Note: I had a bit of trouble with the second half of this chapter. It kinda ran away from me for a bit. ;;
Beta-readers: None.
Chapter summary: A fucked up little family.
Chapter 06
It was way too early to be up and about. The sun wasn't even visible behind the trees; all Kurapica could see was a line of pale orange in the eastern sky. He hadn't gotten much sleep the few previous nights – barely a few minutes here and there when his mind blanked out in spite of his best effort to stay awake. It was starting to show, too. He felt a little wobbly and he knew he was not as guarded as he should be in front of his enemies. The exhaustion made it impossible for him to defend himself anymore.
He knew he should get some sleep, but he couldn't. He simply... could not. Every night, the leader of the Spiders slept beside him, his bed merely a few meters from where Kurapica laid. In the darkness of the night, the Kuruta thought crazy things and plots to rid the world of this evil man once and for all. But in the end, he knew he couldn't. If he moved from his bed, the Spider head would be awake and have him at his mercy instantly. Also, they were indeed gathering up the eyes of his people. So, he laid down and dreamt awake, dreamt of vengeance he could not have.
Not helping, was the fact that even a week into his captivity, his shoulder was painful to the extreme. And then, there were the apparitions. Pakunoda and Ubogin both visited him, night after night after night. It was a miracle he hadn't gone insane already.
Some of the Gen'ei Ryodan were leaving. Their leader, the woman and the young, overly friendly technician remained with him, but they had walked outside to see the others off. Kurapica stood to the side, resisting the urge to to lean against the side of the house they had stayed in the previous night. It wasn't important to him to see the others leave, but the leader wouldn't leave him out of sight. He had closed his eyes for a moment only, when he heard some heavy footsteps coming his way. His eyes flew open and he looked up to see Franklin staring down at him thoughtfully. He studied the Kuruta for a few minutes, then moved his right hand, reaching towards him. Kurapica tensed, everything inside him preparing to fight, but the large man just let his hand fall heavily on the top of the blond's head. He patted him a few times. "You're all right," he said, then turned his back on him.
Kurapica stared after him as he walked away, followed by the small, sadistic man and the one without eyebrows. The Kuruta was completely dumbfounded. He noticed the Spider head looking at him from the corner of his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. He scowled back and looked away. This whole situation was simply infuriating.
"I could really use a cup of coffee," the man said, his voice smooth and devoid of any trace of mockery. "How about you?"
Kurapica looked back at him, feeling a little confused. Kuroro Lucifer was looking at him, expecting an answer. He shrugged. "Sure," he replied sullenly. The taller man smiled a small, satisfied smile and walked back inside. They all followed suit and soon they were all drinking coffee together like some kind of fucked-up little family. Kurapica scoffed softly at the thought and three pairs of eyes immediately turned to him. He tensed.
"What made you laugh, Kurapica?" Trust that bastard not to leave him alone. Annoying prick.
"Nothing," he replied and shrugged. He took a few sip of his coffee quietly, but still the man stared with his large, dark eyes. The silence was heavy. Kuroro Lucifer was still waiting for an answer. "It's just –" Kurapica shrugged again and looked away. "Drinking coffee like this like we're normal. It would look from the outside like we're some sort of peculiar family." He half expected them to protest or laugh at him. He felt so silly, having said it out loud.
"No way," the woman, Machi, protested. "There's no way I'm playing mommy." She said the word like it was poison.
"Oh?" Shalnark grinned. "Does that mean Danchou is Daddy? Then what about me?"
"The geeky big brother, of course," Machi said. "Then Blondie is the annoying little brother."
Kurapica blinked. They were all joking around? They seemed completely at ease with each other. That whisper was back in the back of his mind. He shoved it aside, focusing instead on what the woman had called him. "... Blondie..?!"
"Well, your hair's blond, isn't it? She shrugged.
"I'd... appreciate if you didn't call me that," Kurapica muttered. He just barely saw Kuroro Lucifer hide a little smile behind his coffee mug. Everything he did amused the man, it seemed. He didn't have the energy to get angry anymore. He got up and went to get himself some more coffee. Then they drank in silence. At some point, Shalnark left the room.
When they were all finished drinking their coffee, the leader got up and made his way to the door. Machi went to get the computer wiz. Kurapica waited for a moment, but when Kuroro stopped at the door and looked back at him, he got up wordlessly and followed. They started walking north and the other two joined them quickly. At first, Kurapica had a good pace, but as the sun moved higher and higher overhead, he started lagging a bit. It frustrated him to see the leader slow down for him, but there was very little he could do.
They finally reached the end of the woods sometime mid-afternoon. Before them was a small valley surrounded by low hills rolling out to meet the feet of tall, rocky mountains, far north. In the vale was a small town of white houses with red tile roofs. From where he stood, Kurapica could see people coming and going down unpaved streets. It was a quaint little place. He hoped they would stop. He really wanted to rest. But at the same time, he was with members of the Gen'ei Ryodan. It would be better for the town if they moved on.
