You Two Go Play

You Two Go Play

On the airship, Oboro simply threw away his ruined new clothes, changed into an old T-shirt and shorts, and sat in the economy-class cabin.

The wound between his brows where the Nen Needle had pierced him was covered with a bandage after some basic treatment.

"Combat experience... I need a lot of battles to improve my real combat ability."

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the cabin and looked down at the landscape below. As he recalled his exchange with Illumi, his resolve to go to Heavens Arena grew even firmer.

First of all, Heavens Arena had all kinds of Nen users, and most of them were weak... that was an indisputable fact. But there were also some experts, such as the Floor Masters. Still, from what he remembered of Hunter x Hunter, especially the Floor Masters who had appeared in the movies... they did not seem all that impressive, looking no different from cannon fodder.

Even so... at Heavens Arena, he would never lack opponents. He could also use those people to experiment with Nen, such as combining certain Nen techniques to produce more advanced applications... and through countless battles, learn what effects each Nen technique could achieve under different circumstances.

Among all the power systems in the anime he knew, Hunter x Hunter's was almost certainly the most complete and the best.

Nen abilities came in every conceivable variety—Emission, Enhancement, Specialization, and more. Fighting opponents with different types of Nen would also let Oboro handle future enemies with greater ease.

Knowledge was knowledge, and memories were memories. Whether he could apply them in reality and find his own fighting style was what mattered most.

Besides, going to Heavens Arena... was also his best way of making money right now.

He clearly remembered that the hundreds of millions of Jenie Killua had earned at Heavens Arena had all been spent on snacks and chocolate...

He was desperately short on money right now!

"Ah... you're here."

A familiar voice suddenly came from beside him.

It was Illumi.

He had been looking for Oboro.

"Need something?"

Oboro asked coldly.

The economy-class cabin of the airship was sparsely furnished. More than a hundred people shared the same space, resting in seats that doubled as beds. An airship this luxurious naturally had private rooms as well... and without even thinking about it, Illumi was definitely staying in one of those.

He was not short on money.

Someone like Illumi could not possibly use his real name while traveling. His Zoldyck family identity was somewhat sensitive, and fabricating a background was effortless for people like them.

"Did you deliberately come to economy class because you wanted to stay away from me?"

Illumi stood beside Oboro, turning his expressionless face toward him as he asked.

As a Nen user with actual strength, no matter what line of work he entered, his financial situation would certainly be far better than that of ordinary people.

He might not compare to the truly wealthy, but he would basically never have to worry about making a living.

And a Nen user like Oboro, whose individual strength was quite outstanding, was also a potential client for the Zoldyck family...

"Yes."

Oboro did not want to explain.

Being broke was not exactly easy to admit.

Illumi stared silently at Oboro for several seconds before suddenly saying, "You don't have any money, do you..."

"..."

Oboro said nothing.

"So I guessed right..."

Illumi tapped his fist into his palm. His tone was clearly flat, yet for some reason, Oboro could hear a trace of gloating in it.

Annoying!

Truly annoying... annoying in a completely different way from Hisoka!

They both possessed sharp insight and intelligence.

At least Hisoka seemed somewhat human, even if his personality was twisted... but Illumi looked more like a machine, or perhaps a mannequin. There was no emotional rise or fall to be felt from him at all, and his words were even more blunt and direct.

The kind that stabbed straight into your sore spot!

"I can lend you some!"

Illumi held up one finger.

"No need, thanks."

Oboro turned his back on him and returned to his seat.

He did not need to think to know that borrowing this money would not be easy... there had to be a catch.

Illumi found no amusement in that and turned to leave as well.

Not long after, Oboro was sitting in his chair with his eyes closed when a beautiful woman in a red uniform—a flight attendant—walked over with a sweet smile. "Hello, sir... your ticket has been upgraded to a private room. Please come with me."

"I don't have money."

Oboro said.

"Another guest has already paid for you."

The woman was exceptionally enthusiastic.

What was this about...

That guest had to be Illumi.

After considering it, Oboro still got up and followed the woman toward the private rooms...

The second floor of the airship provided free alcohol and food, and its facilities were much better. Since someone had already paid, Oboro did not see any reason to refuse.

A while later, he was led to his private room.

When he opened the door, he found a luxurious setup inside: a large bed, bathroom, television... The overall environment on the second floor was also much quieter and less noisy.

After taking a shower, Oboro felt refreshed and prepared to go out for a walk.

He had to admit, the lives of rich people really were wonderful... and it only made him crave money even more.

But the moment he opened the door and stepped out, the person staying in the neighboring room happened to leave as well. The two came face-to-face in an instant.

Then... Oboro's expression darkened.

It was Illumi... this guy was staying right next door, their rooms separated by only one wall.

"Oboro, we meet again."

Illumi stiffly raised a hand in greeting.

"..."

Oboro said nothing.

