Anytime, anywhere, anyplace
You could be anyone today
Maybe I would recognize you On a crowded street
Maybe you'll take me by surprise, Will you be the one I had in mind..
It was cold that evening night, some splashes of water falling from the heavy dark clouds indicating that tonight would be raining rapidly. People walking all over the streets, families, lovers, friends and all sorts of forms in this city that never sleep, York New.
Kuroro just hung up on his phone after taking the information he needed from Shal, the address of 'The Scarlet Bar.' Where he's new target would be tonight.
He made his way to the location of the infamous bar, -according to Shalnark- it was well known for gangs and filthy criminals and all kinds of people who allured the police of YN, to be hanging out in there. Which, as he was told, the man or woman he was hired to kill by the mafia, was an attendant of the supposed place. It was a bit of strange for those assholes to hire the Spiders for one kill only, but it seems to be an important one and apparently out of their hands since they didn't even give him any name or proper description of his target. Except for one small sign, 'An animal shape of a small tattoo on their back -how odd!-' and well paid ahead with a promise of a year funds for 'Meteor City'. The payment was enough for the Spider Head to ignore the poor information regarding his target.
He lifted his head and took the sweet drops of rain on his face with a heavy exhale. He really hated doing jobs for those scumbags.
After fifteen minutes of walking down the streets, he finally reached his destination. He was early, and it seems that the bar was also almost empty. Of course, those gangsters won't show up just yet. Looking at the sign that read "The Scarlet Bar." he opened the door and made his way inside.
The atmosphere was more massive inside the place, filled with smells of alcohol and smoke. Accompanied by some lousy music playing in the back. He looked around and saw three to four individuals drinking on separate tables. Having a girl with a dark hair as his and a body full of tattoos, serving them.
He headed to the other side, where the bar was and sat on a chair facing another bartender, this one was a male with brown hair and honey eyes color.
"What can I get you." The bartender asked him.
"Water, for now, I plan on meeting someone later." He answered with a smile. In return, the bartender only shrugged and offered him a glass of water.
He was thinking of how to check on everyone back to locate this damn target of his, when he heard a voice talking -as it seemed- to the bartender, coming from the back heading to them.
"Hey Matt, the sink is floating again."
The voice -the person- made his way to the front taking the bartender's place 'Matt,' who, in return left to check on the floated sink in the back.
The newcomer looked at the sitting man on the bar with the intention of asking him if he needed something else but that thought went out of the window when he saw the familiar shocked face staring at him in disbelief. His heart skipped several beats.
Both their hearts did.
This can't be.
They remained that way for a long while just looking at each other in a shocking, suffocating heavy stares, and racing heartbeats. They felt like the time stopped. Like everything around them was gone. Nothing was there except for these sealed eyes talking to each other without a word to say between the two.
Kuroro finally opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut short with a sharp glare and a cold tone.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"What I...? What the fuck are YOU doing here!" Kuroro shot back with a disbelieving look at the sight of this blond in front of him. Working in a damn bar!
"I'm the owner. This is my bar. What the hell do you want?"
"Your fucking bar!! Wait... You're the Red Demon!" Kuroro said as he stood up, completely shocked.
The blond glared at him with an angry look that he never saw on his face many years ago, before they... Before he...
"Don't fucking call me that."
"Kurapika..." He couldn't say anything. He was speechless. Since when Kurapika looked like that! Wearing this aggressive look on his face and having a damn tattoo on his arm. Since when he was talking like that, cursing and..
"Just leave.." Kurapika said slowly and turned on his heels walking away to the back.
Kuroro stood there for more minutes processing the shithe just saw. Before he as well, made his way out of the bar.
Misson be damned.
After ten minutes of Kuroro's leaving where he spent them in the back lingering, waiting with a thrumming heart, the twenty-two-year-old blond, went back to where he stood earlier. Staring at Kuroro's seat for a long moment, then grabbed the empty glass of water the thirty-one-year-old had and held it in his hand for another long staring moment. Pressing tightly on it with the -not long ago memory- of Kuroro's face looking all over him in disbelief.
