Disclaimer: The characters and events of Hunter x Hunter belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

"Grayscale" Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fan-Fiction For: Hunter x Hunter / Killua Zaoldyeck.

Begin.

Karasu wasn't sure what to say when Pakunoda presented her with a bag of new clothes.

"The ones you're wearing are all ripped up. Not to mention you were sweating in them last night," the older woman explained.

Karasu thanked her, but when the woman left so she could change Karasu couldn't help but be suspicious. She couldn't help but feel as if Pakunoda had ulterior motives. After all, her clothes weren't that torn up (although yes, they were soiled with sweat).

When she pulled a sleeveless white dress from the bag her feelings were confirmed. Karasu grumbled as she undressed, wincing slightly when she pulled off her shirt. There had been an uncomfortable tugging sensation, and when she reached back to feel her skin she found scabs. The previous night she'd dug her fingers into her shoulders with enough force to draw blood.

Karasu sighed and pulled the dress on over her head, taking a moment to study the floral pattern that'd been sewn into the fabric. She wasn't sure why but it seemed that people had a thing for dressing her in flowers.

There was also a light cardigan in the bag, for which Karasu was grateful, and she pulled it on without hesitation. At the bottom of the bag were white sandals, and Karasu put those on, too. She stuffed her dirty clothes and boots into the bag and made her way out to the rest of the Spiders.

Pakunoda smiled when she saw her, eyes gleaming at the girl. Hisoka grinned and leered at her, something that made Karasu shudder. Phinks, with a wide smirk, told her that her bruise went very well with her dress. Karasu retorted that his went with his track suit.

"Last night we decided that Pakunoda and Phinks will accompany you," the leader told her with a smile. "Afterward you're free to go."

Karasu blinked. "Really?"

"Really."

She felt as if a weight had been lifted. Relief swept through her so quickly that she almost fell.

"Thank you," she said, and he was almost surprised at how earnest she was.

"Of course," he answered, and they split ways.

In Yorknew Karasus's first stop was to the place she got her milkshakes. Phinks grumbled and complained as she waited in line with Pakunoda.

"I was getting a milkshake when I found them," Karasu explained, and Phinks rolled his eyes.

Karasu walked down the streets with a Spider on either side of her and a milkshake in her hand. Her eyes scanned back and forth until finally they landed on the purple tent. She halted in her steps, her grip tightening on her styrofoam cup. Phinks and Pakunoda stopped with her and followed her gaze to the tent.

"Is that it?" Pakunoda asked.

Karasu nodded slowly.

"Doesn't look all that impressive," Phinks grumbled.

"Can I go now?" Karasu asked, looking between the two of them desperately.

"We have to at least confirm it's them," Phinks told her, taking her arm in his hand. "Come on."

She dragged her feet to try to slow him down but all it did was get dirt in her sandals. Phinks swept the tent open and ducked inside, pulling Karasu along behind him. With Pakunoda behind her there was no way to escape.

"Welcome." The voice of the old woman permeated the tent. "I knew you'd be back, Little Crow."

Karasu flinched and Pakunoda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"This them?" Phinks asked, and Karasu nodded.

He let go of her arm and Pakunoda released her shoulders.

"You can go now, Karasu," Pakunoda told her, and those were all the words she needed.

The moment Karasu was out of the tent she began to run. By the time she reached the hotel she was sweating and breathing hard but still she didn't stop. Rather than wait for an elevator she took the stairs two at a time, her legs and lungs burning from the effort. When she reached the door to their room she finally stopped, taking in deep gulps of air and digging into the bag for her key.

She opened the door carefully and slipped inside, kicking her shoes off next to Gon and Killua's. Tears prickled in her eyes and she set down her milkshake and her bag of clothes. She could hear footsteps coming her way.

She turned to face the source of the noise and then she was staring into Killua's eyes.

"Karasu," he whispered, his voice full of disbelief.

"Killua," she answered, and a grin spread on her face so wide it made her face hurt.

His face twisted with an emotion she couldn't name and then she was in his arms. It seemed that the world stopped around them as he breathed into her ear and dug his fingers into her hair. She wrapped her arms around his body and gathered the back of his shirt into her fists so tightly that her fingers began to ache.

It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Nothing mattered so long as he didn't let go.

