Pain.

At this moment, Machi had just

finished in healing Shizuku and she was beginning to wake up. When she did, she looked around, clearly confused in where she just woke up. "Machi, what's going on? Where am I?" She asked before she looked directly at my eyes.

Suddenly, she got up, ready to fight me.

"You have lost. The Spiders are almost extinct. The only reason why you still exist is because I made a deal with Machi. I would let them live while-." Before I could finish my sentence, Shizuku dashed at me.

However, Menchi and Vergo stopped her way before she could even get close to me. Mechi placed one of her knives on Shizuku's neck while Vergo was behind her with his leg in front of Shizuku. He stopped his kick in the last second, or else, her head would have vanished.

I jumped out of the box that I was sitting and while in the air, I slightly moved my fingers and made my strings bind Shizuku's hands and feet. When I landed on the ground, I looked at the bound Shizuku, who was lying on the ground.

"Stop it, Shizuku. I have already accepted joining his family. You need to do the same or else you will die... I'm tired of having the Spider lose it's limbs... I don't want to lose more companions." Machi lowered her head and looked at Shizuku.

"I will never betray the Spider. Betraying them, means rejecting them, and Chrollo, too. That, I will never do." Shizuku showed her conviction.

"Fufufufufufufu. Funny... rejecting the Spiders? From the start, you have not rejected the Spiders. The Spiders are the ones that are going to reject you." I shaked my head at her useless conviction. "Shizuku. How about a bet."

"A bet?" She became confused.

"Yes. It is a really simple one. We will stay 3 days in the city, if the Spiders leave the city without you in that time, then I win. However, if they stay to look for you and show than they actually care for you. then Then I am more than willing to let you leave." I proposed.

"Fine. I'll accept. But you better keep your words." She stopped struggling, so I released her from the bindings. After she got up, she asked. "Where can I get new clothes?"

"First, we have a few misunderstandings to clear. You are still our prisoner. So, you don't get to ask for things in here." I explained.

"Is thst so?" She said before she sat down, on the ground and stood there.

Machi, trying to act kindly with her companion, gave her a robe for her to cover herself at least a little bit, however, Shizuku rejected her act of kindness. It looks like she already considers Machi as an enemy.

Machi was still looking at the emotionless Shizuku but I know that deep down she is really sad and enraged. When she looked at me, her cold facade could not hold her hatred in as I saw that her eyes were filled with rage. 'She probably is blaming me. She truly is an interesting individual.'

1 day later.

Now, I was sitting on a chair with Neon on my lap. She is extremely happy since she got the Scarlet Eyes she desperately wanted. Now she is happily playing with the box that has the eyes. At this moment, I got a text from Vergo. [The Spiders have left the city.]

'They took less time than I expected.' I smiled. "Shizuku. You lost. You have to pay up."

Shizuku was not understanding one thing. She looked at me like she didn't believe one thing I said. Well, Machi was the same. "Don't believe me? Alright, follow me, then. After all, we still need to recover Pakunoda's body." I tapped Neon's legs a few times and she hopped off my lap. "Oh, Machi. Are you sure that the body is still on your hideout?"

"Yes. We always leave the body of our fallen comrades on our hideouts since we cannot take the bodies with us." She said.

"Okay. Neon, do not to leave the hideout." I warned her.

"Yes, Big Brother." She said while she blissfully played with the eyes.

"Menchi, watch over her." I looked at Menchi.

"What? I'm not a babysitter!" Menchi complained.

I decided to ignore Menchi's complains since Ponzu was the one that stood behind last time. Now, it is Menchi's time. After this, I left through the door with a still half naked Shizuku, Machi and Ponzu. Shizuku still refused any help that Machi wanted to give to her since Machi was a traitor in her eyes.

We dashed from building to building in the middle of the night, until we arrived at the former hideout of the Spiders.

"Machi, you are not going to try anything stupid like running or escaping, right?" I looked at her with a slight smile.

"I can't. If I ran or escaped, you won't resurrect Pakunoda and, sooner or later, you will catch me. After this you will go after the rest of the Spiders, so no. I'll not try to do it." She shrugged.

"Wise choise." I nodded.

After this, I entered the hideout. Vergo was already there waiting for us. "There you have it. They left."

"While you were on your way here, I already dug off Pakunoda's body. The body is on that box." Vergo pointed at a black box that was on a corner.

"Hmm. Good." I turned to Shizuku and saw her empty eyes.

I suddenly opened my eyes widely because I saw Shizuku trying to bite her own tongue. I dashed at her and placed two fingers in her mouth stopping her from trying to bite her tongue off. "Huff. This is quite ironic. You didn't want to abandon the Spider and yet, the Spider abandoned you even before you even had the chance to do so. You haven't betrayed them, they betrayed you." While she still tried to bite her tongue, ending up biting my fingers, I saw tears falling from her eyes.

