beta: Lea Summers.
notes: another chapter i struggled with, but i managed to make it ok i think. my lovely beta, lea summers, has officially outdone herself; she beta'ed this within two hours of me sending it to her. thank her for the early update. i'm leaving for the weekend and wouldn't have been able to post until monday if she wasn't made of awesome.
Chapter 4
A Pact With Lucifer
Kurapica followed the short Spider back to the Tower, his own apartment building. Some of his questions were answered when he saw the lift waiting for them at the base of the wall. Looking up, he could see the arm of a crane hovering above. That explained the vertical aura signatures going up to the roof. It was brilliant, really. Impregnable. Kuroro's apartment was on the very top floor, overlooking the city block. All of the structures around it had at most half the number of floors that the Tower did. As the lift slowly crawled up the side of the building, the Kuruta could see, quite some distance away, the very city centre with its proper skyscrapers, and all of the shorter buildings from here to there laid out before him. If the view had once impressed his shorter companion, he didn't show it. He didn't pay any attention to the blond either, opting instead for glaring up at the crane as if willing it to go faster and free him of his errand boy duty. Once they were on the roof, the man led him down into the building and knocked on a door, before opening it and motioning that Kurapica was to go in.
The apartment seemed to be insanely large, even more so than his own, but he couldn't be entirely sure, as the front door opened on a lounge absolutely overflowing with things. Tables were covered with artworks and jewellery boxes, old toys and books. Literary works were also piled up on the floor in crooked spires, some of which had clearly toppled over. Bookshelves lined the walls, but they too were filled to bursting. Some had large paintings leaning against the front, hiding the lower shelves. Here and there, a statue stood, with clothes thrown over it as if Kuroro had shed and thrown them without care as he walked through the door. The place was surprisingly dark, though Kurapica could see enough to try and pick his way through the mess.
The door closed behind him and Kurapica turned around to find that the short man had not followed him in. He had been left to wander the maze alone. Turning back towards the cluttered lounge, he heaved a sigh and picked his way carefully across the floor, heading deeper into the cavernous room. He could see that the windows were hidden behind panel blinds, sunlight spilling in through the narrow space between them, and some had bookcases in front of them. He paused near the middle of the lounge and glanced to his right, peeking down the hallway to the rest of the apartment. He wasn't sure if he would have to wander through the entire place to find one annoying Kuroro Lucifer.
"I'm here," a smooth voice said behind him, and Kurapica whirled on himself, heart hammering in his throat.
Kuroro was sitting in a deep red wing chair wedged between two large bookcases, dressed all in black and looking quite pleased with the useless drama of his appearance.
Kurapica huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Normally, people greet their guests at the door," he griped because if he said anything about the state of the apartment, he'd never shut up.
"I've little interest in conventions," Kuroro said, closing the book in his hand and setting it down on the side table next to his chair. How could he even have managed to read in this light? He must have been putting on a show, Kurapica decided.
The blond swept his gaze meaningfully over the mess. "Obviously."
Kuroro's lips twitched as if he were fighting a smile. He placed a hand on the book he'd just set down and waved Kurapica closer. The Kuruta still didn't want to go anywhere near the older man, who still made his skin crawl. It just felt so wrong, being in the same room with him, like being in a cell with a wild animal. He took a step back, and Kuroro beckoned him closer again.
Kurapica took a deep breath and steeled himself. He had to find out about the trails, he reminded himself. He had to understand these people, these Spiders. Squaring his shoulders, he let out a slow breath and finally moved to stand in front of the Spider Head.
Kuroro reached forward, palm up, hand opened. This time, despite the feeling of wrongness that crawled all over his skin like insect legs, Kurapica raised his arm and placed his hand in Kuroro's waiting one.
The man's cool fingers closed around it and he gently turned it over, his critical gaze studying Kurapica's arm. The welts and scratches had healed and barely showed on his pale skin anymore. Kuroro's other hand came up, fingertips lightly grazing the skin and Kurapica had another kind of goosebumps raise like pin pricks all over his skin. He shuddered lightly and Kuroro's gaze left the smooth skin of his inner arm to lock onto his blue eyes.
