16 Chapter 16: Spider Trap
After hearing the familiar ring of the start of an announcement, followed by a greeting that stated they had landed and should all start disembarking the airship, Soren woke Machi up, as the two of them took their small luggage bags before leaving.
"Yaahhwn!~... So we finally made it?": machi
"Yeah, now we just need to look for our 'family' so we can talk with them": soren
Machi was happy at the fact they would be seeing their friend that became more of a family, as Machi felt that Pakunoda would be interested in the fact that she was pregnant. She also wanted another woman to talk to, as she still wanted to keep it a secret from Soren until she felt that she was ready to face whatever might come from his mouth. She knew Soren said he wanted a massive family, but that didn't mean he wanted kids at such a young age, so mental preparation was needed, and talking to Pakunoda would give her the boost in confidence she needed, or at least she thought it would.
"So, how do you plan to find the others?... You should know that it won't be easy, seeing as we have been hiding for almost 9 years": machi
"I know, but what did we love doing most?": soren
"... Stealing?": machi
"Stealing from the rich scum of the city… I will put out word that a super rich man has come to Yorknew City looking for flesh auctions and wants to trade the flesh of an 'Authentic Phantom Troupe Members Insignia' tattooed into their skin": soren
Upon hearing Soren's plan, Machi couldn't help but wonder how they planned to pull it off, but her answer was quickly made obvious as Soren dragged her to a hotel and rented a room before handing her a knife and removing his shirt, exposing his back to her.
"Alright, carve out an area around the tattoo, and then use a camera to take a picture of the carved flesh": soren
When Machi heard such a crazy idea, she quickly refused.
"No!... I can't do that to you!": machi
"It's fine… After the picture is taken, you can use your Nen threads to heal me up": soren
Machi wanted to complain, but seeing that Soren was about to just do it himself and hope for the best, she decided to just release a sign and took the knife in hand as she approached Soren's back.
"Okay, I'm going to begin": machi
Machi tried to use her Nen to make the blade as sharp as possible so it was less painful for Soren, as well as a quick and more precise process, and after a minute of agonizing pain, as the flesh was literally carved from his body, the pain had stopped and Machi stood behind him holding a large piece of bloody flesh wrapped in a towel.
"Arrgh!... Alright… Now we just need a picture of the flesh": soren
Soren then sat on the bed waiting for Machi to finish taking the picture before he then went through a half hour long surgical procedure to reattach each and every blood vessel and nerve as the muscle fibers were reattached making it as if there was never an injury in the first place.
"Alright, you're all healed up… Don't ever make me do something like this ever again!": machi
"Ahaha… Yes, don't worry, I won't make you do this ever again": soren
Soren scratched the back of his head while laughing off the anger that was being directed towards him by Machi.
"So now we just need to leak the information": soren
"What makes you think that people would be willing to collect the flesh of a Phantom Troupe member?": machi
"Hmm, I'm not sure, but I would assume that since we have such a high bounty, and are considered unstoppable monsters to normal people, the flesh of a member could be worth something, but I'm not trying to sell my flesh, but draw in the others": soren
Machi seemed to have a look of realization, as if Chrollo saw information about a member that has gone quiet for almost 3 years, he would definitely come to verify its authenticity and probably kill the seller after getting information on where the seller procured the flesh. Soren then got onto one of the hotel computers and began leaking some information while posing as a rich flesh collector looking to auction or trade flesh.
"Looking to auction or trade authentic Phantom Troupe member flesh … The flesh is from the body of the member with the number 1 marked on the spider's back… Flesh is well preserved, and quite tough… Will be auctioned at the Yorknew Auction House in 3 days!... And, finished!... Now we post it and go set up an auction": soren
Soren then brought Machi to the downtown district where the auction house was stationed, after going inside, Soren bribed the attendant to set up a flesh auction and spread the information, and after asking for the product, Soren handed over a picture saying the product needed to be kept under a special environment to preserve the freshness, as it would only come out on the night of the auction.
"Alright, your auction is now set, the starting bid will start at 80,000 jenny as it's hard to prove that the flesh is real due to lack of prior DNA to match up with, but seeing as the Phantom Troupe has been very active recently, I wouldn't doubt that one of them lost their life and this is the result, so it could reach up to 1 million jenny… Do you mind explaining how you got this flesh? It could help build the backstory and give it a bit of sway for the rich who just love wasting money": auction attendant
"Yeah, I carved it from his body myself when he tried to rob me… Is that enough sway?... You can add that I'm a Hunter, as that will be more believable": soren
Upon hearing that Soren was the one to carve the flesh, the attendant was a bit skeptical, but hearing that he claimed to be a Hunter, the attendant began sweating, as he made Soren bribe him to place an auction, but not just anyone can be a Hunter either.
"S-sir, would you happen to have your Hunter's License with you for added proof?": auction attendant
"My license?... Nope, I sold it to get some money… The same money you just took as a bribe… So… Will you continue wasting our time? I just need this news spread so I can get some big fish to appear": soren
When the attendant heard Soren's words, he felt that Soren was looking for rich people that waste money as he referred to them as big fish, but Soren didn't care about rich assholes, as he wasn't really selling anything and the fish he talked about was none other than the Troupe members.
"R-right away!... I'll get the news out, and your auction will start in 3 days, just as you stated!": auction attendant
The attendant quickly began placing the information into the computer as he began spreading the information all throughout Yorknew City, a day passed, and as word spread, members of the underworld also began to talk and soon word came to the Phantom Troupe.
