Hey everyone! Just want to let you guys know that I'm sick right now. It was a long time coming in terms of anxiety with university and finally crashing. On meds and it was hard to finish this chapter even though I love this story so much. I feel like a zombie from fatigue even through I'm trying to stay busy. Just want to let you know that (and that I'll power through this story no matter what). As always, thank you so much for all the reviews, each and every one of them put a smile on my face. I haven't yet responded since I've been feeling down, but I always get around to it, so thank you ever so much!

-x-x-x-

The kiss was eerily respectful.

It was also just slightly moist. Warm. Soft. Strangely electric.

Most of all though, it was respectful.

In that mere moment that his mind threatened to go blank, he felt oddly treasured. Treasured like how a scholar might approach a groundbreaking new masterpiece. Not at all like treasure under a conquerer's possessive touch.

The tips of Kuroro's fingers on his jaw were a mere gentle guidance. He could have easily jerked his head away if he had wanted to.

He hadn't.

He had been stuck by the honesty he heard in the spider's words. So suddenly, he had been able to envision the world of Meteor City- could imagine the struggle against both the harsh realities of survival as well as the callous indifference from foreigners. Meteor City was a prostitute bought and paid for by the Mafia, and everyone adverted their eyes and hearts and withheld their compassion. Him included.

So when Kuroro's presence had drawn closer, and when he could feel the tension and the sheer attraction seeping from the older man… he had been unable to find it within him to reject his existence as well.

And when that respectful kiss left him stunned with its gentleness, he realized that… he didn't mind a kiss like that.

A kiss like that told him more than anything else, more than Pakunoda's sacrifice for this man… that he was very much a warm-blooded human and not quite a monster after all. What had the man asked right after? Oh right, he asked to accompany him to Lukso…

He KILLED your family.

Kurapika trembled at the thought.

Murdered them all. Children too. Your parents. Pairo. Not one spared. Family members killed and tortured in front of each other to bring out the brightest sheen of the Scarlet Eyes… you call that not quite a monster?

"I-" Kurapika started. He had to hold on to his rage. He may have put plans of revenge behind him, but he would not dishonor the memory of the Kurta by being cozy with the spider head. Or allow him to tread on the sacred ground of his people.

"Just think about it." Kuroro interrupted him. He must have seen the negatory feeling flash across Kurapika's face. "It's late, and I'm sure you're tired." He stood up smoothly and quickly.

The abandoned puzzle box was placed again in Kurapika's hands.

"I'll leave this with you. It's a genuine Vyzentine-made puzzle box. Try not to throw it again."

Kurapika wordlessly accepted the box back on autopilot. Their fingers brushed in his clumsiness to grasp the box fully, and Kurapika knew he didn't imagine the way it made his entire body tingle with hyper awareness. He wasn't blind in that way after all, and he knew the undercurrent of attraction when he felt it.

He had considered pretending what happened mere seconds ago didn't happen, but suddenly the thought of Kuroro leaving without them talking about it was unbearable.

"You kissed me." He exploded in emphasis. "What are you, crazy?!"

He could imagine the rueful smile as the other man responded, "I've been called far worse, but no, I don't believe so as I've rarely made a mistake in judgment." Judging you was the worst I made.

"What are you even thinking? Do you even think? You can't have, or you'd know there would be consequences! I'll-"

"Consequences?" Kuroro's voice was amused and suddenly Kurapika was deathly afraid of what he might say. "There's no need to fool yourself, Kurapika. If I'm not in chains already, I won't be now." You ALLOWED it. Liked it even. There was a subtle challenge in his voice that had Kurapika bristling.

Kurapika clenched his fists and felt his nen surge to his fingertips and manifest themselves in his famous chains. He could do it. He could prove him wrong right now. It would be so easy. Kuroro was nenless. In fact, Kuroro wasn't doing anything to protect himself. He just stood there. It would be so easy…

Kurapika ground his teeth so hard they almost hurt. His hands hurt too from gripping too hard. His mind felt like it was going to explode. He was a loaded gun, a coiled spring, and he realized he was balanced on the tip of an iceberg: ready to fall in any direction from needle-fine indecision.

"I did not have such an alliance with the world. I was against the world, and the world was just as fervently if not more, against my own existence."

Kuroro's words rung in his head…

Kurapika felt himself deflating like a balloon.

