I have other fics to write, I know. I'm going to overload myself, I know. I shouldn't be doing this, I know.

But, God damn it, I am doing this! :D

People, despite something called better-judgement (who needs it anyway?), I am going to begin yet another fic! And - drums, please! - it is NOT OC-centric! Yes! I have finally managed to create a plot that I find interesting enough and that doesn't envolve telling the story of an OC! - hallelujah choir.

Now, before I get started, I'm going to say some things about this fic.

First: yes, this fic will be Senritsu/Melody x Feitan. I know, a completely crack pairing, but I couldn't help myself; I really, really, really have to write down this idea. I honestly believe I can make this work. If I don't... well, you can always close the internet window mid-way into the chapter. ;)

Second: this work is based on Yandere Shoujo's one-shot: Eye to Eye. To those who haven't read it, please do. It's an amazing read, and very important to understand this fic. Really, go check it out, you won't regret it. I would never be able to ship such a crack pairing if it wasn't for Yandere Shoujo's amazing work.

Third: the fic begins on the turn of the York Shin arc to the Greed Island arc and goes on from then. It'll follow Senritsu's quest for the Sonata of Darkess.

Warnings: some bad language, description of torture, CRACK pairing and... OOCness? (most likely. I'm doing my best to keep Feitan IC, but, well, since I'm pairing him with someone, I really think it can't be helped...)

Since there will be strong references to music in this fic, before each chapter, I intend to post a suggestion of a song/melody (that you'll always be able to find on youtube) that I think suits the pairing and the chapter. This time: Deadly Sorrow - by Myuu

Disclaimer (valid for all chapters): I don't own HunterxHunter or its characters or Nen. I also don't own the the phrases in italic of this chapter; they were copied from Eye to Eye, as a reference to it.

Now, to the story!

Feitan was bothered.

Not because the Chain User had managed to capture Danchou. Not because Pakunoda was playing into his game; going alone to meet with him and exchange those two brats for their leader. And not because he didn't get to torture and kill said brats.

No. All of those things didn't bother him. They pissed him off. But, Feitan was used to that, so it didn't bother him.

What bothered the small thief was one specific phrase that Nobunaga said after talking to the Chain User: "He said he'll know if we lie to him by our heartbeat; he even told me to put the phone over my chest to check it."

Of course, as the Phantom Troupe's unofficial torturer, Feitan knew that the first organ that was affected by the brain's decisions was the heart. The heartbeat was the first give-away of someone's state of mind. No doubt, it would also be the first give-away of a lie.

Still, that request bothered him.

They all had established that the Chain User was a Conjurer or a Manipulator, and it would take an extremely experienced Enhancer to actually listen to a heartbeat through a phone. Said Enhancer would also have to be a very attentive person to be able to deduce the person's state of mind and truthfulness from said heartbeat. A true interrogator.

(A true musician.)

So, the Chain User had yet another Enhancer friend. Figures.

But, Enhancers were hot-headed people that couldn't bear to stay still - take Ubo for an example – so, why hadn't said Enhancer come after them with those brats? Why did the Enhancer learn how to enhance his hearing, a skill so secondary to fighting? How did an Enhancer even have the patience to learn how to read a heartbeat?

It did not make sense.

And it bothered him.

"Do you trust me?"

Those were Pakunoda's last words.

Pakunoda's death didn't bother Feitan; it angered him. It angered him so fucking much that, for a second, he thought he'd materialize his Pain Packer armour and go after the Chain User himself.

Please… let this end with me.

Pakunoda's emotions gave him the control he needed to keep still and take his time to think about the memories he had just received.

In one of Pakunoda's most recent memories, there was the image of a hat-wearing small woman, with sickly pale skin – much like his own - and long front teeth, standing right beside the Chain User.

Pakunoda's memories provided a name.

Senritsu.

His own memories provided a song.

"This is Mother to the West Sea."

That song gave him calm.

As Phinks explained what had just happened to those who hadn't received Pakunoda's memories – Korutopi, Bonolenov and Shizuku – Feitan lost himself in a memory of his own. A memory of an encounter that had happened years ago, when he still live in Meteor City. A strange encounter, with an even stranger woman, that, though brief, marked the small thief deeply.

