Disclaimer: I don't own HxH
(A/N: Here comes the warning. This is a Fem!Kura, Fem!Gon, KilluGon, KuroKura fic. It's also a sequel. So if you haven't yet. I suggest you read the first fic, Netero's Academy for Potential Playthings before you read this one. It's not very good because I started it without really knowing where I was going. So, there's a lot of filler, but if you squint, there's a storyline. It's cute so that should count for something. Also, let us all assume for the moment that the language spoken by most of the HxH world is English.)
Of Lions and Blonde Avengers:
Chapter 1:
Of Komugis and Spiders
The streets of YorkNew were silent. Not because they usually were, but because most of the occupants of said streets were too shocked by the sight before them to do anything too noisy. A young woman, no older than twenty, with honey-kissed, shoulder-length hair walked between the lines of cluttered shops. Her lips were pulled into a neutral line, her black eyes cold and calculating. Her entire aura seemed to scream that she could kill anyone, at any time, if they got too close. She was deadly, as she walked through the town square, her body clothed in blue and gold. Even with the strange clothing, she was unmistakably beautiful.
But that wasn't what shocked them. Everyone in the city had seen beautiful, deadly, young woman before. It was part of the YorkNew life, and some even came to the city just for that reason. No, it was the adult lion following her like a bodyguard would its boss, eyes analyzing everyone in search of some signs of danger. A predator on the prowl.
What a magnificent alliance.
The eyes of hundreds followed the woman as she crossed the street with long, elegant strides. She gazed up at a large, muscular man who had been yelling at a white-haired girl dressed in pink and white crumpled on the ground, her walking cane and suitcase just slightly out of reach. The woman started talking, her voice a soft, low melody that sounded almost like a song. All hundred and thirty-five people in that crowded street strained their ears to listen.
"She's sightless," the woman said, her voice startling stable in the presence of a man twice her size. "Or were you too busy harassing her to notice?"
"Heh, the hell you think you are, talking to me like that?!" he yelled at her, leaning down to intimidate her with his own version of the death glare. To the onlookers, it simply looked like he was squinting. The woman didn't glare at him. She stared, eyes blank as a latent anger burned beneath them.
"No one in particular. Now, answer me. What kind of scum pushes a young, sightless girl around like a puppet?" There it was. The anger. It sent shivers down their spines, but all the stupid man saw was an empty insult.
"You b*tch!" he yelled. And then? And then he threw a punch at her. Idiot. The blonde side-stepped with deadly grace, causing the man to fall to the ground. Right at the paws of the lion.
The beast snarled at him, baring its teeth as it stepped closer.
Idiot muscle man screamed a strangely high-pitched shriek of horror, scampered to his feet, and ran at a speed that could easily win him a few records.
Suddenly, a large, blonde man in a tracksuit started laughing and clapping at the display, walking closer to the woman. Was he her father? No, he wasn't good-looking enough to be related to her. Unless she'd inherited her mother's beauty.
The woman ignored him, choosing instead to focus on the crying girl on the floor. The men, there were two of them now, continued to approach her.
"Damn, is that a real lion?" the tracksuit guy asked, reaching out to touch the creature's mane. It snapped at his hand, and he promptly drew it back. "Cute."
"It could probably bite your head off right now," the short man beside him said, voice almost a whisper, muffled by the skull bandana he wore over his mouth.
The woman kneeled down next to the girl, still ignoring the two men.
"Are you alright?" she asked, voice so gentle and kind that half her public nearly melted in it.
She stared off into space but nodded her head fervently. "Yes, yes! I'm fine. I just tripped that's all." The blind girl tried to stand up but quickly fell back down, clutching her ankle in pain.
"May I see?" the blonde inquired. She nodded, tears trailing down her face. The lion woman took her ankle gingerly, inspecting it with cold calculation. "Looks like it's sprained. Come, we need to get it fixed? I'll take you there."
"Oh, no!" the girl said, waving her friends in front of her, dismissing the thought. "I can't intrude any more than I already have! Please, I'll be fine."
"But you can't walk," the woman reasoned.
"But -"
"No buts," the woman cut her off, sounding much like a mother scolding her child. "You are in no position to go anywhere. Bahari."