Never looking away, he let the blond's arm go and sat back in his chair. He studied him quietly for some time, his eyes finally leaving Kurapica's face to observe his posture, his body language. The blond tensed even further under his scrutiny, ever so unnerved by the man before him. This was the second time Kuroro had investigated his wounds by touching him, and he still couldn't quite get used to those cool, clinical fingers sliding over his skin.
"I'm told you've been requested as a scavenger," the Spider Head said, linking his fingers together. His gaze slid away. Kurapica sucked in a sharp breath and crossed his arms before him, surreptitiously rubbing the one Kuroro had touched against his t-shirt, as if to erase the cool touch of the man's fingertips on his skin.
"It's been mentioned," he hedged.
Kuroro tilted his head, lowering his hands. "I think you would be a good scavenger—the fact you've brought us medicine that is quite difficult to find is probably the best proof one could ask as to your resourcefulness."
"But—?" Kurapica asked, because he could hear it in his tone.
Kuroro's lips pulled up in a knowing smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I think you would be much more useful to this group as one of the raiding parties."
Kurapica knew the words raiding and parties, but the two didn't make much sense together. They evoked stories of Viking invasions and warfare tactics. "Are there other human settlements around?" he asked carefully.
Kuroro waved an elegant hand, as if dismissing the question. "That isn't the sort of raid I'm talking about," he assured the blond. "We mostly raid this city, and not so much for spoils of war."
"What are your objectives, then?" Kurapica wanted to know.
"Have you ever heard the idiom, offence is the best defence?" the Spider Head asked him.
"Offence," Kurapica repeated. "You mean to attack those—those things?"
"The monsters, yes," Kuroro agreed. He crossed one leg elegantly over the other. "I would like to request your assistance."
"You want my help killing a bunch of amblers out in the city," Kurapica said slowly, needing confirmation, because he couldn't quite believe his ears.
"Amblers?" Kuroro asked, cocking his head to the side.
"The slow ones," Kurapica explained, using Kuroro's own words. "Zombies. Ghouls? Those ill or undead ones who go around very slowly, stumbling around."
"That's an interesting name," Kuroro commented. "Very simple, yet descriptive."
"I didn't come up with it," Kurapica quickly defended. "You're not the first humans I've come across."
"Humans," Kuroro echoed. He had a strange sort of smile on his pale face and he brought his thumb to his lower lip, sliding it sideways over the soft looking skin. Kurapica watched it for a few seconds, then resolutely moved his gaze back up to meet his dark eyes. "And you, Kurapica," he asked softly, "are you human?"
The blond huffed and tossed his head derisively. "No, I'm a ghoul," he snarked. "Or maybe a forest sprite."
The sass seemed to amuse Kuroro, whose smile widened. "Very well, forest sprite," he said, "we all have our secrets. You can't fault me for wondering. A decade ago, monsters and ghouls were the stuff of legends. One cannot help but wonder what other mythological beings might also exist."
"And what sort of creature are you?" Kurapica sent back.
"Me?" Kuroro asked pleasantly. "I'm a Spider."
"What mythology are human Spiders from?" the blond shot back. "I'd never heard of them before arriving here."
"If I find out," Kuroro said, "I'll let you know."
The comment confused Kurapica, who had half expected Greek mythology and Arachne to come up, but he didn't pry further, returning instead to the negotiation in progress. "You mentioned needing my help?"
"Wanting your help," Kuroro corrected. At Kurapica's pinched expression, he insisted, "There's a difference between wanting and needing. I want your cooperation, but I don't need it."
"Why ask me then?" Kurapica asked. "I've already paid my dues."
"And you're free to refuse to participate," Kuroro assured him.
"So you expect me to go out there and—what—fight off a mob of amblers just for the fun of it?"
"I do not know many who find hunting the things fun," Kuroro pointed out, "but essentially, I'm requesting your support because I believe that you are able to take them on."
"My support," Kurapica repeated. "I wouldn't be going alone."
