Chapter 01 - Peruvian lilies

The gesture in itself had been relatively harmless; the delivery of the bouquet of Peruvian lilies at his hotel room to congratulate him with his birthday. Kurapika had not felt the need to inform his subordinates about the day, but since they were the ones that actually opened the door and accepted the delivery, he supposed he couldn't have expected them not to read the card Melody had sent attached to it. They were the ones handing the security and therefore, this was something inevitable.

Kurapika had, however, not anticipated the birthday poppers blowing confetti in his face, nor the sight of his makeshift office swimming in balloons. How they had managed to create such a scene in the twenty minutes he was out to get a cup of coffee was beyond him.

The young mafia boss very nearly turned around at this point, to wonder if someone had spiked his drink, or if he had somehow fallen asleep. This definitely fit the description of a weird dream after working too many long hours. The sight of several Mafia grunts looming over him, holding out brightly-colored party poppers with their very muscled arms… the lines of their faces - which usually held stern experience - now stretching into wide carefree smiles, was… disturbing at best.

"…I appreciate the effort," Kurapika only managed to find his voice after listening to three variations of a happy birthday song, because what else could he possibly say to a group of former gangsters blowing party whistles in celebration? "I am, however, afraid that I must decline this… sudden celebration party. I am currently busy on some documents and…"

"Come on, boss, you're always busy! Here, loosen up some!"

Kurapika could not keep his abhorrence from surfacing when a shot of whisky was poured straight into his paper cup of coffee, creating the concoction of bad Irish coffee. He was still mourning his drink when his gaze fell upon the scene behind his employees. A table completely stacked with alcohol and beer bottles; half a dozen of them empty. So that explained a lot. This was simply their excuse to drink on the job.

The next two hours were a complete nightmare – there was no escape from this celebration party no matter how he tried. From karaoke songs to drinking games, despite his many attempts to decline, Kurapika was pulled into every single one of them. He managed to feign most of his shots of vodka with bottled water and had only managed to escape after everyone was too buzzed to notice him sneaking away. Quietly, he sighed on a closed toilet seat in the privacy of a bathroom.

There, he considered his options. The window at the very top of the wall was too small to fit through and for a second of desperation, he considered whether it was worth the lawsuit if he broke the wall and took his chances on this seventh floor of the building… Mentally calculating expenses, he pulled out his cellphone. A normal person would just call for help in this kind of situation – but that felt absurd, as he is the one in charge of these drunk men. That was when Kurapika's eyes fell upon his home screen and his own mind fell blank in response. …Not a message or missed call in sight.

Perhaps it was the amount of alcohol he did consume that made him petty, but a frown silently formed on his expression. After obtaining his number, Leorio attempted to reach out to him on a daily basis, some days more stubbornly than another. Yet today, there was not a happy birthday wish in the form of a text or voicemail anywhere. And it's not like Kurapika actually cared about the date or the fact that people remember it, but this had turned into a matter of principle. He huffed. Leorio not contacting him on this day of all days was unfair.

The blonde must have spent half an hour on the toilet like that, annoyance fueling his determination just exit through the front door. With renewed resolve, he swung the bathroom door right open. Following the blunt sound of the wood colliding… was a quiet groan. Looking for the source, he realized he hit a coworker straight in the face. By complete accident of course; who would expect someone to be lying in front of the door like that?!

"…Bosss," the man slurred, his arm halfheartedly reaching out. "Let's have…a drink."

The blonde pressed his lips together when the man's eyes rolled back to pass out on the carpet… and carefully stepped over him. Reaching the living room, the same sight graciously greeted him. Most of his subordinates were sprawled across couches and chairs, either completely passed out or very out of it nonetheless. He lingered in the doorway where he decided that his subordinates would have a load of trouble tomorrow if they soiled anything after waking up from their drunken state – he is not staying in a hotel room filled with puke and is certainly not paying for the cleaning costs or any necessary replacements.