"Boss!... We have some news, and it looks bad": nobunaga
Hearing the shout of his friend, Chrollo, who was reading, turned to face him with an indifferent expression as he spoke up.
"Oh?... What's the news? How bad is it?": chrollo
"T-There's an auction taking place in 2 days time, and in this auction the flesh of a Troupe member is being auctioned off!": nobunaga
Chrollo heard this and began pondering what it meant before asking.
"Where are our members?... Is anyone hurt?": chrollo
Nobunaga didn't know how to answer this, as everyone currently in Yorknew City are just fine, but there are 2 members not present.
"E-everyone here is accounted for": nobunaga
"Then it's probably just a fake… Why are you still concerned?... We've seen lots of people claim to be Troupe members due to the fact that we keep our faces out of the picture leaving just any criminal to be a 'Phantom Troupe member' so it's probably one that got caught": chrollo
"I would have thought that as well, but the problem here is the picture of the flesh has a spider with the number 1 over its abdomen… Most don't know that we spiders have numbers, and it just so happens to be Soren's number": nobunaga (A/N: I think Kurapika knew about the numbers due to witnessing the attack, but if I'm wrong and spiders having numbers is common knowledge just let me know)
When Chrollo heard the name of his long time friend, he placed the book in his hand down as his eyes became a bit cold as he asked for a picture of the flesh. Nobunaga quickly handed him a newspaper that listed the auctioned items as Soren's flesh was among the listed items, and upon seeing the familiar tattoo, Chrollo's Nen flared as he handed the newspaper back to Nobunaga and spoke.
"Gather the Troupe members, we're going to visit this auction and ask the seller personally where they obtained this flesh": chrollo
After seeing his boss in such an angered state, Nobunaga quickly left to round up the Troupe members, and after an hour, everyone was gathered at a secret meeting spot as Uvogin was the first to speak up.
"What's up, Boss?... Are we going to smash some heads tonight!?": uvogin
Uvogin was getting excited at the idea of killing somebody, as he always felt restrained due to Chrollo always letting innocents leave, but not before wiping their memories with a special Nen ability he stole using Skill Hunter, and just as Uvogin was feeling restless, Chrollo spoke, confirming his question.
"Yes, Uvo, but we first need to question the person for information": chrollo
"Hahaha!... Yes!... I hope there are lots!": uvogin
"Alright, so our target tonight seems to be a flesh collector looking to trade with other collectors… What this collector is trading appears to be flesh from one of our own": chrollo
After hearing Chrollo speak, they all felt the killing intent hidden inside his words, and without any further questions, the group began making plans about how to do the mission, and like usual, Uvogin's idea was out as he just suggested 'smashing heads' to solve all problems.
"Alright… So the plan is simple: we will attend the auction as if we are interested in trading, rather than buying in an auction so that way we can get close to them… After that, we will torture them for information before killing them… Uvo, you can kill the other collectors, there shouldn't be any innocent people among flesh collectors": chrollo
Hearing that he could go wild and kill everyone, Uvogin's smile turned into a big grin as he cracked his knuckles.
"Thanks, Boss!... Hehehe": uvogin
"Now that we got out plan, we will move out in 2 days when the auction takes place": chrollo
Everyone nodded after receiving their orders before leaving to do their own thing, while Chrollo was left to think by himself.
'That makes 2 spiders… Possibly 3?... Where is Machi?... Did she leave Soren to travel on her own?': chrollo
Chrollo began thinking about how they lost Omokage just 6 months ago, and now it seems that Soren had been killed and his flesh was being auctioned off as a souvenir for sick flesh collectors, and Machi's whereabouts are still unknown.
'Seems we will need to recruit more members soon': chrollo
After 2 days, Soren sat backstage of the Yorknew Auction House as he heard a bunch of murmurs as the seats were filled by those interested in the flesh auction, while outside of the auction house, another group began to gather as the cold November night air blew across their faces as Chrollo was the first to speak.
"Let's get as close as we can before we start the killings": chrollo
The group quickly entered the auction venue as they began taking their seats waiting for the auction to start, but surprising to them, a loud commotion was felt as the building began to shake.
"W-what's happening!?': flesh collector
As more and more of the attendees began panicking, the Troupe members began preparing for a fight while Uvogin was the first to jump in excitement as he felt a strong presence standing just beyond the red curtain.
"Hahaha!... I can finally feel my blood pumping!... Time to fight!": uvogin
"Uvo!... Stop, this is a trap!": nobunaga
As all the present members began to feel the presence, it became obvious that this Auction was a set up to lure them in, but by who, and why, was the question floating in their minds.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!... Hahaha!": uvogin
Just as Uvogin was about to rip the curtain away, the curtain deformed as a strong fist landed directly into Uvogin's chest as he was sent flying.
"You big idiot!... You shouldn't be so talkative during a sneak attack… Oh how the spiders have fallen into my trap… Chrollo, I'm home!": soren
As Soren spoke, Uvogin had crashed into the back wall of the auction house while the other spiders watched as Soren stood unharmed as Machi stood by his side with a bright smile on her face as she spoke as well.
"I'm back too!": machi
Chrollo was speechless as he was left staring at his first ever friend, someone he considered his brother, as a smile appeared on his face.
