Disclaimer: Me: Now, Kurapika and Kuroro... KISS!

Kurapika: What the hell are you saying?!

Kuroro: ...

Me: Oooppss... Sorry... I forgot I don't own you two... *awkward smile*

Summary: Tired of constantly being haunted by his past, Kurapika decides to follow his friends' advice of forgetting his revenge. He's contented anyway, having recovered almost half of his clan's eyes. It's time for him to rest and move on with his life. With his friends' help, he realized that there's no point in wasting his life on revenge and hatred. However, one man wants to deprive him of that peaceful life he so much wishes. What happens when Kuroro Lucifer returns from his 'exile' and tries to make the Kuruta's life a living hell?

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Chapter 6

A Visit to the Past

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Many Years Ago...

"Just because Kurapika is still ten doesn't mean you have to go easy on him!" a crazed middle-aged man, with blond hair and aquamarine eyes, yelled indignantly at a gray-haired teen. "How many times should I tell you that, Fritz?!"

Fritz frowned and crossed his arms defiantly. "And what do I get when I accidentally hit your son during sparring practice? More scolding and yelling!"

Kurapika also frowned, looking back and forth at Fritz and to his father. He scratched the back of his neck and finally walked away from the battle ground, heading towards where a certain teenage raven-haired man is sitting, also silently watching the bickering student and teacher with a light smile on his face. Kuroro noticed the young Kuruta making his way towards him and the teen immediately scooted over to make some space for the boy to sit on.

"Seriously. They're driving me crazy." Kurapika complained as he pouted and sat beside Kuroro.

His calm companion hummed. "Well, you have to admit that the scene is rather amusing." He whispered loud enough for only the two of them to hear. Kurapika chuckled at his remark.

"True." Then he grinned mischievously. "Watch this." The boy told him and Kuroro had to raise his eyebrows in curiosity. "Hey, otou-san!" Kurapika called out and both Fritz and his father turned their attention towards him. "Aniki punched me on the head yesterday for misplacing his twin swords. It rather hurt."

Nakami, Kurapika's father, looked at Fritz onerously before growling in anger. "You knuckle head! Hitting my son just because of that shallow reason?" he yelled angrily.

"What the-" Fritz turned to Kurapika. "What made up story is that, brat?"

"Now you're calling my son a liar!"

"Yes! And it's because of you!"

"Me? How dare you!"

"Oh yeah? You're letting him off with his pranks that he's beginning to get those bad habits. Don't blame it on me!"

The bickering continued between the two. Nakami-sensei is not usually this improper and wild; only when it concerns his trouble-making student and the well-being of his beloved son. True, the man had been spoiling Kurapika too much that the boy can easily get out of trouble every time he creates one. Kuroro sighed hopelessly and looked at the humming and smiling boy beside him.

"Naughty boy." Kuroro grinned and the blond only laughed.

"They look cute when they're bickering." The raven-haired man then ruffled his hair, making the golden strands stick out to every direction. Everyone seemed to be fond of ruffling Kurapika's soft hair. Kuroro seemed to be addicted to it.

"Kuroro, come up here and spar with Kurapika instead." Nakami-sensei suddenly called out with a rather calm voice and the two stood up to walk over to the battle field.

Unlike Fritz, Kuroro doesn't hold back his strength, that's why Kurapika preferred sparring with him. Ever since the 18-year old had been accepted by Nakami-sensei as his new student, he had become Kurapika's favourite 'big brother'. They share a lot of things in common, including teasing people and reading.

The main reason why Kuroro wanted to become a student is because of the fact that Nakami-sensei is a very capable nen teacher. Kuroro's nen is unstable, that's why he's having a hard time trying to control his Skill Book ability. But two months of staying with Kurapika's family proved to be rather helpful. He can now quickly summon his Skill book and easily use the skill he wanted. Though he had undergone rigorous and inhuman training in Ryuusegai, his trainers still failed to fix his problem with his unstable nen.

"Start!" Nakami-sensei yelled and both warriors lunged at each other.

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"Itai! Slowly, please!" 11-year old Kurapika wailed when a small drop of moringa leaves sap touched his bleeding knee scrape.

Kuroro could only sigh. "Remind me again how you got this wound?" he asked as he continued applying the sap as gently as possible. Kurapika continued wincing in pain.

"I fell off the tree." The boy explained. "And don't tell otou-san." He added, tone very demanding.

