Hello! Sorry for the late update ^^;

I'd like to thanks people who reviewed the previous chapters. Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews. I hope this chapter won't be a letdown.

Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to its respective author. I can't wait to see the new movie~!

Beware of typos and grammatical mistakes.

II

Kiara

"Now that we've all agreed to do a further investigation on this, I guess the first thing we have to do is to find an inn?" Leorio took out a cell phone out of his suit's pocket. He rubbed his chin as he searched for information from the net. According to it, there weren't many inns available around. Well, that wasn't unexpected, as this place wasn't a tourism site on the first place.

Leaving the matter of finding a place to spend their night to Leorio, Gon started thinking about what they were going to do next. "Right, we also need to think up a plan for this." His two friends found it rather strange to ever heard a word plan coming out from the boy's mouth. However, they chose not to bother such a thing because they knew he must have matured due his job as a professional hunter.

Killua kept silent. His eyes fixed to the half-empty glass of water in front of him while his mind filled with rather darker ideas than the other two had. He was customized to think of the worst possibility in every situation he faced. Call him pessimistic, but he was the one in charge to save their butts once the situation got worse. Whether this woman was a simply someone who coincidentally looked like Kurapika or someone related to him, they didn't know anything about her. She might be an evil person. It might even be a trap; she could have change her face into Kurapika's for a reason.

For what reason? Moreover, why would she?

Killua frowned. It was the unlikeliest case here. He might have thought too far. It would be better to confirm whether it was Kurapika or not first. Well, Kurapika was dead, but there was no strong evidence on it. He might have escaped death by a hair's-breadth. He might have… possibly… probably… Killua wanted to bang his head onto the desk so badly. He felt like he was going crazy. There were too many possibilities yet each of every probability was too slim.

"Oh, so you've woken up…" An unfamiliar hoarse voice broke his thought. He altered his sight from the glass to an old woman who was speaking to Leorio. Leorio himself looked rather confused when the elder greeted him.

Gon apparently noticed the change in Leorio's face as well. "Let me introduce her. She is the owner of this bar, also the very person who nursed you when you were out." He said to Leorio.

"Oh!" Leorio exclaimed as he quickly stood up and bowed politely to her. "Thank you for the help, Ma'am. Also, I'm really sorry for the trouble I caused."

"There, there. No need to feel sorry." The granny laughed as she asked him to sit back. "After all, it's my granddaughter's fault."

"Granddaughter?" Leorio blinked.

"The girl who knocked you out," she explained. "She's my granddaughter."

Something in Leorio's mind clicked and he recalled the incident this afternoon. "Oh, no, no. It was my fault too."

"See, just like what I've said: it's not my fault." Someone suddenly appeared behind the three guys. They turned around and saw the Kurapika look-alike stood holding an empty tray.

"Kiara!" The granny scolded.

The so-called Kiara girl stared at Leorio. Her intense glare made it as if she had been trying to bore through his skull. After a while, she finally closed her eyes and sighed, then reluctantly apologized. "I'm sorry for kicking you right on the face, but that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't acted suspiciously back then."

Leorio laughed nervously. He got a feeling that this girl disliked him. "Err, sorry about that. I just mistook you for a friend…"

"Heard it from your friends," she looked at Gon and Killua, then back to Leorio. "Be grateful to them, if it wasn't for them, you would've been left lying like a dead fish at the harbor." She said dryly.

Scratch that. She hated him, Leorio mentally noted.

Seeing that her granddaughter's stubbornness would get them nowhere, the granny decided to change the topic. "Well then, you guys are here for the transit, right? When will your ship depart?"

"The truth is, we decided to stay here for a while because Leorio is still feeling unwell." Gon answered.

"But it'll take at least three day until the next ship come, or worse: a week. Isn't it better to catch up your ship and find a decent doctor for him?" The granny suggested.

"That's okay. We're on vacation anyway." Killua said casually while slurping his remaining drink.

"That's aside, say, grandma," Gon leaned forward. "Do you know any good inn around here?"

The granny tapped her chin and started thinking; the wrinkles on her face could be clearly seen as she frowned. "That's difficult. As far as I know there isn't any…" She kept musing for a while, before her face suddenly brightened. She clapped her hands, startling the boys with her sudden change. "I know. Why don't you guys stay here? We have an unoccupied bedroom. It's not really big, but I think it's enough for three people."