"Alone against a band of those undead creatures?" Kuroro asked. "I would not expect that from anyone but a Spider. No, we'll be going as a group."
"We?" Kurapica asked in turn. "Who would be coming?"
"I would," Kuroro said, "and whomever of my Spiders feel like having a bit of sport."
"Sport," Kurapica echoed again. He felt like a parrot. "That's an interesting way to put it."
Kuroro arched his eyebrows and smiled, but didn't respond. Instead, he asked the blond, "Are you in?"
Kurapica let out a huff of annoyance and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You're asking me if I want to go hunt down some undead with you for the sport of it? For the good of the camp?"
"Whichever you want it to be," the Spider Head answered.
"I'm asking for your reasons," the blond said.
Kuroro kept looking at him with a dark, heavy gaze that made something strange twist inside of the blond. Kurapica was the first to look away. He held his arms close in front of his chest and glanced back towards the covered windows, but there was nothing (or too many things) to arrest his gaze.
"Well, forest sprite," Kuroro finally said, "let's say that I want to test your abilities while insuring myself that no undue harm comes to you. I will be with you the entire time, observing and stepping in as needed."
Kurapica digested that quietly for a moment. "Why do you need to test my skills?" he asked, meeting Kuroro's gaze once more. "I'm not staying. I'm only here to rest and recharge. I'll be gone as soon as I feel ready. I don't expect to be here for more than a month."
"You seem pretty certain about leaving," Kuroro commented.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kurapica asked, feeling increasingly defensive.
"It's just an observation," Kuroro assured him, spreading his hands reassuringly. "No one intends to keep you here if you want to leave. I'm merely curious about why you are so insistent on leaving a place that is as safe as we can make it."
Kurapica was silent for some time. It was his turn to study the man before him. He started with the ridiculously slicked back hair, to those large, dark eyes, the small nose, thin mouth, long neck and needlessly edgy top (was that leather?). The man's trousers weren't much better than his shirt—leather or a synthetic fabric, with large, lighter bands. At least the blond could find a purpose for the clunky boots, but the rest was all so horribly, pointlessly dramatic.
Kuroro was still waiting for an answer, and Kurapica met his eyes again. If the man was feeling impatient with the delay, there was no sign of it.
"There are things I want to do," Kurapica finally said. "Things that I can't do here."
Kuroro accepted that with a nod. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, then tapped his fingertips together. He was silent a moment.
"Perhaps we can help each other," he said at length. "If you help me here, I can help you do whatever would ease your way when you leave. I won't even ask what your quest is, but I'll do what's in my power to help regardless. On one condition."
"Another condition aside from helping you?" the blond asked.
"Yes," Kuroro sat back in his chair again, this time lifting a leg to rest an ankle on the opposite knee. He tapped the leg with his fingers, like one would play the piano. "I want you to take off your clothes."
Kurapica froze a moment, then felt heat in his cheeks and under his ribs. "What." He didn't even manage to make it a question.
Kuroro's eyes blinked slowly, then he arched his eyebrows. "I didn't meant anything by this," he assured him. "I mean to verify that you don't have a tattoo. If you do not, then I will help you. You may keep your underwear. They do not mark such personal areas."
"They?" Kurapica asked, curiosity piqued.
Kuroro stared at him quietly for some time. "I am unwilling to divulge more at the moment," he finally said. "Will you strip?"
Kurapica thought about it. There was no shame in it maybe, but the thought of being mostly naked while this man studied him with his unnervingly calm gaze was near unbearable.
"Not at this time," he finally decided. "I need to think about this. I've given you some of my medication to pay for my stay. I don't know that I'll ever need your help, but I'm willing to think about your conditions at least."
Kuroro accepted that with a slow nod. "Very well. Should you make up your mind, hang something red out of your window; it will alert me that you need to talk with me."
It was a weird way to communicate, when they both lived in such proximity, but Kurapica nodded. "Got it."
