I don't own Hunter X Hunter. OC is Scarlett, myown.

HxHxHxHxH

Scarlett was extremely focused. Heart pounding, blood pumping, no sounds could be heard except heavy breathing and the crunching of dead leaves under their feet.

"Keep running!" she shouted to her younger brother over her shoulder.

They have to get away. At this point, all that's in her mind is getting her and her brother as far away from the tribal grounds as possible. Over the distance she could hear the massacre still happening; screams of pain and sorrow mixed with the clashing of metal and guttural shouts of destruction. They could never go back.

After what seemed like hours of running, she and her brother decide to take a break. They hid in a deep cave and rested. No words passed between them. Silence reigned. Each needn't say anything.

They knew about what would have happened; the elders have been saying it for years. They criticized the younger generation of Kurutas for being too friendly with the outside world. They strongly believed that the Kurutas ought to keep to themselves owing to their colorful eyes. They said their eyes made them different and things that are different only had 2 fates awaiting them: 1) Rejection to the point of destruction, 2) Being coveted to the point of destruction; either way, the Kurutas would lose, and today, they lost big time.

"Tomorrow…" she started but was unable to continue. She let the dead air hang between them. She was debating on whether her plan was actually a good one. For a few seconds she sat there and pondered; the silence only being broken by the occasional shuffling of cave mice. After a while, she made up her mind. She continued, "Tomorrow we go back"

Her brother's eyes went wide with disbelief and fear. "But we can't go back! What if they're still there?" he retorted. This is the type of reaction she was hoping to avoid. She was tired and hungry and drained. She hoped that her brother would just shut up and listen for once.

"I know. Which is why I go first, then if all is clear I'll send a signal and you come after." She replied

"But –"

"That's enough Kurapika. We need to know what happened. I want to know. You don't have to come"

The last statement really was unnecessary. She knew that her brother would want to come. And to be perfectly honest, she really didn't want to go alone. They were both scared and felt vulnerable. They needed something familiar to hang on to; all they had now was each other.

"But –"

"Look. I made up my mind. Time to make up yours. Whatever you decide on, this cave is our rendezvous, okay? It's been a really long day and at this point I really don't know what to say except that we should take this one day at a time." Even as she said it, she realized the stupidity behind the words. They could have potentially lost their entire tribe and yet, the way she talked made their problem seem so shallow.

"Just…just get some sleep okay?" she continued. She really didn't have much to say at this point and no energy to say anything else. She could see the defiance building behind her brother's eyes, not knowing what else to do, she begged her brother with her eyes to just listen and not argue. It seemed to have worked, her brother's gaze softened and he seemed to just retract all words of defiance at this point. He nodded and turned his back to her.

That'll do, she thought.

They spent the next couple of minutes winding down and sharing the silence. Eventually, they nodded off.

HxHxHxHxH

The next day, Kurapika woke up first. He decided to pick some random fruits and vegetables for a quick breakfast. Scarlett was still asleep, he decided to leave her there while he went ahead and check on the tribe. If it was bad news, she would be spared. Growing up, he was taught to always be a gentleman and protect the female gender; there was no need to scar her any more than she already was. So, without another thought, he sped on to the direction of the tribe.

He rushed into the thick greenery of the forest, ignoring twigs that snapped beneath his feet. As he approached the tribal grounds, he slowed down and became silent. Taking out his weapon, he was ready to strike anything that would get in his way and anyone who aided in the attack of his people. Every step he made was calculated and precise. He cursed himself a thousand times for every noise he made. Finally, as he was nearing the main tribal grounds, he lost all trail of thoughts. He dropped his weapon and fell to his knees.

"…!"

There were no words for what he was currently seeing. Blood and metal and wooden scraps everywhere, bodies with emptied eye sockets littered the ground. He wanted to look for his friends and family but was too afraid that he might find them on the ground instead of hiding. His voice was stuck in his throat. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run.

Suddenly a pair of clammy hand darted from behind him and covered his eyes. His heart jumped with fear and anger and surprise. The hands then turned him around and squeezed him tight. The smell of earth filled his nose and he knew that it was Scarlett. She was holding him, keeping his eyes closed and his being secure. He was so stupid, thinking that he could do this on his own. He failed. He failed to protect his family, to protect his tribe, to uphold strength and dignity.

As Kurapika's mind filled with self-defeating thoughts, Scarlett looked on. Red blood covered the brown ground, she wanted to scream and cry but her body hasn't caught up yet. She heard a loud noise only to realize that it was Kurapika screaming and expressing his grief. They really were the only ones left.

HxHxHxHxH

'Cause I just felt like it.