Still, the blonde headed downstairs to inform the receptionist about the potential hazard situation and while she grimaced at the situation he described after he thoroughly apologized for the inconvenience, she thanked him for letting them know ahead of time.

"You are fifteen minutes early, but since your cab has already arrived, do you want to depart right away?" the receptionist offered.

"I'm sorry?" Kurapika could not help but ask. While he would do anything to get away from a room filled with passed out, large, muscular drunken guys of twice his size – preferably before the aftereffects of their alcohol consumption kicked in – he had not ordered one.

"Your cab," she repeated, like she expected him to be a little slow of understanding after the event he just described. "That was ordered at nine p.m. It is waiting outside for you right now."

"I did not…" He thought back to his alternative options and felt no need to stick around for that kind of after-party. "…You know what, I'll take my chances. Thanks for letting me know."

He exited the hotel, looking for any cabs parked outside. It was hard to mistake his ride when there was just one vehicle with its lights on and its motor running, waiting for him. He eyed the car suspiciously and cautiously approaching the vehicle. Despite everything that was happening upstairs, it would take a bit more convincing to make him step into transportation he hadn't arranged in the first place.

The rolled up windows reflected the hotel's lights, making it hard to see the silhouette of a man reading some kind of magazine, but as soon he neared the glass, the contours took a shape he was positively familiar with. Tall and slender, spiky hair, his eyes glued to whatever he was reading. And Kurapika's expression fell into one of sheer disapproval when he realized the main target audience of that magazine. So instead of knocking politely, he loudly struck the window.

The man in the driver's seat jumped, his head slamming into the ceiling and muffled curses flying from his mouth as his hands shot to his injury. It took a moment for him to regain his composure long enough to realize what caused his accident and his already widened eyes stared right back at him in confusion.

"Hah? What are you doing here?" Leorio rolled down his window and Kurapika stared right back, unimpressed.

"What am I doing here?" he asked right back, one eyebrow lifted. "Why are you my cab?"

"Uh-oh, busted." Killua's voice rang from above them and Kurapika looked up just in time to see the kid land on his feet. The landing itself was nearly soundless, which is quite an impressive feed, but not too strange considering his former assassination history. Gon landed on widely spread apart feet close behind him and was a lot noisier. Killua casually folded his hands behind his head and turned away disapprovingly. "Well, that ruined the surprise. Can't believe you blew it, old man. Your Zetsu sucks."

The young doctor-to-be spluttered immediately, trying to deflect blame as he tossed the 18+ magazine under his seat. "You can't pin this on me!"

"Kurapika!" Gon approached him quickly, smiling a toothy grin at him. "We were almost at your window when I picked up the scent of your shampoo."

"My…?" Kurapika resisted tugging on his hair, before breaking into an awkward chuckle. "Nothing about you has changed, has it? What are you guys up to, showing up at the hotel?"

Leorio took that moment to step out of the cab, tilting his chin slightly downwards while scratching his chin. "Well, it's… you know… a special day, so we wanted to surprise you." He seemed embarrassed.

"Happy birthday!" Gon raised his arms far above his head in a cheer. "We're throwing you a birthday party!"

"Yeah, we're here to kidnap you," Killua's lips sharpened into a smirk as he held out his hand, a spark of electricity flowing between his thumb and forefinger. "Just come quietly."

Kurapika's lips parted and closed again, eyeing his friends individually. He observed the curve of Leorio's frowned eyebrows and slightly hopeful gaze. Gon's unwavering stare and bright smile… Killua's mischievous expression, his kind eyes betraying the emptiness of his threat.

These were his friends and to be fair, they were people he has neglected for some time. This strange and elaborate surprise of them, while not very practical, was still very much appreciated. What did he have to lose anyway? It was not like the state of his hotel room allowed for any work to be done.

"Just this once," he consented.