"I'll have someone take you down," Kuroro said, slowly getting to his feet. After ushering Kurapica out of his apartment, he got one of his Spiders, a woman Kurapica hadn't seen before, to get the blond back to ground level. Kurapica frowned at the woman's back as they walked back out to the roof so he could get to the lift, still unsettled by these Spiders in a way that he couldn't quite explain. They just felt wrong, wrong, wrong.
The proposition from the Spider Head was still absolutely insane, even after thinking it over.
Kurapica had no intention of putting himself at risk. He's already survived one close call and by some miracle, he'd come out unscathed. He wasn't about to test his luck. Scavenging by avoiding amblers was one thing. A full on attack, seeking the creatures out, was entirely out of the question. He would stay in the camp and observe, learn what he could about the mysterious Spiders who seemed to be some sort of creepy elite, then leave as soon as he figured out how they emitted those aura trails.
That was the plan. It was the plan, but as one day led to another, and to another and yet another, there was no sign of any of the creepy people anywhere around the camp. They didn't come for meals, didn't participate in game nights with the rest of the survivors holed up within the protection of the walls and fences. His new friends had grilled Kurapica about what the Spider Head had wanted, but the blond had remained evasive until a few days had passed.
He asked about the Spiders then, specifically about why they didn't mingle with the other survivors.
"They're not like us," Leorio said. "They're… different. I don't know. They just stay holed up in the Tower unless they're going for a raid, or the camp is threatened in some way. They're creepy as fuck, so I don't mind them staying away, honestly."
"They're creepy, yeah," Killua agreed. "They're super strong though. They could probably wipe out all the zombies in the country if they wanted to. But they don't care about shit. They probably only protect the camp because it's their home, too."
"It was their home first," Leorio commented. "People started gathering around here because it was the safest place to be. Here with the creepos."
"They're not very friendly," Gon said, "but they still protect people."
"I think they just protect their territory," Leorio added.
"So they never come down?" Kurapica wanted to know.
"Not unless they have to," Leorio answered and the other two nodded.
Later, talking with Senritsu gave him the same sort of answers. She actually made a point to meet with the Spiders when they returned from a raid, just to get an idea of what was happening outside of the camp. "I have no means of getting up to the top of the Tower myself," she explained, "and they wouldn't come back down just to talk with me, so I have to basically ambush them when they return. They are strange people, but they do keep us safe."
And that was why, one frustrating week after he'd been let out of quarantine, having received no answer or even a hint as to why there were Kuruta auras around (presumably) normal humans, Kurapica finally gave in. He found a red apron left by the previous occupants of his residence, and hung it outside of a window. He'd get nowhere just sitting on his ass, cleaning his apartment and hanging out with his new friends. He had to understand the Spiders, and for that, he would need to interact with them.
Even if, as Leorio had said, they were creepy as fuck.
Still, nothing happened. Not that day, nor the next, and Kurapica was starting to wonder if perhaps his red flag was simply not visible enough. He'd wait another day, he decided, then decide what to do from there.
Kurapica awoke the next morning to a loud knock on his front door. He groaned and glanced at the window to get an idea of the time. The sky was blue, but clouds showed colours from a sunrise that he couldn't see from his bed. It had to be very early.
With a groan, he pushed himself to his feet and pulled on a pair of jeans. He grabbed a t-shirt and slipped it on while making his way to the door. The knock came again, so he called "coming," the sound somewhat muffled by his shirt. He pulled it down over his chest, then unlocked and pulled the door open.
Kuroro was standing on the other side and he gave the blond a once over, then held up a travel mug. "You drink coffee?" he asked him.
Kurapica snatched the mug from his hand and took a sip. He grimaced, then drank more of the dark liquid.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kuroro said, sounding amused. "I didn't know what you'd want in it."
He held up small packets of sugar and one Kurapica didn't recognize and turned out to be a single serving of creamer. He took it from Kuroro's hand and opened the door wider, inviting him inside.
He took the mug to the counter separating the kitchen area from the rest of the room. He unscrewed the lid off the travel mug and poured the creamer in. Behind him, he heard Kuroro step in and close the door.
"What do I have to do to get coffee to make at home?" the blond asked as he screwed the lid back on and took another sip.
