A/N: Hello all! Wow, time really does fly! It has been over three years since I last posted anything (haven't kicked the bucket yet!). And for the first time, I am posting a story not related to Hetalia.
For those who have ever looked forward to my stories (if there ever were any) I truly do apologize for not updating any of them. School and life caught up and I found myself with near zero free time.
But still for those who have read any of my previous works, I hope that you will find that this one is relatively different. After all, three years is plenty of time for me to develop my skills and my story ideas. I had read through my older works before I picked up the pen again, and I realized just how inadequate of awriterI was. But still, no guarantees…^^;
Once I find the time, I plan to go through all my older works and edit where edits are needed, and finish where resolution is demanded. But for now, please enjoy this piece.
Lastly, for those who have ever supported me and those that I had seemingly abandoned, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Reading through comments and reviews are always inspiring.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter!
The feeling of being left alone was worse than death. Hell, you've faced death before, just as would have anyone of your situation.
You thought you had gathered them together to be family, to bring justice into an unjust world, to right wrongs. Before you knew it though, they had become part of the wrong.
And like the coward that you were, you took the only route that you could think of—escape. But in turn, you were alone.
/\/\/\/\/\
"No, that's still not quite right," you patiently remarked again as you pointed to the sheet of paper before you. You could sense the squirming of your pupil and his frustration.
For the past several years, you have been working as a tutor for the children of various wealthy families. You made a decent living, relying on the accumulated knowledge of a lifetime of leisure reading. After all, it was not as if you have any other skills to fall back on to.
"Why don't we take a quick break?" you remarked as you smile gently at the child before you. The boy immediately beamed a smile and scurried off into some room or another.
"Make sure to be back in 20 minutes!" you called after him. "Ye-es!" he answered cheerfully, voice echoing faintly throughout the oversized mansion.
You heaved yourself up from the chair and begin to head for the front door, setting a timer on your phone as you do so. The weather was nice and taking a walk would be pleasant.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Ah! I'm sorry!" You jerked backwards as you nearly collided with a figure entering the front door as you headed out. The servant of the family nodded silently as he adjusted his hold on a rack containing two tubes. "What is that?" you asked, bending down to peer into the two jars filled with liquid. Two bright scarlet spheres floated: gemstones you assumed.
"Eyes." -was the curt answer. You drew back in horror. "Eyes?!"
The servant nodded, "This is a pair of Kurta eyes. The head of the family had just purchased them for quite a fortune."
"Kurta?"
"A small tribe in the Lukso province. They were wiped out by a certain group of bandits and their eyes were taken and placed on sale. Since there are no survivors, owning a pair of these eyes has become quite the status symbol." He peered into the jars with a crooked smile. "Besides, they are quite stunning aren't they? Would be interesting to turn them into Christmas ornaments, eh?"
You could barely hold in your wave of disgust and nausea, rendering you unable to do much more than echo his words.
"Bandits?"
"Yes, I believe it was the—the" the servant scratched his head. "The Troupe Phantom? The Pha-Pha? The Phantom Troupe? That's it—the Phantom Troupe."
Your breath hitched as you felt your heart constrict. The Phantom Troupe—something you thought you had left far behind you. You had usually turned a blind eye to reports of their atrocities, but for the group to wipe out an entire ethnic group and engage in something as disgusting as human flesh dealing…And to think…
"[name]? [name]?" You jerked back to reality only to have the servant staring at you in confusion. The beeping of your phone reminded you of the job that you were supposed to return to.
"A-ah! Sorry!" You laughed awkwardly, thumbs twiddling anxiously. "I was…drawn in by the beauty of them! That's all! Got to go back now!" You instantly dashed off, having lied through your teeth.
For the next hour, you were absurdly distracted. You were usually a hard worker, focused on the task at hand. Yet, after learning about the tragedy of the Kurta, there just wasn't any way for your whirling mind to calm down.
Having finished with your tutoring session finally you trudged back to your apartment, dazed. Your body acted in autopilot, numb to all surroundings. Collapsing into a chair, you attempted to control the flood of emotions that threatened to flood out.
"People change…" you muttered to yourself as spasms shoot through your frame. "People change. It has been over 5 years. They aren't the same as they were before. You know that…you knew that….so you left."
Unable to stifle the whimpers any longer, you allowed the inundation of tears to flood out. After all, no one would see or hear—no one was there.
/\/\/\/\/\
You returned to work as usual the next day, determined to set it all behind you. Sulking was not your habit. You had checked the price of a pair of scarlet eyes the night before, foolishly half hoping that perhaps you could scrap together enough from your common day-to-day expenses to purchase a pair—and lay them to rest with respect.