The lion, whose name was evidently Bahari, approached the two females obediently. Kurapika's hand disappeared into its mane as she petted it. Her gaze was inquiring, asking permission. Then, with zero difficulties, she picked the other girl up and placed her on its back.
"Do you have a particular place you'd like us to go to, Miss," the woman asked, politely.
The girl's face contorted in thought. "Ah, well, I was on my way to my hotel room when I got lost."
"And where would that be?" she followed up.
"Golden Gates Hotel. Room 341," the blind girl answered, twiddling her fingers.
"Understood."
. . .
"Man," the annoying one started talking again, "you know your way around, kid. How long have you been in the city?"
Kurapika glowered as she took another left, but not answering him would be childish, so she gave her answer. "One day."
"What?" the man exclaimed, clearly impressed. "And you memorized the whole city in that time?"
"Yes," she answered, monotonously.
"Man, you're really something, you know that?" the blond man said, placing his arms behind his back and stretching. "Danchou sure knows how to pick 'em."
"Danchou?" Pick 'em. Like some fruit from the produce aisle? Great, now she was remembering Hisoka. Speaking of Hisoka, didn't he always call Chrollo Danchou? This Danchou and Chrollo couldn't possibly be the same person, right?
"Chrollo. Chrollo Lucilfer. You know, black hair, black eyes, pale like a vampire, charismatic, handsome," the blond one listed off.
"You sound like a girl," the small one snickered.
"I do not! I'm just trying to jog her memory!" he defended, reminding her of Leorio whenever Killua pushed his buttons. She mentally shook her head of the thought. Leorio and Killua were hardly as annoying as these two. They didn't deserve to be compared to these idiots.
"Chrollo?" she finally said, realization dawning on her face. She swiveled around to face them. "Did he send you two to spy on me?"
"What? No. I'm here of my own volition." Ooh, big words. She wasn't buying them.
"And you just happened to see me in a crowd of millions? We just happened to be on the same street? You just happened to have nothing to do for the next few, what, hours?" she swiveled back around to her previous position. "Damn him. I knew he had something up his sleeve."
And no, she didn't feel relieved that he was still thinking about her.
Phinks sputtered and let a string of nonsensical rubbage slip out of his mouth like many people did when they felt wronged in some way. Until, finally, he yelled, "Girl, calm down! You have a friggin' lion! Of course, I was curious! Besides, Danchou showed us a picture."
Kurapika stared at him silently for a few long seconds, and then turned away, uttering four simple words, "I don't believe you."
The girl showed the hotel clerk her Hunter's License, to which they responded by greeting her enthusiastically and saying that if she needed anything, they would do whatever they could to help. This scene was apparently hilarious because Phinks kept stifling his laughter.
"Enjoy your stay, Miss," the hotel clerk said, handing her the keys to room 341.
"Thank you."
. . .
"There you go," Kurapika said, setting the younger girl down on the couch. "Here, let me see your ankle."
The girl obeyed, and Kurapika sent them a pointed look. Phinks wasn't sure what she was trying to do. Maybe make them explode with her mind or something. Danchou couldn't have gotten a sweeter, saner girl, could he? No, he ended up with a strange, sharp-tongued lion woman.
"Get out."
"What?" Phinks asked.
"I'll be using my Hatsu now," she elaborated as if they were mere children and not secretly cold-blooded killers. "So get out."
"How come she can stay," Phinks whined, pointing at the white-haired young lady.
"She has a name. Komugi. She is also blind," Kurapika said, as the woman, Komugi, looked between the two of them nervously.
"We'll be waiting outside," Feitan replied, already walking to the door. The traitor.
"I can't believe you let her win that easily," Phinks complained, as he shut the door behind him. Feitan shrugged, that bored look ever-present on his face.
"She's Danchou's woman."
That was no excuse! Oh well, he could wait a few minutes for her to open the door.
. . . Two Hours Later . . .
"She's not opening the door, is she?" Phinks muttered, a disheartened look on his face. What a world, what a world. Women just go and lock you outside their homes for two hours. Leave it to Danchou to fall for some devil woman.
"Probably not," Feitan replied, in his quiet monotone. He stood there, in the corner of the room, sharpening his swords as he often did when he was bored, eyes narrowed in bloodlust as he thought about his next kill. He continued, "C'mon we'll be late for the meeting."