"We should be able to acquire some form of transport here," Kuroro said and Kurapica was horrified at how relieved he felt. These were the Spiders. The terrible Gen'ei Ryodan! He couldn't let them get into the town. He should stop them, somehow. What if more people died? "Don't kill anyone," the leader continued, looking straight at Kurapica, as if those words were meant just to reassure him. "Don't attract too much attention. We're going to lay low until we reach Morinya."
"Yeah, sure." Machi shrugged and started walking towards the hamlet.
"Understood," Shalnark replied, stole a look at Kurapica and went after the woman.
Kurapica turned to the dark haired man. "What are you playing at?" he demanded. "Surely you don't need to put up appearances in front of me. I know exactly the horrors you are capable of."
"But you would still rather I don't kill any of the villagers, right?" the Spider head tilted his head at him. "I'm not trying to impress you. I don't think making you unhappy would be beneficial to any of us, that's all." He motioned with his arm for Kurapica to precede him. The blond eyed him quietly for a few moments, then started making his way downhill after the other two. A short walk brought them to the outskirt of the small town. People stopped and stared openly at them. They obviously had very few visitors.
The Spider head smiled politely at a middle-aged woman holding a young boy by the hand. "Excuse me, Madam," he said. "As you can see, we are visitors here. Could you kindly point me to an inn or a hotel? Also, our car broke down and we've been walking for days. Is there any vehicle we could possibly buy?" Kurapica mentally cringed. The man was such a smooth-talker. It was easier to understand how his boss had been deceived. Hard to suspect such a well-mannered man had killed and robbed more people than one would meet in a lifetime.
"Oh my," the woman gushed, "what a handsome, polite young man! There is an inn by the mayor's house." She pointed towards the centre of town. "You'll recognize it easily; it's the large house with the blue panels. I don't think anyone's got a car here, but I'll ask around. I do hope you'll stay for a few days?"
"Sadly, we have business to attend to, so we can't stay. Thank you very much." It was just ridiculous how easily the part of an upright man came to the Ryodan leader. The woman was deceived by his charms, and Kurapica had to resist the urge to tell her not to be fooled, that this was a mass-murderer and a thief. Suddenly, the taller man threw him a look and Kurapica blinked. It was as if Kuroro was... enjoying himself? But the other turned around and started walking in the direction the woman had pointed them. Kurapica was left wondering if the amusement on the older man's face was just his imagination.
Machi followed the Spider head, but Shalnark stayed with him, sending him a questioning look. Kurapica started walking and the young technician fell in step beside him. "So, Kurapica, you're a Hunter, right? Your card said you've just gotten your license last year." Kurapica hesitated a bit, and nodded. The young man seemed friendly and open, but he was still a Spider. Kurapica had no intention of becoming friends with him. "I got my license three years ago." Shalnark grinned. "I keep telling the others that they should get their license too, but they don't seem to care at all." They walked in silence for a minute or two. "You're not really talkative, are you? Though you talk with Danchou."
Kurapica eyed him for a moment. "He usually asks me questions," he finally said.
"Oh, well. I can do that!" Shalnark said, beaming happily at him. "Oh, seems we're here!" Kurapica looked ahead and saw Kuroro and Machi standing in front of a large house that had blue panels like the woman had said. A sign by the gate proclaimed it to be the Riverrun Inn. When Kurapica and Shalnark had caught up with the others, they all went through the gate. Kuroro pulled on a delicate chain hanging by the door. They heard a bell ring somewhere inside.
A few moments later, a short, plump woman with grey hair and a blue dress opened the door. She was wearing an apron and she wiped her hands on it. "Goodness me, you come just as I finish washing the floors. What can I do for you?" She looked friendly and smiled easily and openly. Kurapica couldn't help thinking she was the perfect stereotype of the loving grandmother.
"Just some rooms for the night," Kuroro answered with an easy smile.
The innkeeper's eyes flicked over the little group. "So four rooms? It's four thousand zennies per room, dinner and breakfast included."
"Just three rooms, thank you," the Spider head said. "I'll be sharing mine with him." He gestured towards Kurapica.
The woman blinked and looked from one to the other then had an awkward little smile. "Oh, hem, I see. Three rooms then. Follow me." She turned around and Kurapica was horrified to realize that she had misunderstood in the worst possible way. He glared daggers at Kuroro's back as he followed him inside. He could only hope the man would specify they wanted a room with two beds. The innkeeper took them upstairs. Machi got the room closest to the stairway. Shalnark had the room next to hers.
Kuroro and Kurapica were to have the one next to that, but to the blond's immense relief, the dark haired man turned it down. "I fear you've misunderstood," he said. "We would like to have two separate beds."
"Oh," the woman exclaimed, looking flustered. "I thought you two were –" Kurapica was extremely glad she never finished that sentence. He shuddered.