"Who was that?" The girl-bartender asked after noticing the heavy atmosphere around the two just a few minutes ago.
"My damn Ex."
Kuroro stormed his way inside their base and headed directly to his own room, not even giving any glance or what's so ever to anything around him, but before entering he called.
"Shalnark, I need you now."
Shal, who was watching his Danchou with the rest of the Troupe members in intensive wait, ready for anything the dark-haired man needed, only looked at Shalnark in questioning before he shrugged to them and followed Kuroro to his room.
"Dammit Nobu, what the fuck did you do this time?" Phinks asked in irritation looking at the samurai with a disappointed look.
"Me! What the fuck you're talking about, how should I know!!" He fired back with a glare.
"Because you always do stupid things that makes Danchou angry," Feitan said as -a-well-known-fact. Which in response, he heard the rest of the group hummed in agreement.
"Oh fuck you all, why not Shalnark? He was with Danchou all day long not me!"
"I agree with Nobunaga, Danchou looks furious, it has to be something other than Nobu's usual doing," Franklin added.
"Thank you, Franklin," Nobunaga yelled with a glare to both Phinks and Feitan.
"But what is it, that upset him that much, he even looked damped, he must've walked all his way under the heavy rain outside." Shizuku noticed.
"I heard from Shal that tonight he was on the job from the mafia," Pakunoda said with a concerned tone in her voice.
"So what? The mafia annoyed Danchou? I'll fucking kill them all." Uvogin shouted in anger.
"I'm not sure, but my instinct tells me that's it's indeed had to do with the mafia. But there's something else," Machi said with a slight frown on her face before continuing, "I haven't seen Danchou like that in years."
"So what provoked him that much?" Shizuku asked.
But the rest only shared a questioning gaze in response to her.
In the same building, but a different room, Kuroro sat on the edge of his bed, drops of water falling from his hair and clothes to the ground as he lowered his face, not looking to Shalnark standing in front of him with patience.
His guts were twitching with the sight he saw earlier.
"Tell me everything you know about the Scarlet Bar, and it's owner." He finally asked in a calmer voice.
"As I told you earlier, the bar is infamous with its attendees, who usually are local gangs and criminals, some mafia individuals attend the place as well, but unlikely connected to other gangs nor owners," He finished the first part of answering the question before continuing as Kuroro started to clutches his fingernails on his palms, obviously getting more irritated. "And the owner, who they called 'The Red Demon' due to his fearless personality when it comes to the gangs, they all seemed to respect him very highly, and fear him, he is known to be ruthless and as they say -always straight to the point- not playing around or giving shit of anything that doesn't bothers him. Which is why they call him Demon, and the 'Red' in the nickname came from the bar title, others say it's because of his eyes flare with red flames if he gets angry enough.."
"Bullshit." Kuroro cut him short. But remaining quiet after to let Shalnark finish.
"..anyway, he seemed to bought the place a year ago, but there was no name or picture of him when I looked up for info because I didn't look deeper thinking that the target in this mission was an attendant.."
"It was.. It is, he's not our target." Kuroro interrupted him again.
"Do you want me to look deeper on the bar and its owner?" He asked.
Kuroro looked at him for a moment thinking of the offer before nodding in approval, "And everything's there that is connected to the mafia."
Shalnark nodded to him before making his way out of the room, leaving Kuroro to his storming thoughts.
He couldn't believe what he saw hours ago. There was no way that the innocent Kurapika could've become like that. Even if it was five years before last seeing each other, he knew what kind of a person Kurapika is -no- was. He knew that he was still angry with him. Although Kuroro's heart was beating so loud in his chest for seeing the blond again, even if he didn't look like himself, or talk in politeness like he used to, he also had a fucking tattoo! What happened to him?
This can't be because of what happened five years ago. It's not possible. It can't be. The blond was strong enough to hold it. He knew he was. Right?
What happened?