"I won't." Kuroro assured him and quickly wrapped the cloth he tore from his shirt around Kurapika's scrape. "But I still can't believe you fell off. Seriously?" he chuckled as he backed away from the boy. He then threw the remaining leaves aside and observed his work.

"Yes, I'm serious. And stop laughing, nii-san!"

The two are currently situated on a nearby river, cleansing Kurapika's large knee scrape. Actually, it was only Kuroro who was sitting on a rock in the river, peacefully enjoying the day, when Kurapika Kuruta suddenly turned up, looking quite battered. The boy then explained to him that he was trying to hunt down the fox that was terrorizing all of the villagers' livestock. He chased the poor mammal with every intention of catching it and roasting it alive when he suddenly slipped on a tree branch and fell unceremoniously on the ground.

Seeing the large scrape and his torn white pants, Kuroro immediately explored the area to find some moringa leaves, which are used in disinfecting wounds. He even tore the sleeve of his own white shirt to use it as a bandage.

"Anyway," the blond spoke up. "What are you doing?" Kurapika suddenly inquired as he tried to stand up.

"Reading."

"Reading what? Scrolls?"

"Books." Kuroro looked at the blond boy beside him. "Would you like to read, too?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically as Kuroro handed him a leather-bound book. They sat side by side, immersed in their own worlds. The two didn't notice how the sun is going down every minute. Kurapika narrowed his eyes as if he's glaring at the letters of the books. He then noticed that the surroundings are dark.

"It's getting late." Kuroro muttered. "Let's go back before I get a scolding from Nakami-sensei instead."

"But how am I going to explain this to otou-san?" Kurapika asked as he referred to his scrape.

Kuroro sighed once again. Looks like he's got to save this boy's neck from being strangled again.

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"Bull's eye!" Janus yelled and punched the air triumphantly. "Kuroro's aim is much better that yours, Fritz!" Beside Janus, Karee nodded lightly, agreeing to his brother's comment.

Fritz scowled at his friend. "Oh, shut up! He just got luck-." he stopped midway when Kuroro drew back the bowstrings once again and aimed for another bull's eye.

"He just got lucky, huh?" Kurapika raised one eyebrow and looked at his dear aniki with a mocking smirk.

"Ever since Kuroro came here, all you guys do is ridiculing me!" Fritz angrily yelled in frustration.

"Well, he is better than you." Hiro intervened, making the rest laugh.

"Not at everything. I'm clearly much better in handling twin swords." The poor guy reasoned, but Kurapika only snorted.

"At least he can handle the swords pretty well. Unlike you, who's hopeless when it comes to archery." The blond boy grinned at him.

"Argh! You little-." For the second time, Fritz stopped midway when a sharp arrow passed right above his shoulder, almost hitting his left ear. The said arrow then hit a nearby tree. It took a few more seconds before Fritz could react and register shock all over his funny face.

"Wow! Nice aim!" Kurapika yelled at Kuroro, who was taking a second arrow from a nearby table.

"Let's put an apple on Fritz's head next time." Janus suggested naughtily and the rest chuckled. Even Kuroro smiled a bit.

Recovering from his initial shock, Fritz gripped his twin swords and unsheathed one. All of them thought that he's going to lunge at Kuroro for revenge, but they all were stunned when he senselessly threw it at Kuroro instead. Fritz really doesn't have a good aim.

It was Kuroro's turn to be a bit shocked as he dodged the flying sword. He turned his head to the fuming Fritz then crossed his arms. "Is that a new way to use the twin swords?" He asked, rather amused.

"FRIIITZZ!" A familiar voice echoed throughout the training ground.

All of them turned their heads to the direction of the voice, and saw their fuming Nakami-sensei, striding towards them. His hands were clenched and he's gritting his teeth. If one would look closely, smoke is actually coming out of his nose. Fritz tensed up and realized what he had done wrong again.

"Those swords belonged to my great grandfather. So you can say that otou-san cherishes them very much." Kurapika whistled as the five of them watched Fritz being yelled at once again by Nakami-sensei. He then saw Kuroro approaching them and it was Kurapika's turn to scoot a little to the side to make space for him.

Kuroro sat down beside him and watched the scene before them, as if it was some kind of television series. "You have to give his credit sometimes. Twin swords are actually hard to handle." He whispered to Kurapika, who only smiled delightedly.

"If I were you, I'd stick to archery." The blond whispered back. ""I think bow and arrow suits you." The blond boy grinned at him.

"You think so?" Kuroro asked with a slight smile and the boy nodded.

"You have sharp eyes. Maybe it's because you're reading too much."