"Wait, Grandma!" Kiara protested. She couldn't stand the idea of living under the same roof with this lecherous old man.

"Eh? But we don't want to be a bot- Ouch!" Gon was cut when Killua suddenly stopped on his foot.

"That would be really helpful! Thanks for the offer grandma!" Killua's intentional exclamation suppressed Gon's words. The raven-haired boy didn't understand why his best friend did so, but concerning the sudden change on the once laidback Killua, he decided to shut his mouth and refrain from complaining for his aching foot. Killua must have thought of something.

Gon's intuition was right. Killua had seen a great chance coming through the granny's invitation. What could be better than staying near the Kurapika look-alike and digging up any necessary information right from the person in question?

"There. I think it's decent enough to be called a bedroom now," the female blonde said as she had just finished cleaning a small, around 3x3m, room. One of her hand placed on her hips while the other held a broom she had used for sweeping. Her long skirt fluttered some inches away from the now clean wooden floor as she walked toward the only window in the room and opened it to let some fresh evening air in. "Really, what's that old woman thinking, turning a storeroom into a guestroom." She sighed, exhausted both mentally and physically by the extra load of work she had.

Gon and co. peaked inside from the door frame. The room looked spacious while it was unfurnished. For the last hour, they had been moving several wardrobes and wooden boxes out of the room. After Kiara had cleaned it, it was indeed look like a decent bedroom fit for three people.

"All we need are futons. It will be quite stuffy once we move them in, not to mention that the air is kinda frowsy, but that's all we can afford for now," she explained matter-of-factly. It was clear for the guys to see that she didn't want to hear their complaints afterwards. "As you can see the kitchen is next door so you can get water by yourselves. As gradma said: make yourself home, and if I might add: behave yourself." She threw a glare at Leorio before turning to Gon and Killua. "That's all. I think you can start moving your belongings here while I get the futons."

"I'll help you out." Gon said as she walked pass them. She expressed her gratitude to him then both of them went upstairs.

"Man, why does she treat me like nuisance while she acts really nicely toward you two." Leorio threw his hands up in depression once the two was out of his sight. "She treats me as if I would steal something."

"Well, she might just hate you, Leorio the lecherous old man." Killua snickered.

"Oh, shut up!" Leorio groaned. He made a big mistake. Expressing his frustration to Killua would only make everything worse as the latter just heartlessly used the chance to toy with him.

"Lack of calcium, as always." Killua muttered as he put a lollipop into his mouth and started savoring the sweet. Well, it wasn't strange if the older guy didn't get the damsel's trust after what had happened earlier. From his point of view, Leorio had really looked like a lecher who had been about to take an advantage out of her after having acted like a righteous hero beforehand.

Speaking of which, she must be really strong for knocking Leorio out in one strike.

"Say, Ms. Kiara…" Gon started. The teen was standing by the door of the granny's room while the said blonde was taking out some reserve futons the elder kept in her closet.

"Just Kiara is fine," she said. Her back faced the door where he was while she was preoccupied with the futons. "And what is it?"

"Where did you learn martial arts?" His question caught her attention and made her turn to see him. Realizing that he had sounded suspicious, Gon quickly added. "I mean, I'm just curious. Previously you beat Leorio easily. It was just awesome."

She stared at his eyes as if she was searching for something hidden behind his innocent face. "It's just necessary for self-defense." She replied, though not really answering his question.

"You mean from the drunkards?" He noticed her eyes asking how he knew about that thus he continued. "My aunt and great-grandma also run a small bar at my hometown like you do. I've seen many drunkards tried to destroy our property since my childhood, though my great grandma always successfully sent them out of the shop with her broomstick."

"Your great-grandmother must be really healthy for her age." She laughed hearing his story, which made him felt relieved as the tension around them had decrease.

Actually, he had asked that particular question about martial arts because he was sure the way she had launched her kick resembled Kurapika's, which had been the reason why he had once mistaken her for his Kuruta friend. According to his discussion with Killua back then (Leorio had been still out at that time), if she was indeed a Kuruta it would be natural for her to have same martial arts style as Kurapika, and it was his task to find out.

