Saiki Kusuo raised his hand and tossed the coin into the air. Even with a flat toss from his palm, the coin shot up in a perfectly straight line—but the force…
It was way more than Saiki Kusuo had expected!
The coin shot high into the sky, and the three of them followed it with their eyes until it lined up with the sun.
Chrollo: …Why did you throw it that high?
Hisoka: Heh… Even I couldn't throw it that high without using my ability.
Saiki Kusuo: Yeah, why did it go up so high? This coin's actually pretty heavy.
After a long time, the coin finally began to fall, spinning as it came down. Normally, Saiki Kusuo could figure out whether it would land heads or tails by calculating its spin and height. But now, after it hit the ground, he couldn't even be sure if it was still in one piece.
Should he still help Chrollo choose? Technically, this was the coin Chrollo tossed, and it did play a part in deciding fate. If he helped Chrollo now… thinking about it, if Chrollo had agreed to fight Hisoka directly, then Hisoka probably wouldn't have teamed up with Kurapika, right? Ah man, is another big event in the future about to change?
"I'll pick the side with the spider. The spider's my lucky word," Chrollo said.
The coin dropped straight down and landed with a thud, making all three of them pull a face.
Hisoka: Why didn't little pinky catch it? Even if he lost, I wouldn't blame him…
Chrollo: I had this coin specially made, and he's still worried about it?
The coin landed in the grass near Saiki Kusuo. Yes, he'd deliberately let it fall a little off target — he couldn't catch it, or it might break.
Saiki Kusuo walked toward the grass, and Hisoka followed.
[Spider. The spider side is facing up.] Chapters first released on novelFirｅ.net
Hisoka saw it at the same time, so there was no way he cheated.
Surprisingly, the coin was still in one piece, though it was dented and a bit warped.
Hisoka deflated like a punctured ball. Saiki Kusuo knew Hisoka was a man of his word — he'd said the coin would decide, so in this round of the test, he probably wouldn't challenge Chrollo again.
"Phew, that's a relief," Chrollo said, hopping over the river to pick up the coin. "Still, that height was ridiculous. Did you do it on purpose?"
[No, I just didn't control my strength well.]
Chrollo quietly took a step back from him.
Saiki Kusuo: You almost died just now, and only now you're scared?
"Well, now we can relax and grill some fish. Hisoka, you want some?" Chrollo asked, turning to him with an invitation.
But Hisoka shook his head, hunching over and gripping his arm, clearly holding something back. "Hehehe… If I stay with you any longer, I'll get too excited. Bye~ Next time, I won't let you get away~"
Saiki Kusuo watched Hisoka walk away.
He also watched the scenes in Hisoka's mind of beating up Chrollo, and Chrollo fighting back, fade into the distance.
[What a scary creep.]
"Is Hisoka a creep?" Chrollo asked while setting up the fire to grill the fish.
[You're saying he's not?] Saiki Kusuo replied blankly.
"A creep is someone with an abnormal mind. Hisoka just prefers a wilder kind of fight, like a hunter chasing prey… no, like a beast chasing prey. He follows his own desires. I think that's fine."
Saiki Kusuo stayed silent. He knew someone who'd been chased by Hisoka for three days and just wanted to escape.
"He's a member of my group. When he joined, the others accepted him. Even if they hadn't, I'd still respect his choice. He's someone who sticks to his decisions, and I admire that. I wouldn't call him a creep… but of course, you're free to use whatever word you want," Chrollo said as he lit the fire and fanned the flames.
The way he said it was so serious, like a teacher giving a lecture. Now I don't even dare call him a creep again.
Saiki Kusuo walked over and sat cross-legged on the other side of the fire, taking a skewer of fish and holding it over the flames.
He wanted to grill a skewer too, but the fragile twig cracked with a snap, and the fish nearly fell into the fire.
Good thing he caught it with telekinesis.
Chrollo's eyes narrowed: [Invisible Hand? So it really exists. I knew you had that ability.]
Stop giving other people's powers weird names. It's called telekinesis. Seriously. It's just one character different from "Nen," so it's hard to tell apart, but readers, please remember — telekinesis is an offshoot of psychic powers. It can replace hands for tasks, but it's clumsier and harder to control strength with.
"You can't control the force well. Let me handle it," Chrollo said.
[…That was an accident.] He could stack playing cards already, after all. Still, Saiki Kusuo reluctantly let go and handed it over.
The fire crackled as Saiki Kusuo watched the fish slowly cook. Chrollo, sitting nearby, handled the fish with practiced skill.
The scene felt almost too peaceful.
All this time, there had been a faint sense of something being off.
Was he just slow to notice? Or had Chrollo hidden his real thoughts somehow? No — mind reading doesn't lie. The Chrollo here now was simply himself.
This was the Chrollo from the manga—someone who was supposed to be deadly serious, the king of the night, a cold-blooded killer who should terrify anyone who sees him.
Before, I thought he was acting like a gentleman just to play a role, but now it seems… maybe his personality isn't that fierce to begin with?
Could this strange behavior mean… some reader's soul took over his body?
"What's on your mind? Are you surprised I can grill fish?"
[Not really.] Saiki Kusuo had already accepted the survival skills of Meteor Street people long ago. He asked, [There's something I've always been curious about. That rule I suggested about the spider coin—why did you agree to it?] He wanted to test him on this point.
Even though the rule was based on one the Troupe already had, he was still an outsider who suggested it. And earlier, Chrollo had even hesitated over whether an outsider like him should be allowed to flip the coin.
So why would he agree—unless he already knew the rule would exist?
"Why not? Didn't most people accept it?" Chrollo said. "Almost everyone agreed to that rule. Why should I oppose it? If you had suggested it as Saiki Kusuo, they would have considered it too. Sure, maybe the first time we accepted it partly because of me, but after trying it, everyone liked it."
Chrollo handed him a grilled fish. Saiki Kusuo noticed that the stick used to skewer this fish was thicker than the others. There were even two more fish prepared the same way.
Such a thoughtful person—so thoughtful that it didn't even need much thinking to notice. No wonder his telepathy didn't pick it up.
"Maybe you're putting too much weight on my position as leader. At that time, I accepted the rule just as a member. I only became leader because, after everyone gathered together, they recommended me. The Phantom Troupe isn't my property."
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