BALANCE: The Collision of Light and Dark

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story, so please don't sue. Everyone and everything (HxH characters, etc...) is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. Furthermore, whatever happens in the story will NEVER affect the original plot of the Anime/Manga.

SUMMARY: Hatred and desperation had finally crept all throughout Kurapika's system and he made a final, desperate act to defeat the Spiders' leader.

WARNINGS: This story happens in an Alternate Universe. Please do not expect it to happen in the original Anime/Manga. Please be warned that this fic may, or rather WILL, contain Yaoi/Shounen Ai stuff... This is my FIRST ever, multi-chaptered piece of writing; expect a LOT of OOCness and errors.

A/N: [Important] This fic happened eight years after the massacre. Let's just say that Kurapika took the Hunter exam a bit more than five years after the massacre, then the York Shin incident happened six months later, making it "roughly" almost six years. Then two years later, this fic took place. So it's almost eight years later after the massacre. OK? This is to clarify the confusion in the timeline. Also, to give enough space for the whole Greed Island Arc to squeeze into but ignoring a few others and giving an extra time for the four friends to get along better.

CHAPTER 3: Checkmate

'Choose?' Kurapika thought bitterly, his eyes widened and reddened a deadly crimson with his thoughts. 'He wants me to kill my own friends!'

He had long forgotten about his hatred towards the Genei Ryodan. After he left their leader on that barren wasteland, Kurapika became certain that the Spiders will finally be disbanded. He was sure of it. Without Kuroro Lucifer, the Spider's leader, the Genei Ryodan is a headless arachnid – just breathing its last few breaths.

'Choose who?' he thought wildly. 'The strongest? The kindest? The closest to me?'

Kuroro could see the anger filling the blond boy just a few meters in front of him right now. He would have been irritated with the sight given any other time because he seemed to have seen every form of hatred possible that he had quite gotten bored at all of it. But now, right at this very moment, he feels a sudden chill when he stares at those blood-red orbs; a chill of excitement, even amusement perhaps.

'It seems that you are more a threat than all of the past avengers that came running after me, little Kuruta,' Kuroro thought, his smile not fading but if one observed closely, getting a bit wider.

Kurapika bowed his head a little, his soft blond hair falling just over his eyes. He just cannot take it anymore. His whole body shook with anger. This is too much for him. The Spiders had taken away his tribe, had gouged their eyes out to be sold as great treasures, and had given him so much grief and pain that even in his subconscious mind they are there, torturing him. And now, they wanted him to cause the death of his friends.

"Kuruta," the cold yet amazingly tender voice of Kuroro spoke again. "I am asking you to choose."

Kurapika was shaken away from his thoughts by that voice. The first word that escaped from the man's lips bombarded him with the images that usually lurk only in his most horrible nightmares. He was reminded, painfully, of the dead bodies he buried eight years ago. He clenched his fists harder making his nails dig hard enough for his palms to bleed. He felt his eyes glow redder and his mind went blank for a moment.

Much to everyone's surprise, the Kuruta had somehow gotten free of the Nen threads. His sudden burst of Nen and anger had momentarily filled the entire hall. Even the leader, who could have swore that he had considered everything that this thin blonde boy in front of him can do, was surprised.

'Without the head, the Spider dies.'

"DIE!" Kurapika exclaimed as he prepared to lunge towards the leader, his right fist and his chains all ready to strike. His eyes were glowing horribly red against his pale skin. His anger was almost solid it nearly took a form of its own. His power and determination prepared to crush anything or anyone on his path.

'This should be the end.'

"I swear by your graves, mother, father, and the rest of our tribe, I will hunt down Genei Ryodan and retrieve all of our tribe's eyes." Kurapika heard his voice, his young voice from eight years ago, when he vowed on the foot of his parents' graves.

'I will not fail you dear ancestors.'

He focused his Nen on this final attack. He knew he will not miss. And nothing can stop him.

'This is the end already anyway. Nothing else matters anymore.'

The leader realized that the Chain-Guy was now leaping to attack him. It had been so sudden and he did not expect it. He believed that the assassin would never do anything that may hurt his friends, but again, he concluded that sheer hatred can drive anything.

'You're amazingly fast my little Kuruta,' he thought, as he prepared his counterattack, posing in a crouched position.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Nobunaga – the samurai, about to behead the nearest boy his sword could reach and just awaiting his signal. He still had the time to glare a bold, 'NO' at the samurai – who fortunately understood and retracted his katana, before staring back at the currently airborne Kurapika.