"I can give you some of mine," Kuroro said, "provided you bring me more if you go scavenging in town."
"Sounds fair," Kurapica agreed, because the one thing he'd missed the most on the road had been this. "Would you happen to have tea as well?"
"I'm not much of a tea drinker," Kuroro said and the blond turned around because the voice came from much closer than Kurapica had expected. "I'll ask Paku. She might have some."
Kurapica was suddenly aware that he'd just invited a Spider into his temporary home. He'd been too focused on the coffee, too easily bought. He frowned at the older man.
Kuroro studied him quietly, then said, "A group of the monsters have passed the Midtown bridge. Are you in?"
Kurapica sipped at his coffee, then nodded. He lifted his cup. "How could I refuse?" he asked with a light snort of amusement.
Kuroro arched his eyebrows. "If I'd known how easy it is to sway you, I would have brought you coffee your first night in town."
"If I'd known you have a personal stash of the stuff," Kurapica countered, "I would have asked you for some before you'd even introduced yourself."
Kuroro laughed, soft huffs of air that were barely audible. He smiled and Kurapica stared a little, watching years melt off of the man's face. He suddenly looked closer to Kurapica's age. He nearly asked him, but decided against it. No matter how old Kuroro was, he still made the blond uncomfortable, though the sensation was pretty muted at the moment. It was probably just the coffee helping make Kuroro's presence more palatable.
"Do you have weapons?" Kuroro asked, turning serious once more, though he looked less intense than usual. Kurapica wasn't sure what made it seem this way. Perhaps his shoulders were less tense, or his face more expressive. He wondered how much of what the man did and said was posturing.
"I have knives," Kurapica said. "And I found a gun, in the last house I broke in before arriving here, but—" He trailed off.
"Guns are no good," Kuroro agreed with a nod. "We can use them to defend the camp but out there—"
"—It would simply draw more amblers to where we're fighting," Kurapica finished. "I only took it as a very last resort."
"You're much better off with the knives," Kuroro agreed. "You know how to use them?"
"Stab just below the base of the skull to sever the spinal cord," Kurapica answered. "Whether dead or alive, they can't keep attacking you if they can't move." There was a strange light in Kuroro's eyes, something like approval. Kurapica looked away. "When are we leaving?"
"Now, if you're good," Kuroro said.
"I'll get my knives," Kurapica agreed, leaving his coffee on the counter.
He went back to his room and grabbed his belt with the sheathes. He strapped it around his hips and tightened it, then made his way back to the lounge.
Kuroro studied him, then the knives at his sides. The approving nod he got made Kurapica turn to his mug. He grabbed it, then the set of keys from the table near the door. "Let's go," he said, more unsettled than he cared to admit even to himself.
Kuroro preceded him out of the apartment and watched him lock up. They took the stairs down to the ground level. There were a few people standing in the lobby of the building. Alarm bells rang in Kurapica's mind and he stopped dead, though there should be nothing alarming about the small gathering of clearly uninfected humans before him.
"Dancho's here," one of them said, and the small group turned towards them.
Kuroro pointed to the people in turn. "Nobunaga, Phinks, Feitan, Ubougin," he introduced.
Kurapica only recognized Feitan as the short man who'd led him to Kuroro's apartment the previous evening. He nodded at the man, who gave him a once over and turned away. Charming people.
"Kurapica's joining us today," Kuroro told the group. "I want to see him in action. I'm going to stay with him. The goal is to eradicate the group of monsters. We'll just make a small detour by the school for breakfast."
They all nodded and stepped behind their leader. Kurapica hesitated for only a second before following them. He quickly triggered his Scarlet Eyes, only long enough to confirm that these people, these Spiders, all did leave that trail he'd spent months looking for. Each and every one of them.
Kurapica didn't know what it meant.
They walked the few blocks separating them from the school and made their way to the cafeteria. There were a few people setting up the food counter. They froze when they saw who they had coming into the cafeteria. Kuroro made his way to the closest person who had been setting up the counter and pleasantly asked if they could have some sandwiches to go. The man hurried back to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, they were headed out again, egg sandwiches in hand. The Spiders were mostly ignoring Kurapica, although one of the tall ones—Nobunaga, if Kurapica remembered well—kept throwing him dirty glances.