He slowly moved his fingers, disbelieving over the fact that his chains had dematerialized without his consent. Panic rose in him as he realized Kuroro was still there, and he was likely under the older's man sharp, scrutinizing gaze. The blindness now felt more crippling than ever. Every breath, every twitch of his facial muscles, every movement of his chains… it was all available for the spider to dissect.

"Out." He said that with the most controlled voice he could muster and he was proud to hear that there was hardly a tinge of the panic he felt. "Get out, I'm sure visiting hours are over." He retreated into a cold, polite shell and wore it like armor.

"Ahh yes they are." Kuroro's voice was bereft of any victory that Kurapika would have expected. It was back to being this nice, charming persona. There were the slightest noise of movement and picking bags from off the ground. A clink of something. "Have a good night."

Kurapika waited with bated breath for Kuroro to leave the room and a good five minutes afterwards before crumpling and burying his face in his hands.

What is wrong with him?! He was letting the spider head have far too much liberty. He went from fellow, distant passenger to someone he was now unable to extricate from his immediate life. And now, Kuroro had walked away unscathed after kissing him.

This was the man that caused his family's destruction, and Kurapika felt sick that he had to keep reminding himself of that fact. He shouldn't have to! The man was just always around and brought him puzzle boxes so he wouldn't be bored, and had good taste in music and books and culture… it was enough to make him forget every now and then, in longer periods of time each time, what the man was truly capable of.

It wasn't fair. Kurapika thought vehemently. Why did that damn spider have to be so damn greedy and murderous? In all other aspects, he was a normal human being, a scholarly and charming individual that Kurapika realized were good qualities that he wished more people had. He was someone under different circumstances Kurapika would not have minded being friends with. Hell, the mutual physical attraction was clear enough from the beginning…

He was momentarily distracted as he shifted around in bed to try and find a more comfortable position and his fingers brushed over the wooden puzzle box that had fallen beside his lap. Picking it up, he remembered what Kuroro had said. Vyzintine, huh? This puzzle box must be worth billions if not tens of billions of jennys and yet the man had seen fit to leave it with him? He gently mapped out the box again with his hands with new appreciation before he realized it was likely a stolen good.

Disgusted with both Kuroro and himself, he placed the box on the side on the nightstand. He wouldn't touch it anymore.

He was busy after all. He had the whole night to ponder over the other man's personal morality and why he found it so easy to kill. To him these faceless apathetic people were the monsters, and even though Kurapika knew the man was wrong, it still followed a logic of sorts. It wasn't just psychopathy or uncontrollable bloodlust… original characteristics Kurapika thought applied to all members of the Ryodan.

Kuroro was right though: if there was one thing Kurapika agreed with, it was protecting your own. That's why he tries so hard to honor his clan after all. That, he knew, he would never be able to begrudge the other for.

-x-x-x-

When Kurapika woke up the next morning, he was met with blessed peace and quiet. A nurse had come in for maybe five minutes to tell him his fever was nearly gone and all that remained was to gather his strength through rest. Besides that, Kurapika was rather relieved that Kuroro was not here to frazzle his nerves and that Nancy and Yue weren't either so he wouldn't feel the need to be happy and optimistic for their sake.

He was almost sure that they would appear sometime in the afternoon, but until then, Kurapika was thankful for the reprieve.

Now if only the puzzle box would stop taunting him.

Whenever Kurapika reached out with his nen to test how long he could hold it and still control it (it was finally getting back into the hours range) he could feel the nen of the puzzle box.

It wasn't Kuroro's nen, he could tell that much easily enough. No, the beautiful wood gave off a nen that must have been its maker's. It was strange, but Kurapika could feel emotions of that nen. Nen after death was considered to be the strongest nen of all, and whoever had carved and designed this box back in the Vyzintine times had been tremendously wistful, talented, sad, and in love at the same time.

The aura indicated that the creator had made it for someone special, and someone of perhaps nobility if the sheer extravagance and quality wood was to be believed. It also spoke of a deep loss and pain, and the wooden box just begged to be opened- like a catharsis for its designer's feelings.

Kurapika just tried to focus on the calming nen of the flowers beside him instead.

An hour later, the box had still not stopped bothering him, and the flowers were starting to wilt. He then practiced getting in and out of bed and walking around by himself. He took a shower, he experimented with chain designs (squares, then triangles, and finally stars), and he tried to use his nen to get a layout of the room without too much success. He even tried to listen to the TV, but he had tried to change the channel and blindly trying to operate a remote resulted in him getting stuck on some menu page or other and he couldn't find his way back.

