Chapter 43: The Subconscious Mind
Early the next morning, as the first light was just beginning to cut through the neon-lit streets of East Town, a sharp knock came at Kai's motel room door.
It was a Blanchett Company employee, dressed in a crisp, professional suit. He held a slim, elegantly designed package.
"Courtesy of Mr. Alan'tr'iel," the man said, handing over the box. It was the newest, top-of-the-line 'Elf' smartphone.
Damn, the 'local snakes' are efficient, Kai thought, taking the box. He felt its light weight, then watched as the employee turned, took two precise steps, and knocked on the adjacent door.
A moment later, Shizuku's flat, sleepy, and utterly confused voice drifted through the thin wood. "A delivery? For me? That's impossible. I'm not expecting anything."
"It's real, Shizuku," Kai called out, stepping into the narrow, sun-drenched hallway. He tossed his own identical, sealed box in the air and caught it with a smack. "See? We both got one."
A moment later, the door creaked open. Shizuku, a visible, almost cartoonish question mark practically hovering over her head, accepted her own package from the polite, smiling employee.
Kai couldn't help but grin. "Even if you did completely forget the conversation—which you obviously did—it's a free phone. Why would you ever turn that down?"
Shizuku just stood in her doorway, staring at the box in her hands with deep, analytical suspicion. "What if," she said, her voice a perfect monotone, "it's a bomb?"
...
Kai's grin vanished.
His entire thought process came to a screeching halt.
You know... he thought, his blood running a little cold, ...she's got a point. A really good point.
Her logic was, as always, bizarre and completely flawless. They were Nen users, sure. But they weren't invincible. They weren't bulletproof 24/7. An unexpected, close-range explosion... if they couldn't deploy their Ten or Ken in that split-second... even a small, well-placed bomb could be devastating.
"Alright, let's play this out." Kai, his own curiosity now thoroughly piqued, followed her into her room. "Let's assume it is a bomb. How do we confirm it?"
Shizuku closed the door and set the package on the bed. She thought for a second, her head tilting. Then, she used her fingernail to carefully tear a small slit in the box's plastic shrink-wrap. "First," she said, as if reciting a technical manual, "I break the airtight seal."
Then, she held out her hand.
With a soft, distinct pop, a swirling cloud of Aura materialized, instantly taking the shape of her bizarre, googly-eyed, big-lipped vacuum cleaner.
"Blinky," she commanded, her voice flat. She aimed the vacuum's cartoonish nozzle at the phone box. "Suck up the 'bomb' inside."
She gave the order. Then, she flicked the power switch to ON.
WHIIIIIRRRR!
The vacuum's "mouth" gaped open, and it began to inhale with a powerful, roaring suction.
They both watched the box. The plastic wrap rustled, but the box itself, sitting innocently on the bedspread, didn't even rattle.
Shizuku let it run for a solid ten seconds before flicking it off. She tilted her head, as if analyzing the data.
"Ah."
She paused.
"It's not a bomb."
"You... you can do that?" Kai was genuinely impressed. This was a side of her ability he'd never even considered. "You could get a job at airport security. That's a perfect, no-risk bomb disposal unit." He had only ever thought of her Hatsu as a bizarre, hammerspace-style storage system. This "search and retrieve" function was on another level.
Shizuku just patted the vacuum's head. "My Hatsu, Blinky, can inhale anything... as long as I truly, consciously believe it is not a living creature."
"What you 'believe'?" Kai's mind latched onto the word. This was a critical detail. He sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, fascinated. "So the activation requirement is purely subjective? What if you just... decided... a living person wasn't 'alive'? Could you just... vacuum them up?"
Shizuku stared at him as if he'd just asked the most profoundly stupid question in the history of the world. "But... a person is a living creature. How could I ever believe that they're not?"
"I see." Kai nodded, a slow smile spreading across his face. He understood completely.
Her answer was perfect. It wasn't "No," it was "That's impossible." It all came back to the fundamental nature of Nen, a truth he'd learned from the manga: the subconscious mind.