This surprised me because Shizuku was known for being soulless and emotionless. 'I guess everyone has a weak spot.' I shaked my head.

I took my fingers out of her mouth. "Shizuku. Everything will be alright." I hugged her.

With this, Shizuku took this opportunity to bite me in the chest with as much strength as she could. But it didn't mattered how much she bit, I did not care and continued to hug her. After seeing that her "attack" wasn't working, she started biting me even harder. But I never stopped hugging her. "Take it all out." I caressed her head.

"Why? Why aren't you killing me?" She asked while I felt my clothes getting a little wet.

"Fufufufufufufufufu!" I laughed. "I was also abandoned by those who I once loved, so I understand how are you feeling." I whispered in her ear. "But do you want to know what I did?"

"What did you do?" She asked in a whisper.

"Instead of pleading for their love and care, I held my head high, I denounced my old family and I sought to create a new one. One that would really care and love me, even if I am a unstable individual. That is why you are too special to me and I can't kill you just because you want to relieve a pain that is worse than torture. So... this is the reason I want you to join my family."

"Family?" She asked.

I nodded. "They betrayed you. Now you don't have a place to call home. I can give that to you, together with a family. A family that will love and care for you even if you are not right in the head like me. And a home that will keep you warm and soothe the pain that you feel right now." I felt rage bubbling up deep inside of me. 'The Phantom Troupe really are idiots. They just gave me a family member that is completely loyal to me.'

"What do you think? Will you join me, or will you live the rest of your days in emptiness and anger. There is no way that they will accept you back. You probably have already been branded as a traitor." Since I was not whispering anymore, Machi ended up hearing what I was saying. "Shizuku! Do not believe what he is saying!" And loudly said.

I moved my fingers and many strings covered her mouth and stopped her from talking.

"Ok... I will join you. However, you aren't allowed to abandon me." She gripped my clothes.

"Fufufufufu. I will never abandon my family. If necessary, I'm even willing to sacrifice myself for them, so fret not." After I released her. I took the top side of my suit off and threw it to her. "Dress this."

'While feeling her breasts against my chest was rather pleasant, I don't want her walking around half naked.' I thought.

Shizuku wore my shirt, or at least tried, but I am 11, so the breast part ended up bursting. 'Huff. Those are truly weapons of mass destruction.' I smiled. "Machi, give her some of your clothes." I told her while I untied her mouth before dashing outside. "I will meet you all in the hideout."

1 hour later.

Shizuku came back while wearing a robe, the same clothes that Machi also wore. We had the treasures and Pakunoda´s body secured. But there was something that was bothering Machi. Even if she was hard to read, I could feel that she was being bothered by something. In the beginning, she was extremely hard to encrypt, however, once you get her, you would perfectly know how she worked.

"Machi, what is on your mind?" I crossed my arms.

"Huff. Besides killing you, I'm curious about when did you hire Illumi?" She inquired.

"Hmm. Let's see, I hired him about 2 months ago." I answered her with a big smile.

Machi widened her eyes. "That means that you was expecting this outcome since the beginning?!"

"Fufufufufufu." I laughed as I ignored her. 'Nyar, open the portal. Its time to go home.'

(Its done.)

Suddenly, right in front of me, a huge portal opened.

"My house is on the otherside of the portal." I said.

Everyone was quite surprised, except Vergo. He was the first one to enter inside it.

"Go, go, go. I have to be the last one entering because after I go through, the portal will close." I said.

Menchi and Ponzu entered after I said this, right after Shizuku and after her, Machi and Neon. And I entered last. After getting through the portal, I was greeted by the same sight. My room.

'Hmm. I have to change my base of operations. My room is rather small for 7 people and a dead body.'

(You can buy a castle.) Nyar said.

'For that I need money.'

(You could use the treasures that you got in One Piece world and Hunter x Hunter world.)

"Where are we?" Machi asked while she looked around the room, she was flabbergasted with the decorations it had. While my room wasn't the best looking in the mansion, it was still filled with gold. This is pretty much a way for the Gremories to show their wealth. Rather pitiful in my opinion.

"We are inside my room." I told them.

*Knock*. *Knock*.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock on my door that surprised me, so my instincts acted up and made me be ready for a fight. I looked at Vergo in a way that he would understood and he opened the door. Since my room was divided in 3 parts, the bedroom, the small living room and the bathroom, I turned to the ladies in wait, Ponzu, Menchi, Machi, Shizuku, and Neon. "Take a bath while I will deal with the one who is annoying us." I told them while I pointed at a ornamented door while Vergo went to open the door of my bedroom.

After he returned, he said. "It is your mother." To which I opened my eyes wide. "This is a rather unexpected visit. Grayfia... what does she want?"