Instinct x Logic

It's rather strange that an infiltration team would expose themselves like that. Imhokepri moved to Komugi's quarters, going to the floor below his majesty's room. It can only be intentional, stealth is a requisite of infiltration. Attracting one's attention is the first step to… diversion. Imhokepri flapped his wings out of intrigue. Not bad, for a human.

If it is a diversion, it is unlikely to be in the same place as their operatives. They wouldn't be foolish enough to kill members of an already small team. Could I deduce a movement pattern from that? I'll need more information. Imhokepri fanned himself with his wings, perhaps due to the intensity of his thoughts as he arrived in Komugi's quarters.

He retrieved Komugi, bringing her to the king's quarters. "I still wish to intervene, your majesty."

The king waved him off. "Go, but you shall make a timely return."

Knov's and Imhokepri's thought processes overlapped.

Using Zeno's Dragon Dive like that will expose our presence which is unideal, but not my position. Knov continued running through the ruined streets, gripping his phone in hand and huffing as if fatigued. If they are tracking our movements through it, they have already lost. They can only track Zeno, not me or the other members. "Zeno, Double Dive to my west." I have to lure them away from this area.

A gathering of damaged buildings closed in as Knov drew closer. A king wouldn't rest in such mundane lodgings. He adjusted his glasses mid-run. The king has a penchant for grandiosity, first it was a palace, what would it be here? His eyes flitted between all of the buildings coming into view and passing by in his peripheral vision. There is no such thing as a palace in a city. If one is to focus on grandness, it is the largest possible building permissible in the confinements of a city this dense.

For an otherwise fearful man, he felt remarkably bold at that moment. "Hmph." A being who stands above all. It's definitely the skyscraper! Knov instantly made a beeline to the far off skyscraper, taking care to plant portals along his way in preparation. Along his way, he passed by a puddle of water, glancing into it.

Sunken cheeks, illness written on his face. All reflected by the water's rippling surface. Also in its surface, the silhouette of a winged creature. They already saw through that?! If it travels opposite to Dragon Dive, I suppose hitting my location is an option. But I'll play it safe. And It must've only deduced my potential locations, it must be guessing, I shouldn't be hasty. Knov sank into the ground, entering his 'room'.

A well-played game. Imhokepri begun to dive toward the rough area of where Knov was. I could've just flown over the entire area, oh well. As his genes were partially derived from a Hawk he could've easily singled out Knov from the sky at any time. I can't see anything, strange. What was Neferpitou fighting then?

Anyways, narrowing it down was simple. He had further subdivided the north of the city into northern, eastern, southern, and western sections. In this subdivision, the skyscraper was north.

 If they are using a diversion they haven't reached their objective, the skyscraper. So, the area in the north can be disregarded. And anywhere those arrows appear can be also. A 50% chance of instantly finding them. With his flight capability and sight, 50% was as good as 100% even in an area that big.

All the while, the king was playing Gungi with Komugi. Sometimes it's best to act, instead of thinking things through to the last detail. For by the time you have realised it, you have lost. He held a piece between his fingers. One's intuition can be a driving force. Clack. Placing it down.

"5-4-2, Shinobi." Hrm? Her eyes widened slightly, she's never reacted like that before. It almost seemed to be shining as he placed it down, the piece. A divine move. One so inspired, and ingenious. Clack. The glow of his move was dampened by Komugi's swift dismissal.

Lips parted, only slightly. "Profound." An inaudible voice. Not many things swayed the waters of his heart, save for Komugi.

Her eyebrows begun to move as his voice brought her out of her focus. "Did you say something, your highness?" She tilted her head to one side.

"No. Continue playing." His voice echoed despite its low volume.

No matter, your play always tells me what you're thinking. Komugi's face returned to its usual fierce state during play. They continued their exchange. Sometimes moves were so quick their fingers brushed. Other times, they were extended periods of silence during which one could listen to the breaths of the other.

Coldness. A quality of the king's breath. Warmth. The quality of Komugi's. In that bubble around the board, as when in a dream, everything was unclear but laid bare. One's spiritual message.

Another dead end. "I resign." A piece slipped from the side of the board, an oddly careless act. A tangled web of pieces lied infront of him, so ugly. Beautiful.

Komugi closed her eyes. 'Shinobi 5-4-2' The spy who moves in stealth. Are you afraid? She reached for her wooden cane, failing to find it. Shuffle. By some means the cane had slid forward and into her hand. She nodded in appreciation. Thank you.

"I will escort you back to your quarters. It is unwise for you to walk down stairs."