Kuroro laughed lightly. "Look who's talking."

"Ne, Onii-san, Can I borrow your book? The one about ancient tribes?"

"Sure." he replied, ruffling the boy's golden mane.

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"Kurapika, what are you doing?" Kuroro asked one night when he spotted the 12-year-old boy sitting on one of the branches of a certain tree, clearly focused on something.

"Sshh..." the boy shushed at him. "Come up." He whispered.

Kuroro raised an eyebrow at this and deftly jumped up without making any noise. The said tree where the two are is actually hovering above the village leader's house, which is also Hiro's house. When he landed on the same branch that Kurapika is on, he looked down on the house and noticed hushed voices. He looked at the boy, who is listening to the conversation intently.

"We shouldn't be eavesdropping, you know." He said in a low voice.

"Pshh. I've done this a lot of times before." The blond waved his hand in dismissal. "Today, it looks like they're talking seriously about something."

Sharpening his hearing, Kuroro looked down once again and focused himself in listening. True, they were talking seriously that they even had their voices low to make sure no one could hear them. With the help on nen, Kuroro could make out many familiar voices. He could hear the village leader's voice, Nakami-sensei's voice, and some of the village warriors' voices.

"...there were 36 of them." One warrior said, voice very shaky and low.

"This is bad. Ryuusegai will definitely come after us."

Kuroro's eyebrows furrowed and he can feel Kurapika's stare at him. The boy knows that Kuroro is from Ryuusegai and so is Fritz.

"But we don't know anything about it." Nakami-sensei's voice came up this time. "When we helped Daigaku tribe, we didn't know that we'll be up against Ryuusegai's people."

"It doesn't change anything." The village leader replied. "They will still be after us. They'll have their revenge."

"What should we do then? Should we evacuate the women and children?"

There was pregnant silence until the village leader's voice resurfaced again. "Nakami." He called out. "You have Ryuusegai citizens as student, don't you?" he asked.

"Ah, yes. Fritz and Kuroro. Why?" Nakami asked back.

"Is it okay for you to send one of them back to Ryuusegai and let him explain about our tribe's situation? Tell one of them that Kuruta tribe has no idea about the feud between their city and Daigaku tribe so our involvement in the battle a few weeks ago was purely because we owe the Daigaku tribe something." The village leader instructed.

Nakami-sensei sighed. "I could try and send Kuroro. He's the most sensible one."

"Please do. If by any chance this plan of mine fails, the Kuruta tribe's existence will surely be in danger. We all know how strong Ryuusegai is and its protectors are."

It was enough for Kuroro. He sat up straight and stopped eavesdropping altogether. He then felt a pair of eyes stare at him and he glanced back. Kurapika was looking at him, face donning a worried and scared expression. Kuroro reached out and patted his golden crown gently, assuring him.

"Don't worry. I'll convince the Ryuusegai Council."

"Thank you, nii-san." Kurapika almost whispered and the man can't help but ruffle his hair. "Do your best, ne?"

"I will."

It has been two years since he first set foot in the Kuruta village and stayed here, becoming one with the villagers. He thought of himself like a Kuruta as well, although he doesn't possess the scarlet eyes. He temporarily refused missions that came from Ryuusegai council, wanting to have a break once in a while and focus on his nen training.

Nakami-sensei had become a second father to him and Kurapika was already a like little brother to him. He had never thought that having a family could be this enjoyable. His Spiders were his family, but this one is different. For one thing, Kuroro felt extremely protective of Kurapika, which he had never felt towards his Spiders because he knew that they can protect themselves from anything.

He, Fritz, Janus, Karee, and Hiro shared deep friendship with each other. They were the first ones to have greeted him and accepted him in the village. They introduced him to Nakami-sensei, who'salso their teacher. The five of them often brew trouble in the village, though Kuroro mostly sat on the sidelines with Hiro and Karee and let Janus and Fritz do all the work. But when Kurapika joins them, things just get worse. Though there are children of Kurapika's age in the village, the young blond preferred spending his time with the five of them.

This time, looks like the Kuruta village crossed path with Ryuusegai, which is always a bad thing. Kuroro will do anything to spare the village of whatever the Council Head is planning.

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Back to the present...

When Fritz returned to the hotel, Kurapika immediately woke up from his nap, sensing his presence. He blinked a few times and realized that the gray-haired man is smiling like nothing happened. And it seems like nothing did happen. Kurapika can't smell any trace of blood on his body. He didn't change his clothes and his twin swords didn't show any signs of being used or unsheathed. He sat up hastily on the couch and the blanket over his body fell on his lap. The blond furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't remember using a blanket when he fell asleep.