Phinks grumbled something under his breath, as he pressed the button for the elevator to come.
Devil woman. Putting him in a bad mood. Did Danchou know of her true nature?
. . .
They were finally gone. Two hours. At the very least, they were patient. She still couldn't see how Chrollo could be friends with such idiots.
"Um, Miss Kurapika?" an uncertain whisper came her way. "I - I'd l-l-like to tha-thank you for s-saving me."
Kurapika smiled, motherly instincts kicking in without a hitch. "There's no need to thank me, Komugi. I'm happy to help."
The girl smiled sheepishly, twiddling her thumbs as if she wasn't quite sure what to do with them. "Your voice is really nice."
"My voice?"
Komugi nodded, enthusiastically. "You're not a native speaker, are you?"
Kurapika's eyes widened, though she couldn't say she was too surprised. Komugi's other senses must be sharper than a normal person's due to her blindness. An accent? Her English was perfect. No one had ever been able to detect the slightest inflection in it. Or, at least, no one had ever been brave enough to mention it.
"No, I'm not," Kurapika finally answered, her voice becoming cold as it often did when someone knew more than she told them. The blonde felt a bit bad about that. The poor girl had already been through so much.
Komugi waved her arms in front of her, frantically. "I didn't mean to be rude! It's really pretty! Calming like wind chimes ringing in the wind."
Kurapika took her hands. "No, no. I'm sorry. That came out colder than I'd planned. Not many people can tell I'm not a native speaker. I'm impressed."
That sheepish smile returned.
"D-Do you p-play Gungi, Miss Kurapika?" she asked.
Kurapika nodded. "I've tried before. I'm not very good, but -"
"That's alright!" the girl chirped, getting up and finding her way to her suitcase. She quickly pulled out a game board and then made her way back to the couch. "Could you play a few rounds with me? I've got a match tomorrow, and playing with someone at practice is a lot more fun than playing alone!"
Kurapika got ready to turn down her offer. After all, she had to be at the interview for that bodyguard position tomorrow morning.
But then, she just looked so happy to be playing with someone. Kurapika didn't want to disappoint her. She knew what it was like to be alone.
"Alright," she agreed. And right before the game started, she remembered to pull out a small, black remote-control-like thing. A wiretap deactivator. She wasn't buying their story for one second, and if she knew Chrollo at all, he'd have them place a bug somewhere close by, preferably on her.
. . .
"Yo, Danchou," Phinks greeted.
"You're late," Nobunaga grumbled, sitting cross-legged on the grimy floor of the abandoned building and his katana resting casually in his arms.
"Sorry, we had a bit of a run-in with the devil and her lion," Phinks replied, a bit mockingly.
"I didn't know the devil had a lion," Nobunaga muttered, grouchily.
"It was Danchou's girlfriend," Feitan clarified, quietly. He wasn't one to beat around the bush with tasteless metaphors. "The blonde."
The entire room went silent, all eleven of them turning to look at their Danchou and take in his expression. It hadn't changed in the slightest. He sat there with his nose stuck in a book as usual.
Five minutes of staring pa ed by, and their Danchou finally sighed. "If you want to say something, say it."
They all turned to Pakunoda, who had known Danchou the longest out of all of them and was easily the closest one to Danchou. She gave them one swift glare before bravely taking up her role as the chief negotiator.
"Are you sure you want to have the next heist happen here in YorkNew while Kurapika is in town?" she asked. The other ten legs almost groaned in disappointment. None of them had that question in mind.
"I don't see why not," Danchou said, looking back down at his book, clear disinterest written all over his features. Too much disinterest. "The Spider's operations come first. Should she be caught in the crossfire, well, we all know what she looks like? Get her out of it, in that case."
Someone chuckled, and the sound vibrated off the walls, ricocheting like a rejected bullet. They all, except Chrollo, turned to face Hisoka, entering defensive positions almost immediately.
The Spider flipped a card over in his hand. He, much like Chrollo, wasn't paying much attention to the other Spiders. Though, that was because he truly didn't care about them, not because he was trying to be authoritative.
