your underlings kicking this dog!" he said with a hard point at the oblivious dog.

Mercutio shrugged, "I didn't order them to kick dogs, that's on them. If I'd have known you were here, I'd have collected all the animals in the city and put them in a shelter."

Knuckles' eyes widened in surprise, before closing his eyes and smiling. He scratched his head and blushed.

"Aw really?! I should of kno-" Knuckles said before he ducked his head as a bullet whizzed by his head. He jumped and rolled out of the way as he avoided the hail of bullets from Mercutio's snub-nosed pistol. The Bancho King grimaced as each shot became more and more accurate, with the sixth shot whizzing a mere cm past his ear.

Knuckles rolled, gently put down the dog. The canine immediately walked away as if nothing happened. The hunter began muscling through the crowd as he ran for it. As he did, he shouted back to the fedora-wearing enemy.

"DAMN YOU MERCUTIO, THAT WAS A LOW! WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME FAIR AND SQUARE, HUH?!"

"Stay still and I might think about it, dogbreath..."

In the span of a blink, Mercutio reloaded his revolver and pointed it at the speeding Knuckles' back. With perfect running technique, Knuckles sped past market stalls without slowing down at all. We are growl Mercutio put his right index finger and thumb into his mouth and whistled shrill.

Knuckles continued to run, a victorious grin on his face. Just as he was at the boundary of the market plaza, he heard the loud sound of a speed engine approaching him. With reflexes and pure fighting instinct, he jumped at the last second as a motorcycle traveling beyond mechanical speed possible drove underneath his legs. He landed and turned, eyes wide in shock, as the motorcycle plowed through several stalls without slowing down whatsoever. As if an indestructible rocket driven by a woman.

The motorcycle skidded to a stop with a screech of tires, the woman seemingly ignoring all g-forces whatsoever as it stopped as suddenly as a rock hitting the ground. The woman took off her motorcycle helmet and looked at Knuckles, a smile on her face.

"Hello Knuckles, long time no see!"

"Damn it! Did all of you join the Mafia?! What the hell?!"

Knuckles saw something in his peripheries and he ducked another bullet aimed at his head. He growled and began running again with all his might, Ren flaring up as the ground beneath him began to tear up.

I got to figure out a way to shake them, then get the hell out of here! I could definitely beat either of them, one on one, but not with all these damn mobsters around. And definitely not two on one! I need a distr-

The world seemed to hear Knuckles prayers as a loud, Jurassic roar cut through the commotion and stopped everyone in their tracks. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound, and not even a moment later an entire apartment building exploded into rubble as an enormous, Tyrannosaurus-like creature with red skin and black horns erupted from the building. It rampaged through two buildings before ramming its head into the concrete floor and assaulting the market place as if it personally insulted it. It tossed stalls in every which direction with ease.

In between its teeth was Cabo.

"MERCUTIO! HELP ME! IT'S TRYING TO EAT ME!" the fisherman bancho pleaded, gripping onto the dinosaur's teeth with desperation.

Mercutio sighed as he turned to the other mobsters, pointed, and yelled, "All of you, say a lie now!"

The mobsters looked confused until Mercutio glared. Then they all started lying immediately. After several people told several lies, Captain held a hand up to stop them. With a frown, he tossed his snub-nose as it turned into white light, morphing, and changing form. It grew in size, adjusted, shifted, before falling back into his hands into the form of a handheld minigun.

Mercutio sighed as he unleashed hell on the dinosaur. Supernaturally powerful bullets ripped through the creature as it roared in pain, each hit removing chunks of flesh that dissipated into white Aura. In less than a few seconds the giant monster fell apart as Cabo fell to the ground with a thump.

"Where the hell is the two!" Mercutio yelled at Cabo as he stalked forward in a rage. Cabo mumbled his response while face down on the ground. With a snarl, Mercutio lifted Cabo off the ground with one hand and held him up.

"Well, Cabo?!"

"I don't know! I saw them enter an apartment, so I followed them. When I kicked down the door that creature attacked me! I swear I don't know what happened Merc!" Cabo said with a teeth-clenched frown, somehow speaking through those giant, sharp teeth.

The Captain of the Red Squad dropped Cabo and ran towards the destroyed apartment. In the center of the rubble was a small, open book.

"Hopeless..." Mercutio said with a scowl as he looked at all his mobsters.

Now

Evira scowled. Then Pairo's voice came out from the phone's speakers.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, but this is my clan. I won't let you control Kurapika or his friends."

She took a deep breath before speaking.

"So, I'm assuming that's how you kidnapped Kacho? Her apartment had books in it."

"Yes. I used Through The Looking Glass to teleport us into one of her books. It was quite simple, really. Then again, I always made sure to suggest reading materials for all your guests..."

Evira stared at the phone with something I couldn't catch. The emotion was so brief it was as if it didn't exist in the first place. I'd bet it was a betrayal.

"You planned to escape in case I held you against your will? You had no worry about that... but no matter. Very well. Where do you want to meet?"

I grinned as Kurapika laid out exactly how the negotiations would go down...

Hello dear readers! I hope you are doing well and continue to do well!

I won't be updating next week due to the fact I've been fighting a wrist injury that's been slowing me down significantly. Now it's getting to the point that I can't neglect it anymore. Don't worry! I intend for this story to end by the end of the year; and this is just a little bump in the road. If anything changes I'll update my profile, but hopefully a week off should be enough!

See you next time. Stay healthy (for real, haha!) and happy! Rondo out.