Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter
Chapter 7: Another pursuit
It's just a mirror, an object that reflects everything visible in front of it. An object that reflects every movement of every living and non-living things in front of it and every color that those living and non-living things has, whether it is white, black, red, blue….or golden.
Kurapika sighed as she looked at her own reflection in the huge mirror inside the bathroom of the room they're occupying in the hospital, located at the end of the bathroom, facing the door, reflecting everything inside the room, including her small body, her light-blue Lolita dress that Gon and Killua bought somewhere around the city, its white collar,the light-blue ribbon in front of the collar, her long and slightly wet, golden hair and the list go on. But, Kurapika doesn't like the reflection she is seeing. Especially….
"My eyes," she whispered, reaching her right hand to the side of her head, near her right eye. "My… golden eyes." She sighed again, missing her blue colored eyes. No matter how she tried to not hate her eyes, Kurapika always ends up hating them more and more.
Why would she not hate them? Every time she sees her golden eyes in the mirror, she cannot help but to remember all her misfortune during her childhood. Just because of her golden eyes, the children of the Kuruta clan treated her so differently. They never give her a change to prove to them that she will never use that… that… that 'cursed thing' against them.
Well, she cannot blame them, especially after she accidentally used that 'cursed thing' against them. Yes, accidentally. She was sick back then, very sick, and she tried to go out by herself. She wandered alone in the forest, wanting to get some fresh air. Everyone in the village became frantic as they tried to search for her in the forest, and so they found her resting in front of the stream. And Kurapika, because she was very sick, she saw hallucination and thought she was being attacked by bad spirits. Because of that, the children became more afraid of her.
'It's not a curse, Kurapika,' she remembered the elders saying to her.'It was a gift from the spirits of the forest.'
How can she believe to that?
In the end, Pairo was the only child who was brave enough to reach out to her and befriend mother died the time day she born and her father, on the other hand, was always busy with his duty as the clan's chieftain, so she only had Pairo as her back support.
The earring that Pairo gave her became useful to her when she sneaked secretly out of the village and out of the forest to follow him to the outside world. When she used the earring to make a male body out of her own, her eye color also changed and turned to blue. Nevertheless, she did not manage to reunite with Pairo in the outside world. She did not manage to find him. And so with a resigned expression,she returned to the forest, finding Pairo in the forest, completely worried over her as he hugged her tightly upon seeing her back.
And then the cursed day came….the day that her small, beloved clan was attacked by a band of demonic people.
Kurapika closed her eyes as she sighed for the second time. She sighed out of sadness for the loss of her people. Even though the children treated her so differently, she still loves them and cares for them. And then, she sighed out of longing. She misses her best friend.
"Why won't you let me see your wound?!" Leorio's muffled shout coming from the room took Kurapika out of her reverie. She turned to the door of the bathroom with a frown on her face, wondering what was happening outside.
"No," the boyish voice of Kuroro sounded with twisted determination.
Getting more curious, Kurapika walked to the door, opened it and got out of the bathroom, seeing Leorio's tall figure, trying to get Kuroro out of his hospital robe. But more like, he was trying to strangle him for the second time.
The group has been staying in the hospital for two days, and that was mainly because of Kuroro's injury on his back, which he got from Hisoka when he blocked his attack for Kurapika. Since no one in the hospital can cure an injury in just a few seconds like Kurapika, and Kurapika was still unable to use her nen, the group decided to stay in the hospital for a while.
But, as previously mentioned, the reason for their staying in the hospital was Kuroro's injury. Kurapika has fully recovered. Gon and Killua's scratches were all cured. Despite that fact, all of them decided to stay in the hospital, and again, it was because of Kuroro's injury.