Kuroro threw him an amused look. The blond just glared back. He was fairly certain the taller man had let the innkeeper misunderstand on purpose, just to get to Kurapica. He seemed way too amused with this ridiculous situation. They were shown another room that had twin beds with just a small headstand between them. The thought of having to lie down this close to his enemy was horrible, but it was much better than having to share a bed. The taller man thanked the innkeeper and preceded Kurapica into the room.
"Dinner will be served in about two hours," the woman said and Kurapica thanked her before following Kuroro inside the room and shutting the door.
The Spider head eyed him, with an amused little smile. "You look rather unhappy," he told Kurapica, and the blond wondered if the comment was meant to be teasing.
"I fail to see the humour in this nonsensical situation," he informed the taller man. Kuroro shook his head and took out the Fun Fun Cloth to retrieve a change of clothes for the two of them. Kurapica had to admit the skill was extremely useful for travelling light. He took the clothes the taller man handed him and made his way to the door. "I'm going to take a shower," he said.
"Go ahead. I'll re-bandage your wounds when you come out." He nodded to indicate he had heard Kuroro and then he left the room and made his way down the hallway to where the innkeeper had said the bathroom was. Once inside, he shut the door and started undressing. He took the bandages off and eyed the wounds carefully by looking at the mirror over his shoulder. They seemed to be healing fairly well. Showering would still be painful, however. There was nothing for it. He stepped into the shower and started the water, cringing as it his hit shoulders and started running down his injured back.
It felt good in spite of the pain. When he was done washing his hair and his body, he stayed in for some time. It felt so good to be away from the others, to be alone and just relax a bit. He hadn't had much time to himself since his capture. It was only to be expected. He was a prisoner after all, though none of the Spiders treated him like one. Other than the leader's insistence on sharing a room with him, he was treated like he was one of them. This bothered him more than if he were kept in chains in a prison cell. He finally got out of the shower and dried himself gingerly, careful not to rub on his wounds. He put a fresh set of clothes on. Kuroro had picked a simple pair of jeans with a high collared blue-grey top. He felt awkward about going out with his chest exposed, but he knew he had to get his shoulder and back bandaged first.
He hurried down the hall to his room and shut the door quickly behind himself. Kuroro looked up from the book he was reading. He closed the volume and set it down. The bandages and salve were already on his bed. He got up and motioned for Kurapica to sit down on the mattress by the medical supplies. Kurapica complied and heard the man walk behind him. It always unnerved him when he had to leave his back exposed like this to his enemy but there was nothing for it. It was better to let himself be treated than let the wounds infect. He had an oath to fulfil after all.
The older man was silent for a long moment that made Kurapica even more nervous. Finally, the leader moved closer and picked the medicinal cream up. He applied some of it on the wound on Kurapica's shoulder. It was cold and the blond flinched. He heard a little amused snort from the man behind him and he glared at the far wall. When the cold salve was put on his back, he sat straight, refusing to flinch and cause more amusement for the Spider head. Kuroro bandaged him up and Kurapica checked himself to make sure he didn't flinch or shudder whenever the man's fingers brushed against his skin. When it was finally done, he stood up and pulled his shirt on. Kuroro was already heading for the door. He looked after the taller man curiously and saw him go towards the other Spider's rooms.
A moment later, he was back with Shalnark. He picked up his own change of clothes and left the room wordlessly. Shalnark sat down on the floor by Kurapica's bed. "Hi," he said. Kurapica turned to him, looking at him silently. The young Spider made a face. "No need to be so defensive. We're team-mates now, you know?" There was no point denying it. They all knew how he felt about that, but they simply did not seem to care. He had agreed to it, after all. Bought for the price of his tribesmen's eyes. Seeing how they were worth a few billion zennies a pair, he was probably the man who had the highest bribe paid to him in the history of mankind. It didn't make him feel any better about it, though.
Shalnark stopped trying to raise a conversation out of him after that and started playing a game on his phone instead. Kurapica went to have a look at the book Kuroro had left on the nightstand. It was one he had never read before, about the ancient culture of the Borongi people. Intrigued, he opened it to the first page and started reading. Time stretched in silence in the room. Kuroro returned, dressed in black denim trousers and simple black long-sleeved shirt. He looked so... normal. It was uncanny. He hadn't gelled his hair back either. It made him look so much younger.
Shalnark got up. "Now that Danchou's done, it's my turn to hit the shower!" He got up and headed out cheerfully, leaving Kurapica with the Spider head.
Kuroro looked at him, then down at the book in his hands. Kurapica hastily set it down. "You can read it if you want," the Ryodan leader assured him. "It's really interesting. Just give it back when you're done." The dark haired man took out another book from his Fun Fun Cloth and settled down to read. After a moment, Kurapica picked up the book again. The rest of the evening, interrupted only for supper, went on in silence.