Over in the east, Shaiapouf had just arrived, having flown over after the king's dismissal. "Spiritual Message" His wings shimmered under the moonlight of that young night. Six years old but maturing into something sinister. Flakes parted from them, raining down on the city like glitter. He had travelled far south as life near the explosion could be deemed extinct.

"L-Look, it's snowing." A person among the survivors tenderly caught a flake in their palm. Their face gradually softened into a tranquil mode. Limp.

To the people below, it was somewhat euphoric. A snowy winter day. Or just the fact of their minds being diluted by the psychoactive substances contained in his wing's flakes. In that milky sky, Shaiapouf danced. Chin to violin, violin to chin. Adagio, indulging in a one-sided romance. It is done.

Meanwhile, Imhokepri caught sight of an injured Neferpitou tending to her wounds, descending to her. Imhokepri knelt down, next to her. "Let's talk, Neferpitou." What could've gotten her leg? I didn't detect any powerful presences.

"Now isn't the time." That verbal tic's absence. "That human must be gotten ridden of immediately." Neferpitou's eyes were wide with pupils narrow, almost spilling out of their sockets. Desperation, sheer frenzy.

"How did that human harm you?" Physically stronger, unlikely. Even with technique, physicality trumps.

"Every time I chased them after sensing them, they'd disappear." Her eyes moved to her severed leg. "I don't know what they cut my leg with. It didn't feel sharp, my leg just… disappeared."

They must be proficient at hiding their aura and somehow fast enough to avoid her. Even then, her senses are sharp. "I'll look for them." He stood up. "Also, you've been assigned to the east." Then flew off. Her leg just disappeared? Impossible.

Meanwhile, Gon hurriedly paced through the streets. Killua still followed in the shadows.

Given that the city's skyline had been blown to pieces, the hovering insect's presence was poorly concealed. No point in holding off any longer, it seems to just be observing us and has made no effort to attack. He picked up a rock in the building in which he hid, imbued himself with Nen then slung it at the thing. It effortlessly dodged it, not even moving its neck to look at the rock.

Now that I think about it, all the creatures we've encountered are mixes of some sort. First it was a rabbit, now a fly?  It would follow that they have the associated attributes. The rock landed, alerting Gon's sensitive ears.

Who's there? He looked around, left, right, then up to the sky where he finally noticed the creature, begrudgingly dismissing it as he had no means of reaching it on his own.

It literally is a fly. Killua had a split expression. One half of his mouth curled into a smirk, the other frowned. Bemusement. "Ahem." He cleared his throat. So, its vision and reaction will be top notch, it didn't even turn to look at the rock. He palmed his face in frustration. Given the circumstances, its impossible to defeat it unless I can blind it somehow and get into the air.

These creatures can use Nen, it was only slight, but when Gon hit that rabbit I saw something. The same must go for the thing in the air, likely a supportive

ability seeing as it's made no moves. He sighed. That doesn't change anything, it just means the ability is similar to a camera which can also be blinded. Killua entered Zetsu, as his claws lengthened.

He found a nearby electrical socket, ripping off the cover to expose the wiring before grabbing it. Killua's body subtly jerked as he charged up for some time. Eventually, his body took on a pale glow whilst his hair spiked up as if magnetised to the air. What a low quality source. Blue restless arcs of electricity circled his body. Killua ascended to the rooftop as his lips fluttered.

It'll expose us, but it'll benefit us in the long term if we can't be tracked.

 "Arc Flash." Crackle. I guess that's a cool name, but whatever.

Arc Flash. An application of his Hatsu which applied the properties of electricity to his Nen. Simply, he discharged an arc of electricity between his hands to superheat the components of air, exciting them such that their collisions unleash a devastating light.

He clamped his eyes shut as his makeshift flashbang illuminated the area with white light, it was as if the sun were briefly hovering just above the surface of the Earth. At that distance, it was brighter even. The veins lining his eyelids were visible, he could watch his heartbeat.

Flutter had been watching Killua's every move, from him ripping off the plug socket's cover, charging up, then finally actualising his plan. He'd observed this, yet for some reason did not have any major alarm. Why is the human just sitting there? Flutter's attention focused on the removed socket cover then the exposed wiring Killua clutched in his hands. Things only clicked when Killua's body lit up with electricity. It intends on using that electrical attack again, I'll just fly higher. So he did.

Flutter looked down at Killua with his own eyes from his altitude high up and out of range of any of his expected attacks. I can see everything you do.

Which meant Killua's attack was unavoidable. Light flooded the area for a fraction of a second. All of Flutter's eyes were washed over with the blinding light. Killua's vanished body reappeared mid-air with trailing arcs of electricity.