"This? It's a flute. You never seen one?"

He hadn't. She didn't mock him for it.

"How about I play a song for you? I'm sure you'll like it."

She played. He wanted more.

"Calm down. I can play a different song."

She played and tried to instruct him as to where he could listen to more songs. He ordered her to give him the flute.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, though you can get one of your own."

He attacked. She dodge. He saw her disfigured arm.

"This is one of the reasons I can't allow you to have my flute."

She had protected him. He helped her hide her arm.

"I'm going to go now; you don't have what I'm looking for."

She stood up to leave. He made a promise.

"Some day. I steal you. I steal you and music."

Feitan let his eyes close.

It had been months - years maybe - since that particular memory had come to surface; Feitan tended not to think much of the past. That didn't mean he had forgotten about the Woman with the Flute, though. How could he? After all, it was the first time he ever desired to steal something, not needed to.

Why he hadn't stolen her there and then was still a mystery to him. However, he did remember looking for her on the next day, but she was no longer in Meteor City.

It was then that he decided to follow Kuroro and join the Phantom Troupe.

Kuroro had told them it was time to get what they wanted instead of what they needed, and what Feitan wanted was no longer in Meteor City. It would be alrihgt, though; the Spider would walk away from that place and weave its web around the world. Feitan knew that, one day, the Woman with the Flute would fall on that web.

He hadn't forgotten about his promise to her.

When Feitan reopened his eyes, he saw Pakunoda's face. Unmoving and pale. Dead.

Anger build up inside him again but he held it back, playing and replaying a song and a voice in his mind. It lessened his anger; it calmed him.

"This is Mother to the West Sea."

Feitan longed to listen that song again. He longed to listen the Woman with the Flute play it to him again.

Behind his skull crest, a possessive smile tugged on the thief's lips; he no longer felt bothered.

"Some day. I steal you. I steal you and music."

Feitan knew that day was near.

Senritsu felt a chill run down her spine. Kurapika noticed the woman shiver.

"Are you alright, Senritsu?"

"Yes. Don't worry about me."

Kurapika stared at her for some moments, looking for any sign of discomfort. Senritsu noticed it and smiled reassuringly to the blonde.

Really, she didn't want him worrying about her. Not when he should be worrying about himself. Senritsu could hear in his heartbeat how much of a toll dealing with the Phantom Troupe had taken on Kurapika.

She knew that deciding not to kill the Phantom Troupe's leader had been a difficult decision to him; his heartbeat was pained but relieved, angry but controlled, sad but happy. All those mixed feelings, feelings that came with not knowing if you made the right choice, were overwhelming the boy.

Then, there was the shock of seeing how much Pakunoda cared about Kuroro. It was clear that Kurapika didn't anticipate such noble feelings from the any of the Spiders. However, he had found them in Pakunoda and identified himself with her. It just added to his doubts and uncertainties.

Senritsu laid her forehead on the cool glass of the airship's window. She wished there was something she could do to ease the boy's burden, even though she knew that nothing in the world would make things easier for him. Revenge was a dark and complicated path, incapable of giving the desired satisfaction to those who followed it.

Still, she believed Kurapika had done well. He could've gone rampant and killed Kuroro and Pakunoda, but he didn't. The boy had chosen life over death.

So, why was she feeling so uneasy? What was this feeling on the pit of her stomach that told her something was about to happen?

Senritsu felt another shiver run down her spine and closed her eyes. In her mind, she played and replayed a song. It calmed her.

The song's name was Mother to the West Sea.

"He said he'll know if we lie to him by our heartbeat; he even told me to put the phone over my chest to check it." - I know, Nobunaga never said that in the anime, but it had to be there. Please, bear with me.

Oh! Feitan's speech ("Some day. I steal you. I steal you and music.") is wrong in this chapter and will remain wrong through the whole fic. Japanese, English, or whatever language they speak in the HxH universe, is Feitan's second language, so he doesn't speak it perfectly. His first language is the HxH's equivalent to Chinese.

Hope you enjoyed the fic. Please, let me know what you think about it. :)

Kisses,

RedVoid