Kurapika opened his eyes slowly, reluctant to see reality. One mistake was all he made, but it proved to be a fatal one, and now...

How he wished for the sweet embrace of death. Anything was better than this, this horrid embarrassment, this failure. He had failed his clan, his family, his friends. There was no turning back, no forgiveness, no hope. He tugged lightly at the chains which held him down, too weak to attempt break free. The irony of these cold chains, he thought, that the same chains I chose to trap and kill with would turn on their master and hold me captive instead. He closed his eyes again, a faint hope that all he had experienced was a dream, nothing else, but the sound of footsteps brought him back to the harsh reality of his capture.

"You're awake." The footsteps stopped in front of him, and Kurapika wished harder than ever that death would take him.

"You have the most uncanny resemblance to a girl, you do realize?" the voice spoke up again. "A shame, some might say. But then, were you a girl, the fight and capture probably would not have been as entertaining as it was." The voice laughed softly, and rage filled Kurapika until it spilled out into his eyes and turned them crimson. He whipped his head up to face his tormentor, and was met with the dark eyes of Kuroro.

"Kill me! Do as you did with the rest of my kin! Finish off the Kurata!" Kurapika screamed at the surprisingly calm demeanor of Kuroro. "Am I not the one flaw, the one piece of evidence proving your incompetence? My being alive means you failed!" He laughed like a maniac, and for a moment forgot the chains around his body, attempting to lunge at Kuroro's throat. The chains held fast, and he was greeted with the cold smile of Kuroro.

"It's a shame, really. I almost don't want to kill you. I forgot how beautiful those Scarlet eyes where when they remained in the head." Kuroro had made no attempt to back away when Kurapika had attacked, but rather, stepped closer, keeping just enough distance between the two of them that Kurapika wouldn't be able to touch him.

He reached up and held Kurapika's chin. His felt his captive immediately tense at this soft touch. Kuroro tilted Kurapika's face to the left, then right and then back again.

"Truly beautiful," whispered Kuroro, and quickly turned his head to the side to dodge Kurapika's spit.

"Don't touch me."

Kuroro let go of Kurapika's face, and brought his other hand from behind his back, which held his open book. He flipped to the page he wanted, and immediately chains materialized on his right hand. Kurapika looked at his hand, eyes wide with contempt. This was his mistake, what had caused his loss to Kuroro. He no longer controlled the chains he created to destroy the Ryodan, but rather, in a strange twist of fate, the Ryodan controlled that which would have eventually become their downfall.

"Your chains are marvelous, beautifully and perfectly crafted" said Kuroro, as he read the conditions of the chains in his book. "Unfortunately, they are somewhat useless to me, unless I wish to destroy my Ryodan. The most powerful Judgment Chain I cannot even use, for I don't have your Scarlet eyes." He looked up from his book and back at Kurapika, who was laughing again.

"You thought taking my chains might give you some advantage? They are mine, they obey me, even when stolen. Only I, the creator, can control them!"

"That is true. The beauty of the created reflects only the beauty of the creator" Kuroro replied. Kurapika narrowed his eyes at this comment. "And you're wrong. I do have an advantage taking your chains. I've now rendered you powerless against me."

Kurapika cursed under his breath, knowing full well the truth of what Kuroro had just said. Without his Chain Jail, he could do nothing. He had never developed his Nen in any other way, he didn't have a back up plan. He had been foolish, but revenge had blinded him to the possibility that his chains might someday fail him. Vaguely he remembered his Sensei warning him about the dangers of the path he took at developing his Nen, but he could no longer remember those warnings clearly.

"I was hoping to kill you with your own chains, but these rules you placed upon them allow me no such joy." Kuroro studied Kurapika's face, full of hatred and, shame? Understandable, Kuroro mused. After all, he had created the chains to destroy the Ryodan, not himself.

Kuroro had much time to reflect upon Kurapika during the time he waited for the nen-eraser. He was intrigued by him, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had desired to own the sole survivor of the Kurata. He was a collector of sorts, and what rarer treasure was there than a this, the last pair of Scarlet eyes in the world, still, ALIVE. And unbeknownst to Kurapika, he already belonged to Kuroro. In fact, the chains which held him right now, were his own, his Chain Jail. The tattoo of the twelve-legged spider was already on Kurapika's chest, right over his heart.

This was the only way Kuroro could keep his "pet" chained with his own chains, he loved irony. He still has not realized these chains are his own, and it is his own rule that keeps him weak and in Zetsu, thought Kuroro as he watched Kurapika once again attempt to struggle free from them. No matter, Kuroro smiled to himself, he will learn soon enough.