No. Actually, it was Kurapika's decision alone to stay in the hospital. That was because she cannot leave the hospital without Kuroro. Not that she pitied him for being alone, but because Kuroro would surely leave the hospital once she left and would follow her wherever she go. And that was probably because of their predicament for having part of their time sucked by the 'Pandora's box'. With that, Gon and Killua decided to stay in the hospital with her and also offered their help to accompany her and Kuroro in the search for the remaining six darkness. Of course, Kurapika gladly accepted their offer, thinking that she doesn't want to travel alone with her mortal enemy.
And now, seeing the two quarreling at this time makes Kurapika wonders how Leorio could act toward Kuroro just like that. Come to think of it, she should be the one being questioned, how could she act normal toward Kuroro. He's her mortal enemy, right?
Well, that's not what important right now. Kurapika still needs to find the other six darkness, and Kuroro is going to accompany her. That must be also the reason how Gon, Killua and Leorio started to act normal in front of Kuroro. They don't see him as a threat thing about Kuroro, he actually doesn't have to accompany her to the search. Kuroro did not say anything about it. It was just Kurapika's instinct that he would follow her and his actions prove her to be correct.
"Let me see it!" Leorio shouted again.
Kurapika sighed. Kuroro is such a stubborn, making her realize how her friends have been going through when she's being like that, stubborn. Deciding to intervene with the quarreling duo, Kurapika made her way toward them. She reached out her hand to tug at Leorio's white jacket, stopping him from strangling Kuroro as he curiously looked over his side where the tugging of his jacket coming from.
"Kurapika?" he asked, looking down at the little Kurapika, who was looking at him, but immediately turned her head to Kuroro.
"Let him see your wound, Kuroro," she said calmly. "We're not going anywhere until Leorio guaranteed your full recovery."
"Tchi!" was the silent exclamation of Kuroro as he allowed Leorio to look at his wound. That was just the proof of the statement before mentioned. Kuroro would not leave the hospital without Kurapika, and he would surely follow her wherever she goes.
Kurapika sighed for the second time. "I'll go out for a while," she said as she moved out from her position and walked toward the double door.
"Where are you going?" Leorio asked, looking at her.
"Roof deck."
"Ah. If you find Gon and Killua on your way, tell them to go back here. I still have to look at their injuries."
"Oh, they must be wandering around the city again. And you don't have to check their injuries over and over again. I can assure you, those two are completely healed," Kurapika said before going out of the room.
~o~
Meanwhile, at the very top of the same hospital, standing on the very roof of the doorway toward the roof deck was none other than…. Hisoka. He was standing there for a while now, looking at the general direction of the city.
"I'm bored," he said nonchalantly.
Indeed, for Hisoka, Yama City is such a boring place. There isn't any strong nen user in the city. To say the truth, the City doesn't have much people at all. The streets are almost empty. It was so quiet. Hisoka only went here in the city because he heard from Illumi that the mafia would hold an underground auction in this city and that he might find something interesting. Well indeed, he found something… very interesting.
A creepy smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Ah! Finally, she arrived." As he said those words, the door bellow the roof he's standing on opened and a figure of a little girl came out. And as if sensing the stares directed to her, the girl turned around and tilted her head upward.
"Hisoka!" Kurapika shouted in surprise and immediately stepped backward until she's far away enough from the doorway and took a fighting stance. "What are you doing here?"
"My, my. Do not be so agitated. I just came here to have a little fun," the jester said, taking a joker card out of nowhere, looked at it and smiled a creepy smile. Well, at least, that was Hisoka's trademark of smile and not the other one. At least, he's back from being just Hisoka.
Nonetheless…
'How can I not be so agitated?' Kurapika thought to herself. Yes, Hisoka is back being Hisoka. But when you are talking about Hisoka, you are talking about a psychotic, homicidal, bloodthirsty, and insane jester. And that's only mean one thing… Kurapika is in danger. If ever Hisoka attacks her, she has nothing to use against him. 'Why should he show himself at a time like this?'