It was three in the morning and Kurapika was just staring at the clock on his nightstand, his breath steady. His face blank, he was calm. Even if he had a hurricane inside of him. He was staring at the clock, watching every move the indicator made telling the time is passing. But all he could see was Kuroro's face.
He was like that all night, serving customers, hearing every loud and aggressive laugh those gangs were making, but not listening to any of it, he didn't even interrupt when they fought between themselves -again- which is really odd since he was always the one who puts the fighting to an end, which earned him that bloody nickname. Even Kuroro knew it.
Just great.
The Fuck! why would I fucking care about what he thinks! He was shocked to see me as much as I was seeing him, so he didn't even bother to check on me in the last five years. I don't give a shit about him, and I'm pretty sure that he won't be coming back anytime soon...
The blond took his mind back to five years ago, and beyond. Feeling the cold inside of him at the memories. Sensing the heat in his face due to the anger, and so many other feelings.
Between those thoughts that were full of hatred for Kuroro, The Kuruta didn't even notice the shy drop of water coming down from the corner of his eye.
The next day, Kurapika just flipped the sign on the door outside to state that the bar is now open, before returning inside.
He was alone. His employees didn't come yet, so he had to do some little clean up for now.
He cleaned the tables wiping them out, moving the chairs away to do the same with the floor. Then returning the chairs to its place. Heading next to the windows, giving the same treatment. His bar wasn't that big, but it was enough to have the right amount of gangs coming for it. They all were aggressive and acted like they owned the world when he first opened the place. But he knew how to deal with them. He knew how to tame them. Soon they were as good as he needed them to be.
He had their respects and some loyalty. At least to his bar. Not going anywhere else. Of course, some of them saw that they were responsible for the blond. Acting like his bodyguards, causing troubles more than preventing them. Some others were more loyal than should be, trying to win his affection. Others did the same, but they weren't his regular costumers, so he didn't mind them. But he rejected every one.
He sighed in tiredness at these troublemakers. They were more problematic than he needs to handle. But it's the way it is for him now.
He went behind the bar again to start with the glasses.
Suddenly, he heard the door crack open. He lifted his head. The gesture only caused his heartbeat to go racing, again.
Kuroro.
The other man made his way directly to stand in front of the blond, only having the bar to separates them.
Kurapika seriously just wanted to shout at him, telling him to leave already and never come back.
"May I ?" Kuroro asked in politeness indicating to the chair next to him and Kurapika surprisingly only nodded in approval.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon." The blond said sarcastically, perhaps trying to calm himself down.
"I didn't pay for my drink last night, so.." Kuroro ignored the tone.
"No need, It's just water." Kurapika waved him dismissing the gesture.
"Please, I insist." Kuroro urged him.
"You're a thief, since when do you pay for things?" He asked mockingly.
This time, Kuroro answered him with the same tone. "Since someone asked me to."
"And since when did you listened to that someone?"
And this time for Kurapika, his tone was cold.
"Kurapika, I'm not here to fight." Kuroro changed the subject.
"Why are you here then?" He averted his gaze.
"Business." Kuroro swallowed the half lie.
"Typical of you." Said the blond. Before taking another glass to wipe it clean, fixing his stare on the glass, hiding it from the dark grey eyes gazing on him.
Five years and he still can't look him in the eyes.
"The mafia wants the head of one of your lovely customers." Kuroro decided to jump in the subject.
"Of course they do." the blond said rolling his eyes.
"Well, do you happen to know why?" The dark-haired frowned.
"They're all gangsters. That should be enough of a reason." He said it like it was something ordinary.
"Yeah, I've figured that much," Kuroro said, still annoyed.
"Good, But please do keep your business out of my bar." The blond said dismissively.
"Kurapika, what happened to you?" Kuroro suddenly asked with a concerned tone, softening his eyes.
"Caring now? That's new." He said mockingly, ignoring the twitch in his guts.
"You know I've always cared! So tell me what happened to you to become like this!" Kuroro hissed, trying hard to keep his irritation inside.