"But that's not the sole reason. The drunkards here are pretty harmless, as most of them are local fishermen with low alcohol tolerance who drink too much every time they get stress," she said. "You see…"

Her words were cut by a loud crash sound coming from the bar bellow. Gon was startled by the sudden noise, while she just sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Speaking of the devil."

Killua and Leorio quickly dashed to the bar, followed by Gon and Kiara who ran downstairs as soon as they heard the commotion. The first thing they did was to make sure that the granny was alright. As they approach the eldery, they noticed that the bar was almost empty. It was strange because the bar should be crowded at this hour. They then caught a glimpse of a group of muscular, fierce-looking men standing at the front door. Stood among them was a woman clad in a revealing dress. She confidently stepped into the room; her high heels clicked on the floor as she approached the counter.

"My, my. I don't know you have grandsons as well, Madam Aria." Her voice sounded sugar-coated with sarcasm as she greet the bar hostess.

"They aren't. Although I'd be happy if they were." The granny replied calmly as if the men in front of her had looked harmless.

"Is that so?" The other woman laughed in a sickening manner as she flicked her auburn hair. "I presume they're just another men attracted by our dear Ms. Kiara then? Oh my, young woman these days really know how to seduce men."

Kiara rolled her eyes. Wasn't it the other woman was the one who've been seducing every single man she met? She showed off her cleavage and the slit of her skirt obviously went too high up. She might be an eye candy for some lecherous men, but for Kiara and any other woman; she was just an eyesore who apparently didn't know how to dress up properly.

"Who is she?" Gon whispered to Kiara as he nudged her on the elbow.

"Madam Crystala, owner of a neighboring bar." She whispered back, loud enough for the other two to catch what she was saying.

"Hmm, I see. It seems that she's the reason why your customers' leaving." Killua commented as he eyed at Crystala's men. All of them were ugly, reminded him of the bluffing prisoner (he had never bothered to remember the name) he and his friends once had met in the Trick Tower. Even though they looked rather strong, he dared to say that they were brainless.

"What bring you guys here this time?" The granny asked, ignoring the insult Crystala threw to her granddaughter.

"You see, we're here to collect what was supposed to be ours." Crystala answered.

"And what is it, if I may ask?"

"Don't play dump. I'm referring to the cargo that arrived this afternoon. I heard from one of my men your granddaughter stole it from us."

"Strange, I'm sure that we've order for it properly, it is definitely ours. Yours must have gotten mixed somewhere."

The two hostesses stared intensely at each other; neither of them was willing to lose in the arguments. Suddenly, one of those ugly and stupid looking men shouted out and stole everyone's attention. "AH! You're the man at the harbor!" He pointed at Leorio.

Leorio scratched his head. "Err, who?"

"Dammit! Don't you dare saying that you've forgotten what happened this afternoon!" The brute groaned.

Leorio looked at Killua then the younger guy told him that it was, apparently, the bully they had met at the harbor… The one who had retreated with his tail between his legs. "Oh, sorry. You know, I'm having some short-term memory lost right now." He laughed casually, making the brute even more agitated. The brute made his way toward Leorio then grabbed him by the collar.

"Don't fuck with me!"

"Wait!" The granny suddenly stepped in. "I won't allow you create any scene here." She looked at Leorio then at the brute then back at Leorio again. "I don't care if you want to struggle each other to death, just don't do it in my shop." True, if people started fighting here, it would be bad for her business.

"You hear that, bro." Leorio said as he tried to release himself from the brute's grasp. "Let's pay a respect to this lady and settle everything outside, shall we? Don't worry I won't run away."

"Ha! Like I care!" Instead of listening to Leorio's suggestion, the brute punched him on the face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry our men are kinda… hotheaded." Crystala giggled, covering her mouth with a fur-ornamented hand fan. There was no actual sorry in her voice. Her objective was, after all, to ruin the granny's shop. She didn't know that her man was nothing compared to Leorio. That's why, when suddenly the brute was knocked down onto the floor by an invisible punch, the smile on her face disappeared. Her jaw dropped, forming an idiotic gape on her heavily makeup-ed face.

After sending the brute meters away, breaking a table and some chairs in process, Leorio fixed his crocked tie while muttering several curses under his breath. Upon realizing the damage he caused, he quickly turned to the granny and apologized. "Sorry, I'll pay for that."

