Escape (
Synopsis[]
The first four acts performing
As the elite of Kakin society choose their refreshments and seats at the banquet, it's announced that the royal family will host a concert, but that Prince Salé-salé won't be able to perform due to an illness. Kacho and Fugetsu are informed of the changes, but neither is worried since the performance order will stay the same. With 90 minutes left until their plan starts, Melody is happy to see that the First and Second Princes are absent, since both are likely Nen users. A program of the event is shown, with the last three acts being a piano solo by Keeney, a flute solo by Melody, and a glass harp performance by Kacho and Fugetsu.
The first five acts perform, and then the focus shifts to Room 1013 where a Hunter and guard of Prince Marayam is talking to Vergei and Biscuit about the fact that the servants who left to perform at the banquet won't be able to return to the Nen space. Vergei explains that it's for the best since a servant backing out of the banquet at the last minute could be seen as a threat, possibly leading to Marayam and Queen Sevanti having to go back to the real room for questioning. He hopes that they'll be able to stay hidden until they reach their destination. Biscuit agrees but suggests moving the Hunters to the real room in order to make things seem more natural as well as to lessen the burden on the servants. Vergei asks what Biscuit will do, and she says she'll stay put since he'll need a woman around. Marayam calls for her, and she adds that the Prince likes her, letting him sit on her shoulders as Vergei looks on in delight.
Melody entrancing everyone who can hear her performance
At the banquet, Keeney plays his piano solo as Melody and the twins wait for their acts. Fugetsu asks her sister if she's nervous, and Kacho says she's not and that she won't consider failing. After Keeney's performance, Melody is introduced and bows before the King. The twins put in earbuds, telling a soldier they're going over their music. Melody says to herself that if she plays sincerely, she can en-trance everyone who listens for three minutes. And once she begins playing the flute, a wide vista of mountains, flowers, and butterflies appears before all those who can hear the music, even the Princes who are absent since the performance is playing over loudspeakers. Running past numerous incapacitated soldiers, Keeney leads the twins outside the banquet hall to the lifeboats. He goes over all the details with them, telling them only to use their ability as a last resort if they're about to get caught. If the door doesn't appear when they imagine Kakin, they should head back to their room on the ship, and then they'll come up with another plan. Melody continues playing and says that she never once saw Kacho's Nen beast, hoping that the escape is successful. The twins enter the lifeboat, and it speeds away down the tunnel. Keeney then draws a handgun, and there's a flashback to an earlier scene between him and Melody, this time with the dialogue present. Keeney tells her that his wife and daughter died in an accident two years ago, and he's been looking for his place to die ever since. The Hunter Association could be blamed if any accomplices are found, affecting their mission. He says he'll be proud to see his family again and to have saved the twins' lives. Melody had heard his heartbeat at that moment, and couldn't convince him otherwise. Back in the present, Keeney brings the gun to his head and shoots himself.
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The Seed Urn Ceremony not allowing the twins to escape the ship
Kacho and Fugetsu head for the tunnel's exit, and as the lifeboat is almost in open water, a horde of hands surrounds the twins. Kacho realizes that if a Prince tries to escape the ship, it only leads to death. She tells her sister to open a door back to the ship, and Fugetsu quickly makes one as the hands close in. The door slams shut, and Fugetsu is left alone in the tunnel. She repeatedly yells for her sister, and suddenly the door opens, and Kacho appears. The two hold hands, and Kacho says they'll have to lay low and devise a different plan. Fugetsu agrees, and the two head back to the ship to one of their bedrooms, lying beside each other and smiling. It's revealed that the twins' Nen beasts are cooperative, with Fugetsu's being a tunnel and Kacho's formless. The ability of Fugetsu's Nen beast, Magical Worm, uses translocation with Fugetsu controlling the journey out and Kacho the journey back. The ability of Kacho's Nen beast, Without You, allows the Nen beast to take the form of either of the twins if one dies, protecting the living sister and staying by her side until death. At that moment, Kacho is shown dead on the lifeboat as it slowly drifts out to sea.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Tamazo
- Gantai
- Salé-salé Hui Guo Rou (Mentioned)
- Nugui
- Kacho Hui Guo Rou
- Fugetsu Hui Guo Rou
- Melody
- Keeney
- Izunavi
- Giuliano
- Basho
- Ridge
- Tyson Hui Guo Rou
- Himoncé
- Madwig
- Biscuit Krueger
- Vergei
- Sevanti Hui Guo Rou (Mentioned)
- Marayam Hui Guo Rou
- Nasubi Hui Guo Rou
- Benjamin Hui Guo Rou
- Camilla Hui Guo Rou
- Zhang Lei Hui Guo Rou
- Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou
- Tubeppa Hui Guo Rou
- Luzurus Hui Guo Rou
- Halkenburg Hui Guo Rou
Trivia[]
- The chapter has the same title as Chapter 279.
- The message Mizaistom sent Melody in Chapter 381 has a hidden message. In this chapter, the Hunter Code is revealed: "when a number is stated first [in a conversation], it's a signal for a Hunter [to] use the nth word in each [following] sentence", explaining the seemingly-random timecheck in Mizaistom's instructions to Melody seen. In the official Viz translation, Mizaistom's hidden message is "Assist Princes escape fully", from the relayed sentences:
- 11:55 is the current time.
- Assist Keeney, he's in charge!
- Princes Kacho and Fugetsu have been exhibiting odd behavior.
- They're likely plotting to escape somehow.
- Do your best to fully shut it down!
- The original Japanese text does something similar, but relays a time of 13:44 instead. In addition, the Japanese text "signal[s] for a Hunter to use the nth clause" instead of word or character. The meaning behind the communicated message is the same.
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