The blond considered not answering him for a moment, but he wanted to give him a glance of what the hell he's been living the past five years. And how much he had a huge reason for it.
"Life hasn't been easy after you've left Kuroro, not that you wouldn't know if you looked behind your shoulders for once," Kurapika said in the calmest voice Kuroro could've heard since the other night.
"You know why I had to leave," Kuroro replied, finally averting his gaze from Kurapika.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He smirked with a clutch in his heart.
Kuroro could hear the hurt in the blond's voice, and he felt that his chest tightened around his own heart, painfully.
"Where are your parents?" Kuroro asked hoping for the blond to enlighten him more about the last five years of his life.
"Dead." Answered in his icy tone.
Kuroro's eyes widened.
But before he could ask anything, the blond continued, "They died a week after you've left."
Fuck.
This is not..! This can't be
Now his heart definitely hurts like hell.
"Kurapika, I'm so.."
"Save it. I have work to do, so if there's anything else you need.." He let the sentence hanging.
Kuroro regarded him with a look. Before standing and placing his payment from last night and taking his leaves.
Kurapika's guts knotted for a moment at the familiar sight of Kuroro's back.
I can fake a smile
I can force a laugh
I can dance and play the part
If that's what you ask
Give you all I am
I can do it
I can do it
I can do it
But I'm only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I'm only human
And I crash and I break down
Your words in my head, knives in my heart
You build me up and then I fall apart
'Cause I'm only human, yeah..
"Damn you Phinks, how did you convince me to tell you this." Shalnark hissed at him from the other side of the line.
"Well, I am everyone's favorite Spider." He said proudly.
"Danchou is everyone's favorite Spider, definitely NOT you!." He snorted.
"Well, then I'm the second favorite.. Whatever, I'm going in now, wish me luck." Phinks said cheerily. Then hung up on Shalnark's protesting voice.
He was standing in front of the Scarlet Bar, smiling mischievously and definitely looking for troubles.
He made his way inside thinking that whatever got their Danchou to become so angry, was going to pay the price.
As expected the bar was full with almost every low criminal and gang this side of the city was suffering with. Drinking and smoking, shouting at each other with every curse were known to humankind. He spotted a black haired girl covered in tattoos serving some table with new drinks.
"Hey there," he called her, and she turned around to look at him. "Can you show me to the owner of this bar? lovely lady." the tall man gave her a wink, decorating it with a stupid smile on his face.
She smirked at him before pointing to a specific direction with her eyes, then turning away and leaving. Phinks scowled at her ignorance on him. However, he followed the instructions she gave him to see the back of another one -a blond male- serving other tables. He made his way to him, cracking his fingers to give this asshole a well-prepared punch in the face. Thinking of how Danchou will be proud of him.
But suddenly the blond male turned around and saw his face, which only made him shout loud to all the bar to hear.
"What The Fuck!!"
Kurapika, who only turned around to head for the next table, heard the screaming words from someone in front of him, standing in shock. A tall and blond, eyebrow-less man. Staring at him with widened eyes.
"Oh, hell no!"
He shouted back, almost as high as Phinks' did.
Suddenly, he felt some strong hands yanking him to a suffocating hug. Lifting his feet a little off the bar floor.
"Damn you, chain bastard." He was practically screaming in his ears, blocking the air from his lungs.
"What the fuck Phinks, I told you never to call me that again." He managed to say, trying to breathe, hardly.
"Shit, I forgot.. Wait what the hell, language kid!" He finally released him, and it took Kurapika a long moment to breathe generally before saying back.
"What! You're talking the same, why lecture me!" The blond said, frowning.
"I'm older. You're a kid." That was a matter-of-a-fact in Phinks' statement.
"I'm twenty-two!!" He shouted at him, with disbelieving narrowing eyes.
"Still a kid."
"An adult kid!... Fuck why the hell I'm talking about myself like that."
Phinks laughed his lungs out. "Dammit, I really missed you chain.. -Sorry- Kurapika."
Kurapika only laughed lightly, "I did too."