Madam Aria, the granny, could only sigh. She couldn't entirely blame Leorio as the youngster had tried to obey what she had said. It was the other man who had hit him first. Even though she also thought that the brute served some beating, the other brutes were now ready to assault.

"It's okay. We'll make sure everything'll be settled outside." Killua told the old lady. It was as if he could have read her solicitudes. He clenched and unclenched his fists several time to relax his muscles. Now, how long would it take? Three minutes? No, if he and Gon joined force together, one minute was more than enough. A smirk spread on his face. It had been a while since the last time they fight side to side, hadn't it?

"Killua." Gon called as he looked into his friend's blue orbs. The silverhead nodded to him. Both of them then dashed toward the brutes. They passed Crystala swiftly, like gust of wind. Gon pushed the men whose bodies were twice or trice of his size out of the shop, carefully without breaking the door or wall. Meanwhile, Killua took care of those who stood outside, cleanly knocked them off with his trademark sharp hits. In no time, around ten bodies lied unconsciously on the ground. They scattered around the bar's entrance as if they had been hit by some invisible catastrophes.

Crystala was shocked; her eyes were wide open as she saw her supporters getting beaten singlehandedly. She became speechless as if cat got her tongue. She then looked at Leorio, who stood between her and the counter where Granny Aria and Kiara were. "Who- Who are you? Bodyguards? How much they pay you? I'll pay you twice, no, thrice, if you work for me!" She started blabbering some nonsense about money and any other profits he and the other two would get in order to make them change their side.

"No, thanks. You know, Ma'am, there are things in this world that you can't acquire with money."

Her face reddened hearing this. "How dare you!" She raised her hand and slapped him. She then turned around and stomped away, leaving the bar as well as her useless grunts.

"There are things in this world that you can't acquire with money. Pfft, here I thought you were the one who always shipped money."

After they had gotten rid of the brute Leorio had beaten by throwing him outside, the granny chose to close the bar for the rest of the night. The guys then lent a hand to clean up the messes. They swept shreds of broken bottles and pieces of wood that were scattered on the floor. Just then, Killua decided to tease the older companion.

Leorio said nothing in reply while gritting his teeth. His face was apple red because of embarrassment. Why couldn't this brat spare his sanity for just one night, as if it hadn't been bad enough for him to get beaten up several times in a day? First he had been kicked, then punched, then slapped. Moreover, why must everyone have aimed on his face of all places? He hadn't checked it by himself, but he was sure the bruises all over his face had greatly damaged his handsome face.

"Here." Much to his surprise, Kiara offered him a damped handkerchief. At first he was startled by the sudden kindness she showed to him, then he became happy because he thought she had somehow warmed up to him. However, just as he was going to thanked her, she added. "Though, I'm doubt it'll be much help. In my eyes you look the same as ever."

Meaning that there wasn't any difference between his usual face and his beaten up face.

"You!" Leorio's rants were covered by Killua's loud laughter. The latter even crouched down and held his stomach thanked to the epic scene he had just witnessed.

Granny Aria smiled watching the three while Gon grinned helplessly. She then turned to the youngster who stood next to her. "You know, you boys surprised me. Who thought you were that strong?"

"Well," he rubbed the tip of his nose, feeling rather embarrassed hearing the flattery. "Although we look like this, we're actually licensed hunters."

"Hunters?" Her eyes slightly widened. He looked at her questioningly, wondering if he had said something wrong. She quickly added. "Oh, no. I'm just surprised that someone as young as you has already got a license. You must be really strong." She laughed off.

They talked about several other things for a while until he finally excused himself. "I'm going to take out the trashes."

It wasn't the first time people got surprised hearing that he was a hunter. It had been accruing for the past three years so he had been used to it. That's why; he mistakenly thought that her reaction was just the same as any other and failed to notice slight change in the elder's face.

This ended up longer than I expected. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it although it was rather cliché. Were the characters OOC?

I hope you don't hate the idea of naming this particular Kurapika look-alike (or just like everyone has guessed, the fem!Kurapika) "Kiara". It is an anagram of her original name; excluding P, U and the extra K. Aria and Crystala are names randomly invented by a friend of mine.

Next: The investigation begins as the three has obtained the perfect chance in their hand. However, what's with the sudden change in the granny's behavior?

Review please. Any form of critiques and suggestion are welcomed!

See ya!