He was not surprised that Illumi knew his name... Illumi had obviously arranged for him to stay in this room on purpose, and finding his surname through the passenger registration information would have been easy. More importantly, Illumi only needed to make a phone call to investigate Oboro's background... after all, the Zoldyck family had a hacker proficient in computers. Forget ordinary people's information—even the secret files of many government organizations were no different from public records in the Zoldycks' eyes.

Milluki Zoldyck, Killua's second older brother.

That fat shut-in...

"You don't need to be so wary of me... I really did want to kill you before. You know that the fewer people who know my identity, the better. My work information needs to be well protected, so I can avoid unnecessary trouble."

"But... I've changed my mind. I think... you have great potential. Maybe you can become one of my clients in the future."

Illumi spoke without the slightest reservation.

"Are all Zoldycks this arrogant? Kill me... heh..."

Oboro could not be bothered to respond. With both hands in his pockets, he walked away.

Illumi followed after him.

The airship's interior was only so large. Even if Oboro wanted to shake off this expressionless guy, he could not.

"You really are strong... you're one of the most troublesome Nen users I've encountered in recent years. But... I'm confident I could kill you. The price would just be rather high. I might end up seriously injured, and it would waste a lot of time... A difficult job like that already meets the intensity of actual work. If there's no money to be made, it's obviously a very unprofitable deal."

Illumi explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Tch."

The disgust on Oboro's face was impossible to hide.

"By the way, I investigated you... You used to work for a fairly famous Circus, right? Then you disappeared... Can I assume you began Nen training under someone's guidance?"

Illumi had absolutely no sense of boundaries. Oboro had already made his annoyance obvious, yet Illumi continued rambling on.

"Still, I only found records of the few short months you spent at the Circus. Everything before that is completely blank."

"You pry into other people's privacy so brazenly. You really are... completely lacking in manners."

Oboro stopped walking and mocked him coldly.

Of course Illumi could not find anything. Even Milluki would have been useless, because before Moritonio had taken him in, he had been a homeless abandoned child.

"How did you know about me?"

Illumi was like chewing gum. Wherever Oboro went, he followed.

"Have you always been this annoying since you were little?"

Oboro answered with another question.

After all... the current Illumi was not yet the Illumi from when the story began. Put simply... he was still a teenager.

Oboro had not expected Illumi to already be like this at this point.

Sure enough, one's nature was difficult to change. Hisoka was like that... and so was Illumi.

"My family likes me quite a lot."

Illumi said with complete seriousness.

"Heh..."

Oboro sneered.

"You know my family well too? Do you know my father or grandfather? Did the person who taught you Nen tell you about them? If so, he's very likely a client of my father's or grandfather's... Is Graham involved with the underworld? Most of their clients are influential figures... Sure enough, compared to the two of them, I need to work harder at expanding my client base..."

It was obvious that Illumi, who was in the rising stage of his career, was working very hard...

Oboro spent his first day suffering through Illumi's pestering, rambling, and endless questioning.

Naturally, Oboro ignored every single one of Illumi's questions.

Over the following days, Illumi quieted down considerably, though he still sought out Oboro from time to time... Oboro eventually got used to it and let him tag along like a little shadow.

He was genuinely impressed by his own adaptability.

Maybe Hisoka had trained him for it...

Finally, half a month later, the airship landed in a city in the Dendra region of the Republic of Padokea.

Oboro felt as if a huge burden had been lifted. He could finally get rid of that expressionless teenager...

But after walking down the airship stairs, a sudden impulse struck him, and an idea came to mind.

"Here... this is someone's contact number. Compared to me, I think he's more likely to become one of your major clients..."

Oboro handed a slip of paper to Illumi.

Illumi did not doubt him in the slightest and nodded. "Stronger than you?"

"We haven't seen each other in a long time, so I don't know... but he should fit the Zoldycks' idea of a target client better. This guy likes killing people and often causes trouble... You happen to be experts at solving problems, so you should hit it off immediately."

Without even saying goodbye, Oboro finished speaking and immediately ran off.

Let Illumi go find Hisoka... the two of them were cut from the same cloth and would probably get along just fine.

That way, Illumi's attention would also be diverted, keeping him from fixating on Oboro again.

Illumi watched Oboro's retreating figure, then lowered his head, took out his phone, and directly dialed the number on the paper.

After several rings, the call connected.

"Oboro?" A lazy yet expectant voice came from the other end.

Hisoka.

He had prepared this number specifically for Oboro. Oboro was the only person who knew it.

They had not seen each other for nearly two years, and Hisoka had always wondered when Oboro would contact him.

"Sorry, Oboro gave me your number... He said you may have some trouble that needs handling. I can help you... As for the price, since this is our first transaction, I can offer a certain discount."

Illumi responded as though he were reading from a script.

"..."

A brief silence followed.

"You... who are you?"

Hisoka's voice turned a little colder.