But who were you joking? The price range was above what you could save up even after if eating only cup noodles and living in a cardboard box for the rest of your entire lifespan. And would returning a single pair of these eyes truly right any wrongs? You would only be lying to yourself as you try to alleviate your own feelings of guilt. With a dry laugh you had closed the browser window and went to sleep.
Practicality was your strength, and the only reason you were able to survive on your own since such a young age.
Having approached the office door, you knocked gently. "Sir?"
"Enter."
Quietly, you slid open the large double mahogany doors just a crack enough for you to slip through. You immediately noticed that there were more occupants than usual in the plush, luxurious office room: in addition to the little boy who you usually tutored and your boss, his father, another middle-aged man was seated on a velvet heavy-looking chair, a teenage girl dressed in candy-like clothing stood next to the unknown man, and a blonde figure dressed in a blue tabard stood some ways behind the girl—a bodyguard you would assume.
In your scan around the room, you noticed the pair of eyes that had been purchased the day before resting on your boss' desk. You internally cringed—it truly had become an ornament of sorts.
"This is [name], my son's tutor." Your boss had walked up to you, clapping you on the shoulder as he introduced you to the other elderly male. "I would say she does a very good job." He ended with a hearty chuckle.
"I am very pleased to meet you Mr…" you trailed off.
"Nostrade.' He answered sternly.
You quickly bowed.
"[name], for today, I will be having business dealings with Mr. Nostrade and we will be allowing [son's name] to get to know his daughter, Neon as well."
"Of course." You internally wished that this affair did not encompass an arranged marriage. The age difference would be disturbing. "So is tutoring cancelled for today?"
Your boss replied with a nod. "But still stay around. If the negotiations end early, we could perhaps still hold several sessions."
"Yes." Gradually, the conversation turned back to whatever business was in question. Standing around awkwardly for several moments, you quickly bowed to head out quietly.
/\/\/\/\/\
You found yourself wandering around the mansion aimlessly, thoughts still revolving around the eyes that sat upon the desk.
It's not my fault, you repeated to yourself. After all I ran…I mean left right?
Lost within your mind, you found yourself back in front of the office once again, having made a loop of the first floor.
Perhaps they are finished? You wondered as you headed towards the door. Ah, someone's coming out; I guess I can just ask.
"Umm, excuse me. But are the negotiations finished?" It was the blond bodyguard that you had seen before. Your voice trailed off as you watched him as he leaned against the door, body tense, and eyes covered by his bangs.
"Are you…alright..." you asked gently.
He nodded silently. You observed his hands, clenched tight in fists.
"Ahh…" you trailed once again. What should I do? Obviously he got really upset over something. But he doesn't seem like the open type. Should I leave him here? Should I ask him? Should I….
"B..throo..."
"Pardon?" you asked, barely detecting his faint voice.
"Bathroom. Which direction?"
"Turn around that corner and head straight."
He nodded and headed in the pointed direction briskly as you watched on worried.
"He really is shaken up, huh?" a sweet voice remarked next to you.
You turn in surprise to spot a smallish woman beside you. "Sorry! I did not notice you standing there."
She shook her head with a gentle smile. "That's Ok." She peered in the direction the blonde headed. "Poor Kurapika, his heartbeat was a parade of rage and sorrow."
"Heartbeat?"
"Yes, I have the ability to listen to the sound of hearts." She turned towards you. "I'm Melody, you?"
"[name], very nice to meet you. I take it that you are a bodyguard for the Nostrade's as well?"
Melody nodded.
"I wonder what could have affected him so badly? Perhaps the boss really shouldn't have placed those eyes there on his desk as ornaments. They would have freaked anybody out." You ended jokingly.
"He should not have." The seriousness of Melody's voice shocked you.
Did I offend her?
"Don't worry; you haven't offended me in any way." Melody remarked. Observing my startled expression, she added with a chuckle and a wave of her hand, "Your heart beat gave it all away."
"[name]." the voice of the boss called from the opened door, interrupting the conversation between you and the body guard.
"Yes!" you answered, pivoting to face him.
"From today on, you will be tutoring Neon and my son together."
"Of course si—wait!" Your eyes widened in horror. "But their course material would be drastically different since their age gap is so great and…"
Your boss's smile melted into an unreadable mixture. "That wouldn't be a problem—their course work would be the same, trust me."
"You mean…."
The boss nodded with a wry smile.
You pinched the bridge of your nose. "I understand."
Sensing your agitation, the elderly man tried to salvage the situation. "Nostrade has already agreed that he would be paying double of your current wage, so in total, you will earn three times as much as you are now."