For a split second with Gyo, he saw the Kuruta's Nen concentrated on his chains and on his eyes. Those blood red eyes. He never lost his liking for them but he had gotten bored by staring at them floating inside drug-filled glass containers. Months after he had obtained them, he sold every pair to the black market, wishing that he should have left at least one Kuruta alive. He realized that the eyes would look better if it is part of a living and responding entity, a beautiful one perhaps, so that the color would not be frozen to red but change according to the emotions. That would have been more enticing to look at, instead of preserved eyeballs freakily floating in glass or crystal cylinders.

Then he turned to appreciate the most beautiful pair of crimson eyes in front of him. He thought about it for a moment then decided to go back to the original plan. After all, ridding the world with their worst enemy and making a profit out of it would sound better for the Genei Ryodan. Tonight's events will only rekindle the fire of hatred inside the Kuruta's heart and if ever he decided to keep the Kuruta for himself, the Spiders will be forever in danger of the boy's wrath. He also thought of just killing the boy and preserving that beautiful head – eyes and all, but then again, he cannot find anyone who will pay any better for a living Kuruta.

He felt confused at the moment but realizing that the blond was serious about his attack, Kuroro decided to settle back to the present.

The leader smiled at the sudden show of powerful Nen that the chain wielder is presenting in front of him. He had not met anyone as powerful or as angry before and adding the two, he knew that this attack might be the one of the strongest that he will receive. And he will gladly test its aptitude.

Kuroro lunged forward too, shocking everyone in the hall even more.

"DANCHOU!" the other Ryodan shouted almost in chorus, all of them wide-eyed and frozen with deadly surprise. Kuroro, on the other hand, just shot the nearest Ryodan, Shalnark, a look that plainly said, "Do not interfere."

The assassin shot one more surge of Nen to his system and released his attack – a lethal punch accompanied by his chains. The leader of the Spiders on the other hand prepared to dodge and counter it but with only enough force to bring the Kuruta down and not injure him mortally. After all, he could not let such priceless beauty perish.

'Not when I'm around,' the Spiders' leader almost lost his balance at the seemingly stupid thought. 'Now where in HELL did that come from?' the man thought, his nose wrinkling.

'You must survive, Kurapika!'

His fist was only a few inches away from the leader's chest when his target backed away and a leg kicked his wrist so hard he heard his bones crack. He did not feel it at first but he knew that his punch will be helpless without the support of his bones so he withdrew his arm a little and drove the Nen in them to his chains. The serpentine irons were charged with yet another doze of Nen which made them lash wildly before hitting their target.

Kuroro had managed to back away and evade the punch which could have easily bore a large hole in his body. He delivered a serious, highly Nen-induced kick to the assassin's attacking arm. The contact was sure and he heard the boy's bones breaking but the younger one was able to transfer his Nen as soon as he knew about the damage. The act just strengthened those already too dangerous chains and he knew very well about that.

Kuroro saw the chains lashing hungrily for him. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the chains and wrapped them fast around his arm. He knew that the contact with the assassin's chains would cause tremendous damage to his arm but knew better that if those chains would hit any other part of his body, especially his chest or head, he would certainly be dead.

The Kuruta was clearly alarmed at this and that momentary stun was used by the Spiders' leader to yank the chains and pull the Kuruta towards him.

His red eyes widened with shock as the leader dragged him closer only to be met by a very powerful punch on his abdominal area, hitting the lowest of his ribs and sending shockwaves on pain all over his body. The punch was too strong, pushing him to the opposite side of the hall with so much force that the wall he had hit with his back crumbled and showered him with a liberal amount of dust and rocks. He coughed hard and spat blood as he desperately tried to stand. His chains disappeared as soon as he fell back again.

"KURAPIKA!" his friends screamed at one side of the room. All three suddenly struggled to pull free but only Killua, the silver-haired boy, became successful. He was able to get close enough before he was barricaded by the dangerous glint of the samurai's katana.

Kurapika opened his eyes as soon as he heard his name being called. He strained to lift his head up but managed only to turn his face towards the source of the sound. His eyes widened and he jerked himself up when he saw Killua rushing to him and meeting the overly-sharp end of the samurai's katana. The silver-haired boy stopped just in time to avoid it from plunging at his neck; however, the samurai seemed determine to push the blade through.

"No… Don't… Please…" Kurapika heard himself pleading as he fell from another attempt to get up.

"Too late kid," the samurai grimly replied.