While Chrollo was using his laptop and sitting at the desk, there was a small gap between his back and the chair. It was through that gap that Saiki Kusuo caught a glimpse of the spider tattoo on Chrollo's lower back.
He hadn't noticed it before. So the boss has a tattoo too. Who did it, Machi? If Machi gets taken out, who would tattoo the next person? Would they hire a tattoo artist? And would they kill them afterward?
Of course, he only saw the tattoo for a split second. After that, his x-ray vision kicked in — healthy heart, healthy kidneys, all organs looked perfectly fine.
Surprisingly healthy, considering he grew up in a place like Meteor City.
"Is there something wrong with the spider tattoo?" Chrollo had noticed his gaze linger.
[Better than that fake mark, anyway.] Saiki Kusuo replied casually.
Chrollo's tattoo was on the left side of his waist. He let go of the mouse with his right hand, reached behind him, and touched the spider's abdomen with his fingertips. "I like spiders. They're a good fit."
So you're actually a spider fan? I saw your desktop background — that was a spider too.
But Saiki Kusuo hated bugs, including spiders even though they technically weren't insects. Spiders were at least well-behaved, usually staying on their webs, unlike some things that randomly pop up everywhere. Still, if a spider crawled on your face, it was just as horrifying as a cockroach.
That afternoon, the "guys on computers" group quietly stayed inside.
That night, strong winds suddenly picked up at sea. The sun on the horizon looked off, and electromagnetic signals started acting weird. Even Saiki Kusuo's enhanced laptop and Chrollo's custom-modded one by Shalnark couldn't connect to the internet anymore. All they could do was read the books and watch the movies they'd saved locally.
Soon after, the power in the room went out too — a move to save electricity. Saiki Kusuo and Chrollo sat calmly in the darkness, waiting. Luckily, this was just the start of the storm, and it soon passed. But based on clues from an old diary and Killua and Gon's gut feelings, the real storm was still coming.
After that night, the examinees confirmed that all the smaller boats couldn't leave the island. They would have to wait for the tide to rise and let the big ship sail again.
Even though Saiki Kusuo stayed in the room, he was still listening to everyone's thoughts and watching their actions. Their rooms were already on the ship — the hotel had been converted from a ship — so there wasn't anywhere else to go. If anything unexpected happened, he'd just help out.
If the ship had any old broken parts, he could even use his restoration powers to return it to how it was seven years ago.
But according to the plot, the ship was going to sail just fine.
Even before night fell, the sky had already turned dark. That kind of change in weather was a clear sign a storm was coming. Saiki Kusuo finally got up from bed and left the room.
Time to patrol.
Leorio, wearing a diving suit and searching under the ship for a cannonball, got into trouble and got stuck. Saiki Kusuo used telepathy to wake him up, used clairvoyance to see what was going on below, and used telekinesis from afar to move the things trapping him.
Leorio had helped him once before, so even though he knew Gon would save him, it seemed too risky to wait. Better to step in first.
Next, he checked in on Alluka and Killua. Killua had brought Alluka to the command room, and since the ship might rock while moving, Saiki Kusuo helped her buckle into the seatbelt.
Everything else on the ship seemed normal too. Actually, there were a few more examinees than in the original story, so they had even more helping hands.
After checking all around the ship, Saiki Kusuo felt like there was no danger for now.
But out at sea, the strong wind had already picked up. A tornado had started to form in the distance. Everyone was busy at their stations. When Kurapika gave the first command, Saiki Kusuo had returned to the back of the ship — the hotel section — where no one was around.
Back to the room to wait for the end of this part, Saiki Kusuo thought.
But once the ship fully entered the water, he started to feel something wrong. A dark, heavy feeling was creeping in — like something was cursing him.
Was it someone's power? No, he already knew the abilities of the three people who could possibly do something like that, and none of them would target him.
Did Alluka lose control? No, he didn't feel anything strange from her.
So what was it? Why couldn't he stand steady? His body was suddenly feeling weak and out of control. For someone like him with superpowers, how could he be affected by a curse...?
At that moment, Chrollo wasn't in the room either. Who knows where he went. The hallway to the room was long, and Saiki Kusuo really wanted to just lie down and rest. But halfway down the hall, his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees.
The ship was now being rocked hard by the waves. The cannon fire had changed its direction too. Kurapika's voice came through the intercom, warning everyone that the ship was going to shake hard and to make sure they were safe.
And with that level of swaying — if someone gets seasick, they'll end up just like Saiki Kusuo was now.
"Saiki? What's wrong?" Chrollo still looked like himself. Since everyone's attention was on the ship, he wasn't pretending to be Shalnark. He was holding a power bag and had just come up to this level when he saw Saiki Kusuo collapsed on the floor.
What just happened? Chrollo didn't dare get too close—was there some kind of trap here? He carefully used "Gyo" to check, but found nothing.
Saiki Kusuo was leaning on the floor. With the boat rocking back and forth, he was getting more and more dizzy. He tried to stand up, but a wave of nausea hit him from his stomach, and he grabbed a nearby pipe to dry heave.
Then Chrollo seemed to figure it out. He walked over step by step, saw how pale Saiki Kusuo looked, and asked, "You're seasick?"
[No... it's a curse. I didn't think anyone could curse *me* of all people...]
"Sure looks like seasickness to me…"
[It's dangerous… I can't hold on… you should get out of here—urgh!]
"If you're seasick, go lie down in your room. I'll help you."
[You have to believe me… this is… a real threat…] Even using telepathy, Saiki Kusuo was having trouble speaking clearly.
"Okay, okay, got it." Chrollo grabbed his own bag with one hand and lifted Saiki Kusuo with the other.
Clearly, the bag held something important too.
But he made a mistake—he should've listened when Saiki Kusuo told him to get out of there.
[Don't carry me like this. I can still—]
"We're almost there." Chrollo quickened his pace and ran steadily toward the room.
The key was still with Saiki Kusuo. Once they reached the door, Chrollo set Saiki down and supported him with one hand while reaching into his pocket with the other.
Suddenly, a strong gut feeling—something trained through countless life-and-death situations—hit him hard. Something was wrong. Danger was close—very close—about to strike any second!
Trusting his instincts, Chrollo jumped back on reflex—and shoved Saiki Kusuo out of the way!
"Boom!"
Saiki Kusuo, who had reached out just to steady himself on the wall, ended up completely destroying the wall of his room with a casual swipe.
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