Author's Note: Hey everyone! Welcome to "Red". I've had this idea in my head for a little while. I've written a few chapters up by this point, and I couldn't figure out a title. Then, I heard Red by Taylor Swift, and the line "Loving him was red," just suddenly connected to the story and the main character. Also Kurapika's eyes are red, I just couldn't resist. This is my first Hunter X Hunter fanfic (I still have no idea how I'm supposed to say that. I just say "Hunter, Hunter" because saying "Hunter X Hunter" just sounds weird to me. What is that X supposed to mean anyway?) Anyway, I've finished watching the anime (the 1999 one, dubbed in English) I haven't seen the OVA's yet, so my timeline won't be perfect, but this is a fanfiction, it doesn't need to be. I hope you guys will like it and you should totally review. I don't think this anime has enough fans. Anyone care to prove me wrong? Oh, and please note that since I'm going off the 1999 series and not the 2011, Kurapika's eyes are blue. R&R

Red

Prologue

"Blue could save her. Red would damn her."

A boy steps out into her line of view. His eyes are blue as he scans his surroundings, clearly unaware of the mess he has just stepped into. The forest looks calm, but if he would turn only slightly towards the way he came, he would see smears of blood covering the grass and bark of the trees. She knows, though, that he won't turn around. He never was one for looking back.

Her stomach lurches and blood comes out of her mouth, but the noise she makes is inaudible to any ears but her own. Her arms can't move so the blood drips down her mouth and onto her clothes, not that it made much of a difference with the state she was in. She tries to keep her head up, to keep her eyes on the boy walking in front of her. He can't see her. He can't hear her. She can call out to him all she wants, but he'll never hear her. He'll never be able to rescue her.

You think you're alone, but you're not. You think that you're the only one left. Well, I exist too. I'm still here.

The thoughts spin in her head as she thinks back to all the conversations, all the sleepless nights, and all the stories she'd shared with the boy. She wants to speak up, to tell him all the thoughts crashing around in her head, but no matter how loud she screams them, only she can hear herself. If only he would turn around, just turn around and see her. That's all he had to do, and the spell would be broken.

I may not be like you. I may not be special. I may not be close enough to you for you to consider me a friend, but I'm here. In your shadow.

She knows he can't hear her, but she continues anyway, whispering these words to him. He doesn't acknowledge her, but he does stop walking. He bends down and picks something up from the ground. A yellow ribbon. She knows it well. The yellow ribbon that matches the intensity of his eyes, usually tied in a bow around her auburn hair.

I've been protecting the part of you that refuses to let anyone in.

More blood stains the grass and her clothes. Without the ribbon, her hair has fallen to cover her face, touching the blood stained edges of her lips. Her eyes want to close, but she forces herself to keep them trained on the boy.

I won't back down. I won't let them hurt you. I'd die before I'd allow them to do that.

That was a promise she was determined to keep. Even if this killed her. Even if she died trying to break these bonds, she'd protect him. She had to warn him. To somehow let him know what was to come. She had to find a way to save him from the same fate she was suffering from.

You might not remember, but I promised you. You saved my life, and now I owe you mine.

She could still remember that day, so fresh in her mind. The day she first met him. The day he saved her. The day she knew just what she was meant to do in this life. What was most important to her.

I don't regret following you. I don't regret protecting you. I don't regret fighting for you. I don't regret being your friend. I don't regret . . .

Her breath catches in her throat and she stops. Does she regret that? Is she really okay with what that got her into? Blood drips and she lets her eyes droop for a moment. It was because of that one undeniable fact that she was here. It would be easy for her to regret that. It would be so simple to wish it hadn't happened. That she hadn't let it happen.

But no. She didn't have a choice in the matter. And she didn't want it to go away. To disappear. To never have existed.

I don't regret loving you.

And she didn't. Her eyes snap back open as she hears leaves being crunched. The boy had taken a step forward. His right hand was clenched around the ribbon that hung loosely in his hand. He was shaking.

I regret hiding in the shadows, not telling you before now. I regret being afraid. Afraid that you'd push me away. Now it's too late for me to go back. To tell you.

It was ironic really. All that time spent making sure she stayed hidden. Stayed in his shadow to keep from being detected. Now here she is, trapped in that very shadow, unable to do the one thing that had been her reason for being there in the first place.

All I need now is for you to turn around. For once to look your shadow in the face and know I'm here. That's all I wish.

Now, she starts to cry. Anger radiates from her target, and she can't stand being the one who has done this too him. She wants to turn away again. She wants to not see the look on his face when he starts shifting around. She doesn't want him to stare into her with those piercing red eyes. Because the moment he does, she'll be trapped in this shadow permanently.

So, she closes her eyes once more, focusing intensely on him. Her stomach settles and the blood around her mouth becomes mere stains. He has to calm down. His eyes have to be blue. And then he has to turn around. He has to free her.

Only four words can I say.

Those four words echo in her head, pretending like they are floating to him.

Maybe, just maybe . . .

His shaking is less violent, but his grip on the ribbon is still tight.

you'll hear them,

She opens her eyes just in time to see him spin around, looking directly at her with his eyes of-

Kurapika.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading the Prologue guys! I'm super excited for this story! I planned like...the first couple of chapters before I attempted to write. I did a little bit of research, to make sure some things in the story will work right. That's just me for you. Please review! It really helps me to write faster! Also, if you go to my page you will see a link to a facebook page for this story. There I'll post character profiles, songs that relate to the story, previews, information on updates and stuff like that. It's just a way for me to keep in touch with you guys. If you like this story, then please go like that page. Like I said, I haven't seen many Hunter X Hunter fans, let's show the world just how many of us there are! And FYI, chapter one should be out (earliest is Saturday, latest is Next Friday)