"Karasu!"

Before she could react to her name another pair of arms wrapped around her and she felt Gon's chest against her back. He buried his nose into the side of her neck that Killua wasn't occupying and sandwiched between the two of them she finally felt the stress of the last few days begin to slip from her shoulders.

She let go of Killua with one hand so she could reach behind her and hold onto the back of Gon's shirt, pulling him closer to her.

"You're okay...?" Gon asked, his voice soft with worry.

"I'm okay," she answered, her voice hoarse from the joyful tears she tried to hold back.

They pulled away from her slowly but before she could say another word Killua had her face in his hands.

"You said you were okay!" he accused.

"I am!"

Gon came around to look into her face and she was confused at the frown forming on his face.

"Karasu," he murmured, reaching out to brush his fingertips against her cheek. "Where'd this bruise come from?"

Heat crawled up her neck and cheeks and she avoided looking at either of them.

"I, uh... Maybe kind of tried to strangle Phinks...?"

"You what?" Killua snarled.

"I-" She stopped herself from confessing what had really happened. After all, she hadn't told Killua about the nightmares at all. She reached up slowly to place her hands over his and was about to open her mouth to say something when she felt herself being lifted.

The sound that came out of her throat was a cross between a scream and a squawk. She looked quickly over her shoulder and her panic dissipated when she realized it was Leorio holding her.

"You're crowding her," he remarked before carrying her into the kitchen.

He set her down on the counter and grinned. "Good to see you're still alive."

"Not for lack of trying," she replied as he began to prod at her bruise. She hissed but held as still as possible.

"It looks like someone punched you in the face," he stated as he reached into the freezer for a bag of frozen peas.

"Yeah," she answered as she took it from him and held it to her face. "That's pretty much what happened.

"She tried to strangle a Spider," Killua cut in, scowling and crossing his arms over his chest in blatant disapproval.

Leorio gaped at her while she grimaced.

"I didn't do it on purpose-"

"And how do you accidentally strangle someone?"

Karasu frowned but said nothing.

"Karasu, what happened?" Gon interjected gently. "We're not mad at you."

Behind him, Killua grumbled a sharp, "Speak for yourself," but Gon pointedly ignored him.

"You can tell us, Karasu. You can trust us," Gon continued.

"I know that, it's just..." She trailed off and scratched the back of her head. After a moment she looked up and asked, "Killua, will you go get me my milkshake?"

He looked like he was about to argue but then he deflated with a sigh and left for the entryway.

"I had another nightmare," she whispered once he was out of the room. "I was so out of it that I jumped Phinks when he tried to touch me."

Gon's eyes widened at her statement.

"Killua doesn't know about the nightmares," she continued quickly. "Please don't tell him."

Gon and Leorio exchanged a glance as Killua came back into the kitchen holding Karasu's milkshake. She took it from him and took a long drink.

"So what happened?" he asked, staring her down.

"I don't really remember," she replied. "I think I freaked out when he woke me up."

"When he woke you up?" Killua repeated carefully, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah," she answered with a shrug. "Phinks got stuck with me for the night."

Her skin prickled as Killua's anger rose into the air. She stared at him impassively as he began to grit his teeth. "What?"

"Until he punched me, that is. Then Pakunoda took me back to her room."

If anything that seemed to make Killua angrier, though Karasu wasn't sure why that would be.

"Oh yeah. She gave me these clothes, too," she muttered to herself, looking down at the dress she was wearing.

"That's weird," Killua stated.

"A bit, yeah."

"It looks nice on you," Gon told her with a smile.

Karasu laughed and swung her feet. "Thanks, Gon."

"Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly. "We were going to try to meet with Kurapika today. You should come with us!"

"Can I take a bath first?" She tugged at the skirt of her dress and before grumbling, "And change my clothes..."

Kurapika looked awful. Karasu spotted him as he walked in their direction across the park. His eyes were glassy, his skin was pale, and his hair looked unwashed. She could tell it had been awhile since he'd had a good night's sleep because the bags under his eyes mirrored her own.

Gon and Killua were in the middle of an eating contest when Gon looked up and spotted Kurapika, and when the young boy shouted a muffled "mffapika!" he ended up spitting food all over Killua's face. Karasu snorted while Gon stood up and ran off in the blonde's direction.