A visible weight fell off his friends' shoulders. Gon started to push him towards the car and Leorio opened the door for him, as if they expected him to change his mind any second. Killua simply stuck his hands back into the pockets of his shorts and followed. The kids crawled into the back as Kurapika put his seatbelt on and Leorio climbed in the driver seat next to him. In less than a minute, they were on the road.

"Where are we headed?" Kurapika tried to pry. He had a hard time containing a smile. It felt like such a long time ago that they were all together like this and the lightheartedness of the situation really brought him back to those moments. It was easy to forget everything that happened in the meantime, clinging unto those precious times. But maybe that was still a bit of the alcohol doing the thinking for him.

"It's about a half hour drive," Leorio told him, a genuine smile framing his face as well.

"The old man arranged everything," Killua crawled against the back of his seat. "Gon and I are just along for the ride. Heard it was pretty difficult for him to convince the university to let him off this close to the exams..."

That caused a faint blush to appear on the adolescent's cheeks. "It wasn't any trouble," he sputtered.

Kurapika leaned back into the leather seat and closed his eyes for a moment, sinking into the moment. "…Thank you, Leorio."

That caused the doctor-to-be to clutch the wheel even tighter and the lines on his face to deepen further in embarrassment. "W-wait with thanking me until we get there…"

The drive went by in a flash. Gon animatedly chatted about the time he spent with Killua on Whale Island. The white-haired kid didn't participate in the storytelling and stared out of the window. He almost appeared disinterested. But whenever Gon complimented him in one way or another, the kid sharply turned around and heatedly started protesting. The mood was lighthearted and playful and they did not ask Kurapika any questions, which was just as well. He didn't want to talk about the contents of his current work within the mafia, or how his personal objective was gathering. They talked a little bit about Leorio's education and how things were running – and everything was surprisingly positive in that regard as well.

"We're here," Leorio announced, placing the car into reverse and parked it next to a modern building constructed out of differently shaped glass windows, fitting like a large, complex jigsaw puzzle. It reflected the surroundings like a mirror.

"I know this building," Kurapika spoke as he looked out of the window. "A client of mine went to a conference held here. It's supposed to be renounced for its luxury and extravagant architecture." He turned back to Leorio, grey eyes judging. "Leorio…" his tone was serious. "…How much money did you spend to arrange this? I will wire back the costs you made."

Leorio held his hands up in defense. "Don't worry; I didn't blow a fortune on this. And I didn't rob a bank or won the lottery either. The dad of one of my classmates happens to be best buddies with the owner. I got one heck of a deal out of it."

"It's true," Killua confirmed when a skeptical frown formed on Kurapika's face. "I saw the receipt hidden in his wallet earlier. He only paid for the food and drinks." The white-haired kid opened the car door. "Had to make sure he wasn't dropping himself out of his education with this plan."

"Hey – don't just start touching other people's belongings, okay?" Leorio shouted at Killua, who simply shut the door on him. The adolescent sighed. "Anyway, let's go in. "

They all exited the vehicle and made their way towards the tall building. The security was tight. Three of them kept standing on watch as one walked with them to the reception to verify their reservation. The inside of the building was indeed every bit of rumor that went around it. It was a very modern style, with strange geometrical shapes all perfectly synched in symmetry. The see-through stairway leading upstairs in a spiral shape had steps that were triangle-shaped; the high ceiling that consisted out of abstract geometrical shapes in different sizes created a pattern that was of different heights and material all-together. It was impressive how clean and slick the complex design eyed.

"I'll go announce us," Leorio told them, before heading off towards the reception. While Kurapika was momentarily distracted by the interior design, it took him one glance in the direction of the receptionist to know that it wasn't going to end well.

And sure enough, his friend had already planted an elbow on her desk and started a conversation with "that" look on his face. Her professional smile had died down into a blank stare, betraying that he was already flirting with her. So Kurapika did the only sensible thing he knew to do when Leorio acted like that and hit him in the back of his head.