"Narukami!" The electrical tongue stemming from his fingertips just reached Flutter who was out of reach of Killua. I'll have to keep it stunned until we reach the ground. Both begun to fall to the ground whilst Killua fought to maintain the stream of electricity. Just as they reached the ground, the arcs faded away.

Flutter's wings begun to twitch, beginning to propel him back into the air. Disallowed. Killua ran through Flutter, swiping at his neck with his hand. Shunk.

A head's silhouette moved through the air. The corpse fell first, then its head followed.

The electrical arcs gradually disappeared, and his hair fell back into place. I'm tapped. Thankfully we're in the city. Killua noticed Gon regarding him with surprise.

 "Killua, you've been following me?" Gon came out unscathed as he'd been facing away from the light.

"I couldn't just leave you alone out here, even if you're being an idiot." Killua staggered slightly, feeling drained from his exertion. "Let's just turn around and get out of here, Gon. We'll die if we stick around here."

Drip.

Gon was taken aback. Killua… Why are you crying?

In his vision, fragments. "When I say we'll die, you do understand right? This isn't a game." Crinkles in all corners, on his face. "I can't seem to get this through to you, Gon!" His arms waved about as he animatedly gestured. "Look at this place! Destroyed! Not by a weapon or a person. Something absolutely beyond reason!" Lengthy silence followed.

Killua ran his arm across his face, collecting tears which were of a limited edition. When that arm finished its lap, the only thing left behind after that erasure. An image of resolve. Pale moonlit skin, narrowed blue eyes on which no ripples occurred. All framed by his tousled white hair.

Time was compressed for this very moment. Gon's eyes focused on Killua's lips curving to form those words. "I hesitated once because it's you. You, always about you! Gon, get a grip! We're in the middle of a war zone and you want to go and play hero!"

Gon's face twisted in a grimace. "About me? I'm thinking of everyone else! Leorio! Kurapika! You're the one who's thinking about yourself, wanting to flee like a coward!"

"Yeah…" Killua leant his head back, covering his eyes with his hand. "That's why I followed you into the gaping jaws of hell." Out of nowhere, he chuckled. "Everyone else? When you woke up, you barely remembered to mention anyone other than those two."

Gon fixed his eyes to the ground, clenching his fists, unable to rebut for some time. "What if it was me? Would you look for me?" A torrent of his fluctuating aura spewed forth.

Killua's resolved expression crumbled slightly. "I…" His hands dropped to his side in the manner of a child being reproached as he looked off to the side.

"Well!? Answer me, Killua!" In the reflection of Killua's eyes, there stood Gon with a tired look. His eyes were far honest than most, but at this time. At this time, Killua could not read his thoughts. They harboured an inexplorable depth one could drown in.

A minute ripple crossed through the shallow waters of Killua's eyes. "I don't know." Dejected. "But I do know, you're going to get yourself killed. And I don't want that." He spread his arms out infront of himself for his final plea. "I want to keep a hold of what I do have!"

Gon stood at an angle from him. "So do I, Killua. I'm just doing whatever it takes." Gon turned away for the second time that night, showing his back to Killua. He walked away this time. Likely hesitating to run as the distance he'd put between himself, and Killua would be equal to the size of the rift forming in their relationship.

Boiling point. Limit. End. Maximum. Finality. Breaking point. Killua smashed his fist into the ground repeatedly, shattering the concrete. A pained howl through a sore throat finalised his fit.

Tock. The seventh hour came.

"Flutter. Flutter! Why aren't you responding?" Rammot had been travelling in the wrong direction, heading south instead of to the north-east. The bright flash of light off in the distance caught his attention. And in the south, the display caught Kurapika and Meleoron's attention, but they were too busy attempting to avoid the attention of someone else.

Kurapika held a hand over his nose and mouth, as did Meleoron. The flakes falling from the sky were out of place and ominous to say the least. 

Maybe being captured isn't so bad, he wants to escape and so do I. At least I have a reason now. "That's one of the royal guard's doing." Meleoron promptly held his breath, activating his ability, God's Accomplice. Their presences were totally concealed.

They moved out already!? I never had a chance of getting out of here unscathed. After hours of heading south, they finally found signs of civilisation. What he came upon were idle zombies occupying the streets.

This must be the effect of those flakes. I'll need to take cover inside. He saw a large shopping mall nearby, filtering through the crowds with Meleoron. How long has it been since I've last eaten?

In the depths of that mall, a creature lurked. It observed itself in the glass pane of one of the many storefronts. Rippling purple hair reaching down to its waist. Peculiarly, it wore only a bra and underwear. Both being yellow. A pointed stinger came across its face and brushed aside its hair.

Beautiful as always, Zazan. A lip print was left behind on that glass.