Neon's POV – September 13th, Cemetery Building Safe House (Midnight)
The room smelled like old paper, instant coffee, and the faint metallic tang of Uvogin's preserved pinky finger (now repurposed as a paperweight). I sat cross-legged on the floor in my oversized hoodie, surrounded by a circle of tarot cards I'd drawn myself. Each card had tiny doodles: little chains, Sharingan patterns, spider legs with X's through them, and one very dramatic crimson ribcage.
Kurapika was asleep on the couch again, chains faintly glowing on his fingers like he was guarding the whole apartment in his dreams. Shizuku had vacuumed the entire kitchen twice and was now curled up in the corner with Blinky, using the vacuum cleaner as a pillow. She'd joined us yesterday and already felt like the quiet little sister I never knew I needed.
I flipped a card.
The Crimson Guardian – Reversed.
A shiver ran down my spine. Ronin was in Meteor City right now, probably punching Elders or something equally cool and terrifying. My ability had never been this personal before. Back when I was just the spoiled rich girl predicting deaths for bored billionaires, it was fun. Now? Every fortune felt like it carried the weight of our entire revenge plan.
"Focus, Neon," I whispered to myself. "Kurapika says if we can predict the Troupe's next split, we can snipe the eyes before they do."
I reshuffled and laid out a full spread for tomorrow's training goal: "How do I make my fortunes more precise for team strategy?"
The cards answered in their usual cryptic, slightly sassy way:
1. The Tower – Sudden upheaval. (Duh, that's Ronin's Susanoo.)
2. The Lovers – Union through shared purpose. (Me + Kurapika + Shizuku?)
3. The Star – Hope and healing. (My Holy Chain practice with Kurapika?)
4. The Devil – Reversed – Breaking free from chains. (The Phantom Troupe's hold on the Scarlet Eyes?)
I stared at the last card for a long time. My ability wasn't just prediction anymore. It was guidance. I needed to train it like Kurapika trained his chains—relentlessly, until it became a weapon.
I stood up, grabbed my notebook, and started writing the first official "Neon Fortune Training Log."
Entry 1: Goal – Turn vague prophecies into actionable intel.
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Kurapika's POV – September 14th, Training Room (Morning)
Neon was already waiting when I walked in, hair messy, eyes bright with that chaotic energy she got when she was about to do something unhinged but brilliant.
"Today's lesson!" she announced, waving a fresh deck of custom cards. "I'm going to predict your next three moves in sparring. If I'm right more than twice, you owe me a new taxidermy kit."
I raised an eyebrow. "And if you're wrong?"
"You have to call me 'Big Sis Neon' for the rest of the day."
Shizuku, who had wandered in carrying a tray of vacuumed snacks, tilted her head. "I want to watch."
This was how our mornings went now. Ronin was off being a one-man army in Meteor City, so the three of us had turned the safe house into a miniature training academy. Kurapika the strategist, Neon the oracle-in-training, Shizuku the… whatever Shizuku was (human vacuum with perfect memory for rules).
I activated Ren and stepped onto the mat. "Begin."
Neon closed her eyes, aura flaring faintly around her fingertips—the same soft glow she used when reading palms at parties. Her voice dropped into that dreamy, singsong tone she used for real fortunes.
"First move… you'll feint left with your chain, then strike right with Holy Chain to test my reaction speed."
I moved exactly as she described.
Her eyes snapped open. "See? Told you!"
I couldn't help the small smile. "Lucky guess."
"Second move!" She grinned wider. "You'll switch to Judgment Chain mid-combo because you're overthinking whether my prediction is real or if I'm reading your muscle twitches."
Damn it. I did exactly that.
Shizuku clapped once, deadpan. "Accurate."
Neon bounced on her toes. "Third move— you'll hold back because you don't want to actually hurt me, even though I'm getting better at Ten."
I stopped mid-strike. She was right again.
Neon pumped her fist. "Three for three! Big Sis Neon wins!"
I exhaled, deactivating Ren. "How are you doing that?"
She tapped her temple. "I've been practicing on random objects all night. Instead of asking 'what will happen to this person,' I ask 'what will this specific person do in the next thirty seconds under these exact conditions.' It's like… narrowing the lens. Less cosmic destiny, more tactical sniper scope."
Shizuku nodded solemnly. "Blinky approves. Precision is good for storage too."
I felt a surge of genuine pride. Neon wasn't just playing around anymore. She was weaponizing her Specialization Nen the same way I had weaponized my chains.
Neon's POV – September 17th, Rooftop (Midnight Training)
The city lights glittered below like scattered jewels. I sat on the edge of the roof with my legs dangling, wind whipping my hair. Kurapika had gone to bed early after another brutal Ren session. Shizuku was downstairs sorting her vacuumed "treasures" (she now had three whole motorcycles from Spence's estate).
I laid out a new spread, this time for the team as a whole.
Question: What does the Phantom Troupe do next if we keep collecting the scattered eyes?
Cards:
- The Chariot – Reversed: Stalled momentum. (They're hesitating because of Ronin's growth.)
- The Hermit: Chrollo going solo to find a counter-ability. (Makes sense. He's the brain.)
- The Moon: Deception and hidden dangers. (Hisoka? Or internal Troupe fractures?)