"So, I see you were giving Danchou a hard time again?" Phinks asked while drinking the beer Kurapika served him.
"Again? What... Did Kuroro sent you?" Asked Kurapika while narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"You know he didn't. I didn't even tell him I was coming, or the fact that I know about your place." He said averting his eyes with a guilty look on his features.
Kurapika smiled. "Come on; he won't be angry with you. You were practically coming here to punch me on his behalf." He ended the last part laughing at the thought.
But Phinks only replied to the first part. "Oh, you hadn't seen him last night when he came back."
"What do you mean?" Kurapika was intrigued.
"Oh, shit. I've said too much already, sorry." The older man only gave a stupid apologetic smile to the blond in front of him.
"You're no fun," Kurapika said, rolling his eyes.
"Man, what've you been up to.." The eyebrow-less Spider looked around him while saying to the blond.
Kurapika had a small smile on his lips. "Business."
"You know, the whole Troupe missed you, especially Nobu," Phinks told him with a weird smile on his lips that Kurapika didn't want to figure the meaning behind it.
"Like hell he did, he always gave me a hard time thinking I was plotting a mischievous plan against Kuroro." Kurapika laughed at the memory of him fighting all the time with that old samurai.
Phinks shared his laughs for remembering the same memories. "No, seriously he did, he refused to talk to any of us for two weeks, scowling on his own, far from the rest."
"Wow, seems a lot of you had a change of heart this past five years." He ended with a smile, a bitter one.
Phinks didn't understand what did the younger blond meant by that, but he was sure it had something to do with his Danchou. So he said nothing back.
After a few drinks and a light-catching up -from Phinks' side- to Kurapika's ears. He left with a promise to bring the gang back with him to see the young blond. Another promise was made between their eyes not to tell Kuroro about this visit.
He was leaning against a wall watching the heavy clouds from an empty yard in York New city, smoking a cigarette and drifting away with memories. Mostly, of his hometown, and what life requires from him to do as he can. When he heard a young soft and warm voice talk to him.
"Smoking is bad. It'll get you sick someday." The young voice had a concerned look.
"Is that so?" He replied to him while smiling.
"Yes, my dad is a doctor, I'm sure." The young boy said with confidence.
He tossed the cigarette and smashed it with his shoe before giving him a grin. "Happy now?"
"Yes." The boy replied with a wider grin on his lips.
He felt his heart softened at sight.
"How old are you kid?" He asked him.
"I'm not a kid, and I'm twelve years old." He answered in an annoyingly childish way. "And you mister?"
"I'm twenty-one, young man." He addressed him with a smile, and the boy seemed to like it, as he moved to stand closer in front of him.
"What is that in your hand?" He gave another question, noticing the thick book he was holding.
"A book about hunters and their adventures." The boy answered him happily.
"Sounds interesting."
"Do you want to read it with me?" The boy offered him.
"Sure," Said as smiling with the same enthusiasm as the boy. Before continuing, "Young man, I'm sure you know this, but should you not trust strangers?" He smiled even though he said that about himself.
"I know, but I always see you were sitting here, I watch you every day when I walk past here on my home, so you're not a complete stranger," the boy chirped.
He smiled amusedly. Interesting.
"Even though you're dangerous, but I think you're a nice guy." The boy continued as giving him a smile with a glint in his eyes. It sounded like a challenge, more to himself than to the man sitting in front of him.
Definitely Interesting.
"And how'd you know I'm dangerous?" He looked very pleased with a shiny glow of his own in those dark grey eyes.
"I just know, I can see it in you." The boy shrugged.
"Very well then, let's read that book of yours. Shall we?"
The boy moved closer to him and sat before he opened the book placing it on both of their thighs. But before starting to read,
"Oh! Where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself!" He said with an apologetic look manifested on his face before expanding a hand to the man and continuing.
"I'm Kurapika Kuruta, nice to meet you." The blond was full of energy at that moment. Something made the man to have a tugging feeling that he should see through this boy, through these beautiful blue eyes of his, through this energy that intrigued him.