Shaking his thoughts away, since he has a little idea who draped the mysterious blanker on him, he looked back at Fritz with a frown.

Noticing his apparent confusion, Fritz grinned at the blond widely.

"Worried much? Don't worry. I didn't kill anyone." He assured him as he dropped himself to a nearby couch.

"But- how?" Kurapika managed to ask.

"Well, let's just say I posses a certain ability that allows me to do so." He grinned once again and reached out for an apple on a nearby fruit basket. "I'm starved!"

Kurapika had almost forgotten that Kuroro is present in the room until the man spoke up. "Shalnark's in the lobby, Fritz. Go down there and eat dinner. Take the boy with you." He ordered and his best friend immediately stood up.

"Hai! Come on, Kurapika."

Fritz pulled Kurapika up and the boy had a little time to react. Soon, he found himself being dragged down by his big brother once again to eat dinner with Shalnark. The blond felt slightly annoyed at the fact that the Spider Head called him 'the boy' when he clearly has a name. When the two left, Kuroro opted to stay in the room to contemplate about his next step in his plan.

As far as he's concerned, the Kuruta is not yet entirely converted into a Spider. He still has those stubborn principles inside him and Kuroro has to crush it down to pieces in order for his plan to work. His mouth twitched a little at the thought. He never wanted this to happen. All he ever wanted is to protect the boy from Ryuusegai's hands. He knew from the moment when the Council found out, that a Kuruta survived, that Kurapika will be in danger, that is why he was given no choice but to deprive Kurapika of his current freedom and take him into his gang. That way, he'll be able to keep a close watch on him.

But what if the Kuruta questions him about his protectiveness? What should he tell him? Hey, I killed your family seven years ago and I have to protect you. Kuroro scoffed at his thoughts. He was never good with words in the first place that's why he always lets his actions speak for him.

"Why are you doing this?" Kurapika's earlier question brought him back from his brooding.

"Making me do all these murders."

Why indeed...

Of course, Kuroro Lucifer has a reason and that is to give the Kuruta a reason. Confusing? To put it simply, he'll make the Kuruta think that he's extracting revenge on him by making him do all these dirty works. Also, it will give Kuroro a reasonable excuse to the Ryuusegai Council why he's keeping the young Kuruta. He's a valuable asset to the Genei Ryodan and has proven to be a convenience in every mission we take.

Sighing in contentment with his simple plan, Kuroro opted to close his eyes like what he Kuruta did and take a short nap as well. Unknown to him, the murders he made Kurapika commit are slowly taking its toll on the Kuruta's mind and body.

Who could blame him? He had been detached from emotions ever since the Kuruta massacre.

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Many Years Ago...

"What?"

"You heard me the first time, Kuroro." A stern female voice spoke. Obsidian orbs stared fiercely at hazel ones. Kuroro found himself trapped.

"I can't." He replied seriously.

The female voice laughed and her tone had a sadistic streak in it. She looked down on Kuroro and smiled bitterly. "This is why we've always been teaching you to never have any emotional attachment on anyone." She propped her elbow on the table and lazily leaned her chin on top of her palm. "You're getting weak."

"I'm not weak." Kuroro's voice was as stern as hers, as if saying that he's not backing down with whatever he woman has to say next.

"Then what is the meaning of this request of yours?" the woman asked as she straightened her herself up and leaned further to look at Kuroro clearly. Her features were then heightened by the light and it was revealed that she has jet black hair like Kuroro's and bright hazel eyes that somehow had a dangerous glint to it. "Spare the Kuruta tribe from Ryuusegai's wrath?"

"The Kurutas have no-"

"36!" the woman exclaimed angrily, interrupting Kuroro from finishing. "Do you know what that number means, Kuroro?" she asked but the young man remained quiet. He knows what that number means, of course. "That's the number of Ryuusegai citizens they killed. And you, of all people, should know what happens to those who go against our city."

Kuroro openly frowned at this. "Like I said, the Kurutas have no idea about Ryuusegai and Daigaku Tribe's conflict. They merely helped Daigaku tribe because they owe them for helping them in the past as well." The Spider head tried to explain without snapping at the woman in front of him.

"It doesn't matter. Still the same thing."

"That's unreasonable!" this time, Kuroro can't help but lash at her angrily. "They have no conflict with Ryuusegai in the past so why are you including them in this?"