Hisoka jumped from his position to the roof deck and started to advance slowly toward the little Kurapika, twirling the card in front of him with his fingers. "Why don't you play with me for a while, ojou-chan?" he said, making Kurapika realized that she made the wrong move. She should have gone back inside the building instead of backing away. The railing that surrounds the roof deck is too high for her to reach. Well, with her current state, she doubts that she can even jump the height of the building, so there's no point of reaching the top of the railing. Now she's trapped inside the roof deck.
'Should I use that?' she asked herself. 'No, I can't let him see that. But, I have to do something now,' she thought, seeing Hisoka's continues advances toward her. She looked at the railing to her left, facing the front yard of the hospital, thinking that she might find someone or anyone, and ran toward the said railing. Thanking all the spirit of good fortune, she saw Gon and Killua walking toward the entrance of the hospital while talking to each other.
"GON! KILLUA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping that her friends would hear her somehow.
With Gon and Killua's keen hearing, they clearly heard the call of Kurapika coming from the roof deck and so, tilting their head upward they saw their friend behind the high railing, with her hands clutching at the metal bars. But then… Their eyes suddenly widened as they saw the other person that appeared behind Kurapika.
"Hisoka!" they shouted in unison.
"Get away from her!" Killua immediately reacted as he concentrated his nen on his feet and jump the height of the building, landing at the top of the railing and jump again toward Hisoka to attack him. But Hisoka was quick to dodge his attack as he jumped backward, taking a few distance away from him. Nonetheless, Killua felt satisfied at the outcome. He landed exactly behind Kurapika, where Hisoka was standing a while ago. At least now, if Hisoka tried to attack Kurapika he has to go against him first.
Gon followed Killua's lead, jumping at the railing and then beside Kurapika. "Are you all right, Kurapika," he asked.
"I'm fine," she answered, turning behind Killua.
"You are not hurt anywhere?"
"I'm not."
"Anyway," Killua cut in, "we have to go away from him," he said, looking intently at Hisoka.
"My, my. You are not trying to take away my prey," Hisoka said, with his set of cards now in front of him, shuffling them in his hands.
"Gon," Killua called in a whisper that only Gon and Kurapika can hear. "I will take away Kurapika with me, while you go inside the building from the entrance below and proceed to our room to warn Kuroro and Leorio."
"Got it," Gon answered in the same volume.
With that, Killua quickly turned to Kurapika, took her in his arms and jumped up the railing and down to the ground and ran as fast as possible, away from the jester. Just as he thought, Hisoka followed him.
"Kanmuru!"
~o~
On the other hand, Gon followed Killua's lead down to the hospital ground and did what was told to him. He immediately entered the building and went straight to their room, bursting open the double door, arriving just in time as Leorio finished replacing Kuroro's bandage on his injury.
"Listen to me. Hisoka just appeared at the hospital and tried to do something to Kurapika so Killua took Kurapika away, but Hisoka followed him in pursuit!" God said out loud in one breath, making him pant a little.
"Hisoka?!" from Kuroro, "WHAT?!" from Leorio, as they shouted at the same time. Kuroro quickly took his white shirt that Gon and Killua got for him (They just want to see him wearing clothes other than black, so they choose white. Nonetheless, Kuroro was thankful for their concern as he cannot continue wearing his oversize clothes.), wear it and immediately got out of the room and out of the hospital with Gon following behind him.
Now the problem is… where could be Killua run into? "Which direction did they go," he asked, directing his question to Gon.
"There," Gon answered, pointing at the most wooded area of the city.
Without saying anything, Kuroro went off straight to that direction.
"Wait!" Gon shouted as he followed Kuroro.
~o~
Meanwhile, Leorio, being the lesser nen user, was left alone in the hospital room, wondering by himself of what he should do. Surely, catching up with his friends would be futile, so he cannot go after them. The only thing he can do now is to wait.
"Ahhh! This is frustrating!"
To be continued.
~o~o~
AN:
So, how is it?
Please review! Many thanks!
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