"If only it was that easy," he chuckled to himself, before letting the card slip from his hands. He turned to look at their Danchou, who still refused to look at him, the same bored expression on his face. "Eh, Danchou?"
Feitan's pocket buzzed, and he pulled out his phone.
"Ah, seems she's found it. That was quick."
. . .
Kurapika decided she couldn't just leave the poor girl defenseless, so she offered to stay the night in case something happened. After all, YorkNew was a dangerous place. Komugi had, of course, told her it was fine and that she didn't want to trouble her any more than she already had. The blonde convinced her otherwise.
"Miss Kurapika?" she asked, suddenly. The white-haired girl sat up in her bed.
"Yes, Komugi," Kurapika replied, eyes closed as she rested her head on Bahari's side right outside the bedroom door. This was far more comfortable than the couch in her humble opinion.
"Would you like to stay for a while longer?"
"Here?" she asked. It would be easy to get an apartment but she didn't really know how long she'd be staying in YorkNew. Neon had told her that the bodyguard selection process was rather meticulous, not that that was saying much. Still, there might be sleeping quarters provided. She might not get the job at all. They might stay in YorkNew for the one auction and then go to some new place. So many possibilities. She couldn't plan anything until later.
"My sponsors are paying for everything anyway, so it won't be a problem," Komugi added quickly.
Kurapika grimaced, but she still didn't open her eyes. "Why didn't one of them take you here?"
"Oh, I didn't want to bother anyone," Komugi answered, flustered. "I guess it wasn't very smart, but they already do so much . . ."
"That's no excuse," Kurapika mumbled. How could they leave such a sweet girl to fend for herself on the streets of one of the most crime-filled cities in the world? "I'd love to stay a little longer, Komugi."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh."
"Can we play Gungi again tomorrow?"
"Of course." It had quite possibly been the first time Kurapika had lost in a game of wits to anyone other than Chrollo. The girl had quite a talent. She probably had Savant Syndrome mixed in with some latent Nen. Fascinating. Neon apparently had a latent fortune-telling Nen ability as well, if her description of the power was to be believed.
Specialists really were incredible. Kurapika hoped they didn't mind her stealing into their group.
. . . On the YorkNew City Deck/A Week From September First . . .
"Wow!" Gon exclaimed, eyes bright with excitement. "It's so bright! It's like it isn't night time at all!"
"Yeah," Killua said, arms crossed over his chest as he took in the sight.
"You think Kurapika and Leorio are already here?" Gon chattered, enthusiastically. "I can't wait to tell them about Greed Island!"
"Maybe we should call them?" Killua suggested.
"Call?" Gon repeated, quizzically.
"You don't know either of their numbers, do you?"
Gon scratched the back of her head, embarrassed at being found out. Killua smirked. She really was adorable.
"Don't worry. I do." He had asked them both before they left. Leorio immediately told him. Kurapika, not so much. She went on about how she'd be doing dangerous things, and if she was caught, they might be pulled into it as well. He quickly used the fact that he was an assassin who could easily pull out someone's heart in less than a second to his advantage.
"Can we call them now? Can we call them now? Can we? Can we? Can we?" she asked, jumping up and down.
He smirked, put a hand on her shoulder to stop her bouncing, and said, "I'm pretty sure they're both asleep by now." It was two thirty in the morning, after all.
"Oh," she whispered, visibly deflating like a popped balloon, "I guess you're right."
"Let's get to the hotel first, 'kay? We'll call them in the morning."
The girl brightened up again. Tomorrow, it was. She wondered how they were doing. What they were doing. Kurapika worried her a bit. She had this dark look about her before they left. Gon hadn't forgotten about the blonde's revenge. Kurapika had gone to YorkNew for a reason.
You better be okay come September First, Kurapika. You better be there.
. . .
Next on Of Lions and Blonde Avengers:
Kurapika's interview with the Nostrades and her securing her position. Gon starts her search for the game.
(A/N: That was a short goodbye. What? Did you think I'd leave you guys for a year or something? Hell nah, I'm posting as many chapters as I can before school starts up. Every two days, probably. Have fun with the uneditness of it all.)
To Everyone: Glad to see y'all back here. I hope you liked this strange start to the YorkNew city arc. Please review, favorite, and follow, if you would be so kind.