"Ow –hey, Kurapika! What was that all about?" the man yelled, causing the security guard to make a move towards them.

"Excuse my friend over here. He sometimes has no understanding of the importance of being able to perform a job professionally," he glared, willing him to shut up with just that. And it worked, Leorio's puffed chest deflated with a frown and an avoided glance.

In the meanwhile, the blonde noted out of the corner of his eye that Killua and Gon had taken the hint and were actively distracting the guard by running around the reception area, dangerously close to some very breakable decorations. He was grateful to them.

"There is a reservation for this evening?" the blonde glanced to Leorio in a silent nudge to provide more information.

"…Uh, yeah, I was told it would be a reservation of the top floor."

"Oh yes," the receptionist confirmed, after checking his identification. "Here it is, some of the guests have already arrived. The top suite, completely catered and decorated, unlimited supply of consumptions, including a bar containing alcoholic beverages. It includes a sauna, Jacuzzi and a pre-heated p– "

Leorio spluttered. "Th-that's – ! Lady, the details are confidential!"

Kurapika couldn't help but chuckle. "It's not a big deal, Leorio. I am already grateful for the opportunity to see you guys again. I didn't expect to spend my evening like this in the first place; therefore, everything that has happened is already a surprise."

"Oh! Let me apologize," the receptionist's eyes widened. "You're our special guest. Happy birthday," she wished him and handed him a bottle of wine and surprisingly, a plastic birthday hat in the shape of a crown. "The wine is on the house from us. Enjoy your night and if you have any questions or run low on the supplies, dial 001 on the connected phone and we will take care of it. Our security guard will escort you to your location."

She called forth the poor guy that was still chasing Gon and Killua with a ding of her bell. The man's back immediately straightened like a pencil and approached the reception with newfound concentration. Gon and Killua stopped jumping around and the four of them regrouped in front of the glass elevator.

Call it intuition, but the moment they ascended, something pulled on Kurapika's body – a heavy feeling that lodged its way in his chest like an unwelcome stranger. Was he nervous about this surprise party? He could only speculate who would show up out of the very few positive acquaintances he made through the time he took the Hunter Exam. He had plenty of experience dealing with stiff social events and uncomfortable interactions. This very afternoon was the perfect example of that… Perhaps that subconsciously soiled the entire experience for him.

The beating in his chest seemed to waver as soon as the elevator doors swung open. Leorio took the wine out of his hands and placed the crown on top of his head with a big grin on his face. Gon smiled widely and Killua's lips spread subtly as well. …Right. He was with his friends. A better evening could not be held.

"Oh, Melody called and texted a couple of times," Leorio held the bottle of wine in one hand, his beetle phone in the next. "I thought she would already be here. Maybe she's lost, I'll call her back."

They walked through the hallway until they reached two large doors, muffled voices and laughter coming from behind them. How many people were even invited?

"Enjoy your stay," the security guard smiled and turned back to the elevator.

"Saw there was a chocolate fountain on the receipt," Killua excitedly announced.

"Is it okay if we go in?" Gon asked Leorio, who was half distracted by his phone calling out.

"Oh yeah," the older man smiled, waving them off as the phone dialed. "Don't let me keep you – Oh, Melody, you called! Yeah, that's right – we're all upstairs."

Well, his was as much a good time as any. Kurapika took one last glance at Leorio, who gave him an encouraging thumbs-up – and pushed against the large doors. Compared to the testing doors of Killua's house, these opened like cardboard. The muffled voices behind them now travelled through the gaps and he almost missed Leorio's next sentence with the sight that was prepared for him. "What do you mean, get Kurapika out of there?"

Nothing in the world could have prepared him for the surprise that awaited him. It was if time slowed down for one long moment of absurdity. Laughing… drinking…. talking… Vermin in the shape of humans, living up to the very name they gave themselves. Every single one of them spiders… crawling in the suite they had rented out.