Kurapika, how strange. Rolling beautifully off the tongue.
He smiled as excepting the hand with his and shaking it.
"Nice to meet you too, Kurapika. I'm Kuroro Lucifer."
He opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness in the ceiling above him, was that a dream? He asked himself, but he knew that it's only memory from a long time ago.
Kuroro shut his eyes again, but it was hard to go back to sleep when his mind is full of memories of a certain blond, it's not like it hasn't been for the last five years, but this time, he's worried. This time he started to sense regret, one greater than usual. If he knew that Kurapika's parents were dead just a week after he left, he wouldn't.. He won't let Kurapika go.
What he did back then seemed to be the right thing to do, and he kept telling himself that for every single day in those years that followed, and every day he had to remind himself of that before slipping and going to see him. It was painful, lonely, empty and sorrowful without the blond, but it was necessary, right?
It should've been.
Kurapika wasn't the only one who suffered in those years, Kuroro did as well, but he couldn't show it to him back then or to the Troupe during the years that followed. He had to convince them that he was alright with that so they won't be concerned with him and focus on their roles with the Spiders and their original mission, and Meteor city, his other weakness.
They probably knew all the time. It was on their eyes.
But it doesn't matter anymore, nothing matters after seeing the Kuruta in that bar and every low and filthy criminal around him, looking at him, talking to him, maybe even touching him. He couldn't have that thought of anyone laying a hand on Kurapika. Also if it was a simple shake hand or a mere touch by their shoulders.
Kuroro threw the blanket off of him and straightened himself off the bed. He did not like where his thoughts were leading him. He did not like the idea of Kurapika with someone else or.. Wait! Someone else in Kurapika's life? He didn't think of that earlier! No, he can't be.. Kurapika wouldn't love someone else. But why wouldn't he? It's been five years, and he must've moved on and met another. He'd never wait for Kuroro, even if Kuroro were willing to..
"Fuck this!" He hissed, his voice dripping venom.
Then, made his way out of the room, directly to Shalnark's. He didn't even knock the door before storming his way in and standing next to Shalnark's bed. His heavy breathing was visible. He didn't care.
Before he said anything, he heard Shalnark ask in a sleepy tone.
"Danchou?" The blond Spider straightened himself up to sit properly before continuing, "is everything alright? You need anything?"
"What did you find on the owner of the Scarlet bar?" He asked with an urgent tone.
Shalnark who didn't tell his Danchou about Phinks going to that place to 'investigate' as he said -where the hell is Phinks anyway, he should be back by now- only looked around for something -he didn't need- just to cover his guilty eyes from Kuroro's lingering ones on him.
After taking his phone and reading the useless info he already memorized, the sleepyhead answered. "The bar was bought a year ago under a fake name.."
"How do you know it's fake?" Kuroro narrowed his eyes.
"Because I checked on the background and found nothing, obviously fake." He answered with a confused look at his Danchou's question. But continued, "and it was bought by cash, the owner; however, I still didn't figure out his true identity, so I can't determine what his real connection to the mafia but I don't think he has one. Because the mafia individuals who visited his bar are a low ranking in the community, not enough to make a connection to the highest families or the ones who gave us the mission to eliminate our target." He finished, and Kuroro only gave him a nod.
"So you found nothing on his personal life?" The Spider Head asked after long moments of silence.
Shalnark gave him another confused look before answering, "I could if I knew his real name."
Kuroro understood what Shalnark meant by his statement. "Soon." He answered looking away, before leaving the room back to his.
Shalnark was still thinking of what got into his Danchou's head to come in the middle of the night to ask about some bar owner. He indeed was acting weird with this mission and what's in that bar. The blind Spider intended to go back to sleep when he heard the shouts downstairs. He frowned then got up from his bed and headed to the source of the voices and saw Paku along the way leading towards the same direction. He joined her, and she gave him a questioning look and received only a shrug from the tech Spider.
When they reached the hall, where they usually gather to discuss plans or eat meals or just to hang out, the two saw the whole Troupe gathered minus their Danchou and the sleeping Kortopi.