"Ah, please relay to him my sincerest gratitude."
But really, money isn't the issue here….it's whether I would be able to survive trying to tutor a girl who seems to be almost the same age as me but has the intellect of a 11 year old.
/\/\/\/\/\
"No..that's…not quite right…." you droned, having repeated yourself for around the twentieth time. Neon had been struggling for the past hour on a single elementary level math problem while your usual student had finished in under 20 minutes and was now on his third problem set, working without any problem.
After several fruitless moments of trying to explain long division for the 3.14th time, you slumped back in the chair, exasperated and exhausted.
"Take a break," you muttered, covering your eyes with your arm. "Come back in 20 minutes."
Don't come bacccck!You mentally screamed as the pupils scurried off to god-knows-where, with Melody following Neon.
"Tired?" a smooth voice chuckled as a taller figure sat down in one of the chairs previously occupied.
I glanced up fatigued. "Kurapika, wasn't it?" you instantly flopped down again. "I have never taken on such a difficult student."
He raised an eyebrow. "You really needed the pay then, didn't you?"
You scoffed. "Pay? No, I really don't have much need for more pay, living alone and all. I took on the job simply since my employer had requested." You straightened up to face him. "Then how about you? How do you bear with being her bodyguard all the time? From the look of things, it's probably impossible that she responds to logic or reason at all."
He sighed. "Of course. When she demands something, it is futile to try to refuse, no matter how absurd the request."
You let out a laugh. "Sounds rough."
A silence gradually fell between the two of you. Usually, you would have taken the opportunity to take a stroll around the mansion grounds. Yet, today, you felt too lazy to lift a finger from the relatively comfortable chair that you held—but that also meant that you needed to do something about the weighty quiet that encompassed the room.
"So," you hesitantly started. "Yesterday, you seemed pretty shaken up. Are you feeling better now?"
The male across from you visibly tensed once again, hands clenching together.
"Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern."
Sensing that he wished to halt this conversation topic, you dropped your follow-up questions, falling back into dense tranquility.
The air of the study room seemed to grow denser by the second. The cricket that you could have sworn was chirping seemed to have suffocated under the pressure.
"Um, Kurapika," you carefully began again several minutes later.
He looked up at you, holding his sharp gaze steady.
Your mind blanked. Desperate, you blurted the only thing that came to mind, not without regret: "How old are you?"
"19."
Your eyes enlarged. "Eh? Really? Same here!" You embarrassingly rubbed the back of your neck, "When I first saw you, I thought you were at least 24 or so! You look so…mature."
"24?!" he drew back astonished. "Really now?"
"A-ah! I didn't mean to offend you! It is just that you seem really calm and composed, really reliable and…and" you stuttered, trying to instigate damage control, eyes pinpointed at your lap, avoiding his gaze.
To your surprise, he let out a genuine laugh, pleasant, almost in total contrast to his serious exterior. "No, don't worry. It was just that I suddenly was reminded of one of my friends whose age is often mistaken. And also, [name], you really don't have to be so jumpy about offending me."
You shrunk at the comment; you had always been supersensitive towards other people, rendering you often socially inept. Peeking up at the male, who now donned a placid smile, you felt your face color.
"If you say so then…" you started with a stammer. Taking in a breath and looking up resolutely, with a pout and cheeks still pink, you finished "Then I'm not going to hold back!"
"Oh?"
"You should smile more! That way you don't look like an old grandpa!" You erupted. The pink on your cheeks instantly deepen into a bright hue of scarlet as Kurapika stared at you with an unreadable expression.
"I-I mean…when you laugh…it was...um…" Once again, the motors of the mind whirled at breakneck speed as they attempted to contain the circumstances. You flailed your arms desperately with wild gesticulations as you tried to explain yourself to a stunned Kurapika.
"Pff."
The small puff of air made you halt mid thrash.
"Kurapika..?"
Quickly, the male seated in front of you burst into rolling laughter. You sat awkwardly as the Kurapika's laughter echoed in the room and hallway. Neon and your regular student both appear at the doorway, confused as to what was going on.
"Kurapika? He's laughing?!" Neon shrieked in disbelief as she began to run for the office where her father was located. "Papa! Papa!"
As Kurapika's outburst began to peter down, he stood up and made his way to the door. "You have to get back to work now right?" You nodded dumbly. With a last chuckle, he added, "You really are something [name]."
With his offhand comment, your face had permanent transformed into a tomato.
"[name]?" your student asked.
"It's nothing." You flashed a 'teacher' smile. "Let's move on to history next."
Once again you were absolutely, absurdly distracted—this time by a certain blonde's smile and laugh.