- The World: Completion… but at a cost.
I wrote it all down in my training log, then tried something new. I focused my aura into the cards themselves, treating them like extensions of my body the way Kurapika did with his chains.
"Show me something useful," I whispered. "Not just fate. Our fate."
One card flipped on its own.
The Star – Upright, glowing faintly with my aura.
A warm feeling spread through my chest. Hope. Guidance. The prophecy wasn't just doom anymore. It was us shining through the darkness.
I practiced for three more hours—predicting the exact time the streetlight below would flicker (it did, at 2:47 AM), the number of pigeons that would land on the roof (seven), and whether Kurapika would wake up before dawn (he did, at 5:12 AM, chains already active).
Small stuff. But each success made the "lens" sharper.
Kurapika's POV – September 21st, Safe House Strategy Meeting
Neon slammed her notebook on the table like it was a battle plan.
"Training update!" she declared. "I can now predict individual actions with 87% accuracy if I have recent physical contact or a personal item. Group movements are still at 62%, but I'm getting better at tying them to specific questions like 'When will the Troupe split to hunt eyes?'"
Shizuku was vacuuming the floor while listening. "Useful. Like knowing when to suck up the bad guys."
I studied her notes. The improvement was staggering. Two weeks ago her fortunes were flowery and vague. Now they read like tactical reports:
"September 25th – Chrollo will contact the Zoldycks again. Target: Ronin. Success chance for assassination: 34%. Illumi will bring Maha."
"September 28th – One Troupe member will attempt to retrieve eyes from a black-market dealer in Yorknew. Name starts with 'M'. Machi?"
She had even started experimenting with "linked fortunes"—using a strand of her own hair or a drop of blood from a training cut to anchor predictions to our team.
It was beautiful. And terrifying. Her Specialization Nen was evolving exactly like Ronin's eyes—fueled by purpose.
I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not just our fortune teller anymore, Neon. You're our early-warning system. Keep training. When Ronin gets back, we'll test you against real Troupe movements."
She beamed. "And if I get it perfect, I get to name our next team attack!"
Shizuku looked up. "Blinky Smash?"
Neon laughed. "Something like that."
Neon's POV – September 25th, Private Fortune Chamber (Converted Storage Room)
I had turned the spare room into my "oracle sanctum." Walls covered in maps, strings connecting possible eye locations, and little doodles of Ronin's Susanoo, Kurapika's chains, and my own glowing cards.
Today's training was the hardest yet.
Target: Predict the exact outcome of Ronin's upcoming fight with Hisoka on October 1st, including any surprise interventions.
I used every trick I'd learned.
First, I held the Heaven's Arena ticket stub Kurapika had obtained. Physical link.
Second, I burned a tiny piece of Ronin's spare transformation scroll (he left them everywhere). Personal essence.
Third, I asked the specific question out loud while in full Ten: "What will happen in the 223rd floor match between Ronin and Hisoka, and what external threat will appear immediately after?"
The cards exploded across the floor in a chaotic spiral. I let my aura guide them instead of forcing a spread.
When they settled, the pattern was crystal clear.
Susanoo dominates. Hisoka pushed to his limit. Black flames and spatial locks decide it. T.K.O. for Ronin.
Then the bottom card—the one that always represented "the hidden variable."
The Emperor – Reversed. A short, withered old man with a skeletal hand. Zoldyck crest faintly visible.
Maha.
I wrote it down with shaking hands. Then I added a personal note in the margin:
"Tell Kurapika immediately. Ronin needs to know the family is watching. But also… I'm getting stronger too. My fortunes aren't just predictions anymore. They're shields."
Kurapika's POV – September 29th, Rooftop at Dusk
Neon stood at the edge, aura flaring brighter than I'd ever seen it. She had been training non-stop. Dark circles under her eyes, but her smile was wider than ever.
"Final test before Ronin's fight," she said. "I'm going to predict the next three major threats to our team in the next 72 hours."
She didn't use cards this time. She simply closed her eyes and let the aura flow.
"Threat One: Illumi's second attempt on Ronin in Meteor City—already failed, but he's bringing Maha.
Threat Two: A Troupe splinter cell trying to grab eyes in Yorknew—Phinks and Nobunaga.
Threat Three… me and you getting targeted while Ronin's distracted at the Arena."
She opened her eyes. They were glowing faintly gold—the same color as her fortunes when they were at maximum clarity.
"I can see the threads now, Kurapika. Not just fate. Our threads. The ones we weave together."
I felt something loosen in my chest for the first time since the massacre.
We weren't alone anymore.
Neon's POV – October 1st, Heaven's Arena Private Box (During the Fight)
The arena was screaming. Susanoo roared. Hisoka danced like a madman.
I gripped Kurapika's hand, my other hand holding a single card I'd kept hidden all week.
It was blank when I started training. Now it had a single image I'd drawn myself: three figures standing back-to-back—Kurapika with chains, me with glowing cards, Shizuku with Blinky—while a giant crimson guardian stood in front.
The card pulsed with my aura.
I whispered the final fortune of my training arc, just for us:
"No matter how dark the web gets… our family's light will burn brighter."
The card flared once and settled into a soft, steady glow.
Kurapika squeezed my hand back. Shizuku leaned in from the other side.
We were ready.
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