However, the angry screams coming from some of the members and furious looks all of them shared, the sight was actually hilarious.
Phinks was pinned to a chair, Uvo holding him by his shoulders while making a face, the furious Fei and Nobu holding their swords at his throat under encouragement from Machi and Franklin to cut it already, and with all the threats and screams. Phinks was grinning widely with his eyes closed like he was enjoying every second of this death sentence.
"What the fuck is this? Nobu, take your sword away, you too Fei! Are you trying to kill him! Danchou will kick your asses." Paku shouted at them, and they seem to follow her order after cursing Phinks several times, Uvo on the other hand, kept Phinks in his place not moving a bit.
"Took you long enough Phinks." Finally, Shal spoke. Sleep went from his face.
"Well, can't blame me for having a good time." He smirked proudly, and everyone rolled their eyes.
"Wait, you know about this?" Nobu asked Shalnark.
"By this, you mean?" He answered in confusion.
"About the guy who made Danchou angry the other day, Phinks knows him, and he won't tell us," Machi answered for him.
"Oh, I knew he was going, but nothing else, why he won't tell you about him?" He asked everyone, grinning.
"This asshole says that whoever guess his identity, gets to go and see the guy, he's playing with us." Feitan hissed at Phinks who was still smiling happily.
"Why would you want to go and see him?" Paku asked.
"We want to kick his ass for annoying Danchou," Uvo answered -screamed- and got approval nods from the rest of the members.
Suddenly they heard a loud laugh coming from the eyebrows-less man. "You guys have no idea, really." He was laughing his lungs out. Though everyone gave him questioning looks.
"Dammit that was fun, I wish I could play you around more but what I have to share is more exciting." He said with a mischievous grin. Which only got everyone's attention.
"Spill it," Machi commanded.
"The guy that I saw, who owns a bar.. -Where our current target is attending- knows Danchou very well and Danchou knows him as well.." He stopped for dramatic moments, earning more glares, "and you can say Danchou was angry for seeing him there rather than anything else.."
"Do we know him?" Shizuku asked.
"Oh, yes we do." He said, smiling wider.
"Who is he?" Paku asked.
"Think of some sweet boy, back in the days. You know blond hair, pale skin.. In love with our Danchou... Rings a bell?"
"Oh, Fuck!"
That came from everyone.
Kurapika just closed the bar's lights and locked the door, before going upstairs to his small apartment, which has one bedroom and one bathroom, along with a small living area and a small kitchen.
It wasn't big, but it was comfy. And did the job.
He made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge to take some lemonade, he did own a bar, but he didn't like to drink much, just a couple of beers. It was only a means to an end after all. He had to convince himself that, every time he welcomed a filthy gangster or low criminal to his bar.
He sat on the tiny table with two small chairs, and held his phone in his hand before searching for a certain number in his address book, he found the name and started typing the text before sending it and locking the cell entirely.
After finishing the lemonade, he turned the lights off and went to his bedroom to take his sleepwear and put it on the bed, then moved to the bathroom and started filling the bathtub with water, stripping off his clothes to the near basket. He got inside the hot water and leaned against the rim of the tub, closing his eyes and inhaling then exhaling, he found himself thinking of some raven-haired man.
What did Phinks mean when he said Kuroro was having another hard time by me?
God why am I thinking about him right now, I don't give a shit what's he's been through, he chose to leave. He decided to walk away and never come back! He decided to separate me from the Troupe and..
Kurapika opened his eyes and lifted his right arm to look at the tattoo, same spot where Kuroro's Spider tattoo is. Did he notice it? Or was he too shocked to see him behind a bar? He ran his fingertips on the tattoo 'A heart shape and chains circled around it with a pointy end directed to the middle of the heart'.
Just like how he felt after Kuroro.
"Why did you come back now?"
Empty spaces fill me up with hopes
Distant faces with no place left to go
Without you within me I can't find no rest
Where I'm going is anybody's guess..