Nen, the power of life, was inextricably linked to the user's mind and spirit. Netero's entire school of martial arts was the "Heart Source" School (Shingen-Ryu). It was all about the heart, the mind, the will.
And the subconscious mind... cannot lie.
Shizuku's deepest, most fundamental subconscious knew what a living being was. She could never, ever "trick" her own Hatsu into violating that core belief. It was the exact same principle that made Kurapika's Chain Jail so powerful. His Vow—that he would die if he used it on anyone but a member of the Phantom Troupe—wasn't just a rule. It was a Restriction tied to his absolute, unshakeable, subconscious conviction. He had to know, with every fiber of his being, that his target was a Spider.
Nen Vows were the ultimate double-edged sword. If someone who was hesitant, weak-willed, or indecisive tried to forge such a pact... their own ability would sense their lie, their doubt... and it would destroy them.
While Kai was lost in this deep, philosophical rabbit hole, Shizuku, having satisfied her security check, had already turned her Hatsu to a more practical task.
"Blinky," she commanded, "inhale all the dust in this room."
WHIIIRRRR!
The vacuum's mouth opened again, and this time, all the dust in the cheap motel room—from the corners, under the dresser, from the top of the tacky lampshade—streamed into its cartoonish, bottomless maw in a series of satisfying, clean lines.
Kai just watched, impressed. "So that's why your room is always spotless."
"It can suck up anything," Kai mused, "but what about retrieval? It's not just a one-way trip, is it?"
"Blinky can spit out the last thing I inhaled," Shizuku stated.
Kai's brow furrowed. "Only the last thing? That's it?"
"Yeah."
That's not right, Kai thought, his mind flashing back to the forest, to the "Kai-Crows" watching her. I watched her. She pulled out bread. Then she pulled out water. Those were two different items...
He looked at her, a slow, clever grin spreading. "I have a theory, Shizuku. I think... Blinky can probably retrieve anything it's ever inhaled, in any order. I don't think the Hatsu is the problem."
He tapped his own temple. "I think the problem... is you. Your memory is so legendarily bad... you can only remember the last thing you vacuumed up."
For the first time since he'd met her, Shizuku didn't offer a blank "That's impossible" or "I don't remember." She just... thought about it, her head tilting.
"That," she said, her voice completely serious, "is a distinct possibility."
Kai was fascinated. She's not denying it! It made perfect sense. Nen abilities weren't static. They grew and changed with the user's will, their needs, their beliefs. Even Chrollo had managed to evolve his Bandit's Secret by adding the Bookmark...
"Just... believe that you can," Kai said, his voice surprisingly encouraging. "Believe that you can recall anything you've stored, not just the last item. Your Hatsu is a part of you. It wants to obey. If you believe it, it might just... evolve... to match that belief."
"Mm." Shizuku nodded, as if she were simply logging this new data. She de-Conjured Blinky, which dissolved into a wisp of Aura.
Kai let out a sigh. "You know, Shizuku... I keep asking you for all the secret, specific details of your Hatsu... and you just... tell me. It makes me feel like I'm taking advantage of you."
Shizuku just looked at him, her violet eyes wide with genuine, placid confusion. "But... why? You're the Boss." She stated it like it was the most obvious fact in the world. "Rule number one of the Akatsuki: 'Listen to the boss.'"
Kai was completely silent for a long moment. He hadn't expected her to have internalized his joke-organization that completely. He just... nodded, a strange feeling in his chest.
He hopped off the bed, walked to the window, and pushed it open, looking out at the morning streets of East Town, the sounds of the park already drifting on the air.
"What is it?" Shizuku asked, joining him.
"The ship back to the mainland doesn't leave until tomorrow morning," Kai said, turning back from the window. He sat down at the small, cheap motel desk and put his elbow on it.
"We've got some time to kill. Let's arm wrestle again."
(End of Chapter)