Kurapica ignored them in turn, even though their mere presence set him on edge. It wasn't even that they did anything unnerving. It was as if their very existence was wrong.
They headed to a gate on the other side of the camp from where he'd arrived a few weeks prior. Here too, the gate—if one could call it that—was held in place with a car. They waited while the people watching the fortifications put the SUV in neutral and pushed it out of the way.
Outside of the camp, Kurapica expected them to grow tense and watchful, but the Spiders kept walking with no change in demeanour. They weren't rowdy or anything—actually, they barely even spoke to one another. They didn't seem to be on bad terms, really. They weren't avoiding talking, they just seemed like a group of people with nothing to even discuss together, like they had nothing in common at all.
They walked for some time, perhaps an hour, perhaps more. They didn't hear anything around them, the city deathly quiet. The streets should have been crawling with undead, but they were empty. Kurapica thought that it was probably due to these unnerving people that he was walking with. How many of these little outings had the Spiders made?
As they walked down a wide boulevard, they started hearing loud, horrible shrieks. Kuroro paused, tilting his head to one side, holding a hand up to halt their walk. The Spiders stopped immediately and held still. Kurapica took a second to notice and stopped as well.
Kuroro glanced back at him and motioned for him to come closer. The other Spiders looked at him as he made his way to the front of the group, heightening his sense of unease. As if being alone with a group of people he could barely tolerate wasn't already bad enough.
Kuroro put a hand on his shoulder, sending an odd shiver down Kurapica's spine. "Stay close to me," the Spider Head said. Then he turned to his Spiders and motioned. Two fingers flicked to the right and two of them—Phinks and Feitan—slinked into a side street, silent as shadows. Two fingers, left. Nobunaga and Ubogin left as well. That left Kuroro and Kurapica to continue forward down the boulevard.
"How will we know if your friends find them?" the blond asked, voice hushed.
"Friends?" Kuroro asked, then he shrugged. "We'll know," he assured the Kuruta. "The question is more whether or not we'll have any monsters left to test your skills."
"Are they really that strong?" Kurapica wanted to know.
Kuroro gave him a strange smile and didn't answer. He led Kurapica down the large road, walking slowly down the middle of the street, not bothering to hide. His confidence would be impressive, if Kurapica wasn't so convinced that it would get them both killed.
They could still hear shrieks in the distance. The sound was high-pitched and raspy. "Sounds like a screamer," Kurapica murmured. "That means a mob. When you said a group of them were around here, just how big a group were you talking about?"
"A few scores," Kuroro answered, still walking forwards, even as Kurapica stopped dead in his tracks.
"Scores," the blond gasped. His voice was strangled by the sudden anxiety that gripped him.
Kuroro finally stopped and turned to face him. "There is nothing to fear," he assured the blond. "In any case, I will be with you."
"You expect me to fight forty amblers with a shrieker, all striving to eat my flesh?" Kurapica asked.
"More like sixty," Kuroro said with a nod. "You'll be perfectly fine."
"What if I get bitten?" Kurapica insisted. "What if I start to turn?"
Kuroro fixed him with a hard gaze. "You will be perfectly fine," he repeated. "I will stay with you until each and every single monster this side of the bridge lays dead at our feet."
Some of his quiet confidence settled Kurapica's fears. It didn't allay them entirely, but he was willing to at least try this. One thing he knew for sure, he was resourceful and obstinate. He was not about to let some stupid living dead eat him for lunch. He was going to find his people. He was not going to die today. He was going to fight with these people, and he was going to survive, even if he had to leave them to the hordes of undead and escape alone. He owed them nothing. If they were foolish enough to attack such a large group without the skills necessary to survive the encounter, that was on them.
He set his jaw, stared resolutely ahead, and joined Kuroro Lucifer. Together, they walked towards the sounds from the undead mob.