"I'm so happy for you!" Gon exclaimed.

Karasu watched with interest as Killua stood up, a cupcake in his hand, and walked up behind Gon.

"Now that the Spiders are dead you can focus on what you really want to do!"

Karasu's brows furrowed and she frowned.

"Now you can find the eyes of your people! If there's anything we can do to hel-" Gon was cut off by Killua shoving the cupcake into his face. There was a tense silence and then Gon was chasing Killua around the park.

"Hello, Karasu," Kurapika greeted quietly as he sat down beside her, a small smile on his face.

"Kurapika," she said slowly. "Gon just said that the Spiders are dead...?"

"Yes," he answered, the light leaving his eyes. "Last night. I saw the bodies myself."

"But... that doesn't make sense," she muttered.

He raised a brow at her. "It doesn't?"

She stared down at her hands in her lap and heaved a sighed. "I was with them this morning."

"You were... with them?"

Karasu shivered at the anger in his voice but she nodded regardless.

"One of them thought he recognized me yesterday so they kept me at their hideout until their boss got back, which was late last night. Then they let me go this morning." She chose not to mention that they'd let her go after she'd taken them to the remaining members of her family. Somehow she didn't think that would sit very well with him.

"They were all there?" he asked, his voice coming out in a rush.

"Well, yeah," she said slowly.

"Their leader?"

Karasu looked up at him and nodded. "Chrollo was there this morning."

She saw him clench his fists, his entire body tense. Eventually he looked up at her again, and she saw that some color had returned to his cheeks. He reached out carefully and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Karasu... Thank you."

She swallowed hard and was about to reply when Gon and Killua returned, their faces still covered in food.

"Let's all go to the hotel," Gon offered, and after everyone agreed Kurapika got his phone out to call Leorio.

There was a storm starting outside when the group of five settled down in the hotel room. Leorio and Kurapika sat down on one couch and Killua, Gon, and Karasu sat down across from them.

"So the Spiders aren't dead," Kurapika began slowly, to which Gon, Killua, and Leorio exchanged glances.

"We knew that at least Nobunaga is alive," Killua answered, frowning.

"None of them are dead," Karasu replied. "All of them were there when I left this morning."

A pained expression passed over Gon's face and he released a soft, "Oh..."

"Karasu, what can you tell me about them?" Kurapika asked while wringing his hands.

"Wait," Killua interrupted. "First, tell us about Nen."

"It won't do you any good," the blonde told him.

"We don't want to know so we can go against the Spiders. It'd be a plus, but mostly we know that we'll need to learn about Nen abilities eventually," Gon explained.

Kurapika sighed. "Then I'd be even less helpful. My abilities can only be used on the Spiders."

"How does that work?" Karasu asked, her eyes wide with genuine curiosity.

"It's... like a contract with limitations." He extended his hand toward her and in a flash chains appeared on his hands and fingers. "Nen is greatly affected by the mind. The greater the determination the more powerful it is, but the risk is greater as well. I vowed to use most of my abilities only on members of the Spider Troupe, and I chose the rules I'd keep. If I attack anyone else with my chains... I'll die."

Karasu's eyes widened and her fists clenched. She shifted her gaze to her hands and forced her fingers to open so she could stare down at her palms.

"There's a Nen dagger in my heart," Kurapika continued. "My ability was born of hatred so it won't work on anyone but the Spiders. I'm telling you this because I trust you. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Why...?" Killua muttered. He stood and shouted, "Why would you tell us that?"

"Killua..." Gon soothed quietly.

"It's not fair to us," Karasu said softly. "Not with Pakunoda."

"Who's Pakunoda?" Leorio asked, looking between the two of them.

"Pakunoda is a member of the Spiders. She can read memories just by touching you," Karasu explained.

"But she didn't find out before," Gon reminded.

"We didn't know before," Karasu answered.

"Then you should be find, shouldn't you?" Leorio asked. "As long as you keep away from her and don't let her touch you."

"The problem is Nobunaga," Killua told him. "He's not going to stop until the chain user is dead. And on top of that Pakunoda's got a soft spot for Karasu."

Karasu huffed. "Nobunaga and Uvogin were really close friends. And she does not."