It took a long time for the woman to answer, and when she did, it was accompanied with a smirk. "Why are you so protective of that tribe, Kuroro? You're not one of them. You're a Ryuusegai citizen. Have your loyalties changed in the past two years that you did not return?"

Kuroro stiffened a little and his action did not go unnoticed by the woman. Her smirk even got wider as she spoke again. "You belong to Ryuusegai no matter what you think, and as a Ryuusegai citizen, you must always do what is best for the city." She paused, expecting for Kuroro to respond. When nothing came, the woman continued. "Your precious Kuruta tribe killed 36 of our people in a battle that they were not involved. They involved themselves so it will be their fault why their existence will be wiped out on the face of this world."

"W-what?" Kuroro stuttered, which was rare of him. He clenched his fists in anger and shot the woman a reproving glare.

"Here's a new mission for you and your Spiders, Kuroro." She spoke and returned Kuroro's glare with a more intimidating one. "Kill all members of the Kuruta tribe and bring back 36 pairs of their scarlet eyes in honour of the 36 Ryuusegai warriors they slaughtered."

Kuroro was stunned. Did he just hear it right?

"No." Was his firm reply. "I refuse this mission." He's willing to go against them even if it means betraying his own homeland.

"No? Well then..." the woman stood up from her seat and looked at the other council members on her left and right sides, who remained silent as she exchanged words with Kuroro. "...I guess the Council will have to do the job instead." She looked back at him, her eyes donning a scheming glint in it. "Choose Kuroro; either you accept the mission or we will execute it by ourselves." She then chuckled maliciously. "And you know what I can do. I will kill them all slowly yet painfully. I will choose the brightest of those scarlet eyes and gauge them out myself. Then, I will completely annihilate their tribe and burn them to hell. I'm sure you wouldn't like that, would you?"

Kuroro gritted his teeth in anger and clenched his fists. He wanted to kill her right now, right here, this very minute. But he can't. Not when he's overpowered and outnumbered.

"I suggest you accept the mission and give the Kurutas quick and painless deaths." She sat down on her chair once again, clasping both her hands together. "Now, what will it be, Kuroro Lucifer?"

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Author's Note: I know... I know... I should be updating Forced Beginnings... Sorry! I'm just a little not myself right now because of some issues in my university (my grades and my mother's wrath). My mother is blaming it in my fanfiction writing! I can't believe her... I have pretty high grades... she's just not contented. Sorry for ranting. Anyways... here's Chapter 6 of Not Enough, giving you a glimpse of what really happened in the past. I hope you all like it! Read and Review!

Next: Who is the woman that Kuroro was arguing with? What will be his decision? (pretty obvious, don't you think?)... Fritz suggests something to Kuroro in order to help the Kuruta be eased in the Spiders' presence. Kurapika becomes a little detached with his emotions when he once again commits another murder for the Ryodan. What will Kuroro do? Teasing between our favourite couple will start next chapter. :D

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Larakrystlelane: Thank you for sending me those cosplay pics! They're sweet! Well, Kuroro really is getting soft every minute and you were right about him not a cold-blooded ruthless killer/thief. In this fic, he was once a sweet and loving person *wink* *wink* (I know... it's OOC... tee hee)... About the summary of the plot... hmm... well, I'm still dealing with the past of Kurapika and Kuroro so it will seem like the story is not following the original plot. I really do hope I come up a good twist after this 'past stuff' is all done. Thanks for taking your time to review!...

LordOfTheWest: I've always like the thought of Kurapika and Kuroro sharing the same experiences in the past. Kuroro does need to learn to become sensitive, especially now that the thrill of killing is starting to corrupt Kurapika's mind. NOOOOO! (wait, I'm the author... tee hee)...

kusarihime143: No worries! Thankfully, Fritz remained loyal to his record of 'no murders'... he can manipulate mamories so all he has to do is to find the stalker and erase his memories so that he could forget Kuroro's real identity. See? No bloodshed. More teasing will come when Kurapika warms up to Kuroro. Tee hee...

Yuthero: Haha! No worries... When Kuroro starts becoming protective of Kurapika, the other Spiders will join him as well, since they will soon realize how important Kurapika is to their Danchou. Keep reading and reviewing!...

Harco8059: Thanks for loving Fritz! And of course, there's nothing that can melt Kuroro but only Kurapika. :D...

Kanon58: Here's the next Chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it and find it satisfactory. If you have any questions or clarifications about the plot, don't hesitate to PM me. Read and review! :D...

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