"She bought you a dress," Killua shot back at her with a scowl.

"She was touching you a lot in the car," Gon added.

"She called you cute." Killua's lip curled in distaste.

Karasu's face reddened at their onslaught but the only defense she had was a quiet, "She probably stole the dress..."

"We should go after them now," Killua continued. "At this point it's way too risky to stay on the defensive. If Nobunaga tracks us down we won't be able to get away from him, but we have Kurapika on our side now."

The only sound in the room was the rumbling of thunder from outside.

"We should stop them now, while we still know where they are. The longer we wait the more likely it is that they'll go underground and disappear. We need to act now."

The moment was interrupted by Kurapika's phone ringing. He glanced at it and frowned.

"What is it?" Leorio asked.

Kurapika didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually he sighed and stowed his phone away. "I've been in contact with Hisoka. He just sent me a message saying the corpses were fake."

"You already knew that though," Leorio stated.

"Right, but now we know that someone in the Troupe has the ability to create fake corpses."

"Like the guy at Heaven's Arena!" Killua exclaimed.

"Kastro! He could create doubles!" Gon added, and Karasu was just surprised he'd remembered the man's name.

"So what do we do now? We'll do anything to help."

Kurapika worried his lip only for his phone to go off again a moment later. He stood and moved further into the room to take the call.

"I wonder who it is that can make doubles..." Karasu muttered thoughtfully, her eyes raised to the ceiling in thought. "It wouldn't be Hisoka or Nobunaga. And it's probably not Pakunoda or Feitan. Phinks doesn't seem like the type... Shizuku maybe?"

"Was that Hisoka?" Killua asked as Kurapika returned from his phone call.

"No. Someone from work. The mafia is no longer after the Troupe."

"What? Why?"

"They've cancelled the reward money as well. It turns out the Troupe is from Meteor City."

"What's that?" Gon asked, his brows furrowing at the name.

"The people there don't officially exist," Leorio explained. "It's a long story, but basically the place started as an internment camp set up by a dictator."

"Now they say it's the most diverse place on earth," Kurapika added.

Leorio nodded and continued. "It's a political void. No nation wants to interfere with its business. It's said that over ten million people live off the waste there but that waste includes gold and weapons provided by a certain organization."

"The mafia community," Kurapika stated.

"But I thought the Spider Troupe was..." Gon said slowly, trying to work through the details.

"In return for gold and weapons the mafia gets perfect personnel. People who don't technically exist are perfect for crime. Meteor City and the mafia had the ideal partnership until the Spider Troupe destroyed it. Meteory City is different from other cities, but even so the Spider Troupe may be special."

"I don't like it," Karasu said, shaking her head. "Twelve really strong people is more manageable than over ten million."

"Kurapika, let us help. We'll do anything, just say the word!" Gon cut in, his face set in determination.

"The reward has been cancelled," Kurapika reminded him.

"We know. But I still want to stop them. I haven't changed my mind about that."

"You'd be putting yourselves in mortal danger." Kurapika's voice and eyes were cold enough to send a shiver racing down Karasu's spine. When Gon didn't back down, he sighed. "Alright. Let's discuss it."

Karasu sighed and leaned back into the couch. She needed a milkshake.

A/N: This ended up being a much longer chapter than I was anticipating but I hope you enjoyed it! Now, I've gotten some reviews fairly recently that included questions so I figured I'd take the chance to answer them here:

1.) For the Guest who didn't understand the title there likely won't be an outright explanation within the story so I'll do my best to explain. The grayscale is the color scale basically ranging from black to white, and something I'm interested in doing with Karasu's character is exploring morality, something that can be very "gray." For example, just in this chapter she leaves her remaining family members to the Spiders, a decision that can be morally questionable depending on how you view it.

2.) NekoNyapii: I will indeed be taking this story to the Chimera Ant Arc! I'd love to be able to write all the way up to the Dark World Arc and whatever follows but we'll see what happens.

3.) Kri: Killua will likely come to some realizations about his feelings sometime soon, considering the events that will be coming up. Of course whether he'll act on those feelings is a different question.

And, because I feel like adding a little something for you guys to look forward to: just remember there's a certain place in Greed Island full of romantic cliches where lots of jealousy is bound to come out