By the time it was lunch, he was bored and irritated, and simply craved the challenge of wood under his fingertips.

After lunch, he gave up, cursed himself, and attacked the puzzle box with all his pent up frustration at everything.

An hour flew by and with a soft exhale of triumph, he heard the box click open…

It happened so fast.

He was assaulted with the feeling of pain pain pain. He recoiled as nen wildly spiked and he was drowning in anguish and excruciating sorrow. It was over in a flash, although it may as well have lasted an eternity.

Then he was shaking harder than ever before, for the box's own nen had been veiling what lie within. He could only feel tears rise to his eyes as his trembling fingers touched the cool glass that housed a pair of his clan's Scarlet Eyes.

-x-x-x-

It took Kurapika far longer than he cared to admit to compose himself and starting drawing a few conclusions. Without doubt, he recognized the nen of the pair of eyes: it was the pair that he had bid on in the Yorknew Auction… it was the pair given to his boss, Neon… the pair that had disappeared into thin air. It seemed to have been taken out if its bulky container and put into a slim, liquid-filled tube.

And now it was in front of him. That's seven pairs now.

How had the spider gotten hold of it? Kurapika found he didn't care. The real question was… why had Kuroro given it to him? The question burned through him and he felt restless and stir-crazy not knowing why. Emotional blackmail? Possible, but unlikely due to the manner it was given to him. He was unable to come up with other nefarious reasons why the spider might have given him something so precious and cherished. That left only the non-nefarious ones…

He gripped the small glass vial tightly, resisting the urge to hug it close to himself. It was amazing how much this changed things. One minute he was dreading the inevitable arrival of Kuroro and now he was impatiently waiting with keen anticipation.

He needed to talk to the man. Absolutely as soon as possible.

-x-x-x-

When Nancy opened Kurapika's hospital door, the boy had snapped his head so fast in her direction she feared he would twist his head clean off. His brow furrowed for a brief moment, and Nancy had a hunch he was doing that Nen thing.

Her thoughts were confirmed when before she or Yue had a chance to say anything, he greeted them both by name and a smile. She didn't miss the way his face fell in the slightest hint of disappointment though. It seemed like he was expecting someone else. She gave Yue a meaningful look though the other just rolled her eyes.

"Kurapika! How are you feeling today?" She bustled closer to take a seat in one of the chairs next to his bed and critically eyed the young man. He seemed more energetic today, that was for sure. His hand was tapping a rhythm into the blankets and he didn't seem to notice at all. The other hand was busy tracing the edges of a wooden puzzle box she recognized as belonging to Kuroro. The color had made it back on his face as well. Hmm, much better! She nodded approvingly to herself. Yue settled into the other chair and took out her phone to fiddle with. Her bedside manner was never very good…

"I'm doing great Nancy-san." Kurapika responded to her. The boy was always so polite it sometimes was just too much. She could occasionally get him to call her just Nancy, but sometimes it seemed he forgot and just reverted back to his usual customs.

"That's great to hear, dear." she told him. "So what have you been up to? Hospitals can be awfully boring and I'm so sorry that we can't visit for long. We were roped into the investigation as witnesses. Luckily, Lucifer is keeping the wolves off of you." Really, despite his name, the boy was a saint.

"Oh a little of this and that." Kurapika answered. Was it just her or was the boy extremely distracted? "I listened to some TV and I can start walking a little bit now." He elaborated. "Oh, and don't worry about visiting, I know you're busy and we'll have more time to spend on the next airship."

"Yes, that's true." She eyed the boy contemplatively. She didn't have any kids herself, but she thought she had a pretty good sense when little rascals weren't telling the complete truth. Her eyes fell on the puzzle box. "Make any headway with that puzzle? Kuroro showed us in the lobby the other day. He was pretty excited to show them to you. I just think he likes to see us struggle with them."

"Oh?" She now heard a spark of interest. "Have you seen him recently?"

Yue shot her a disbelieving look and Nancy had to repress a smirk.

"Not today I'm afraid." She said, amused. Really kids these days. "Are you expecting him to visit today as well?"

Kurapika shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." he said nonchalantly. "I have to give him this puzzle back. I've finished it."

"Of course the nerd finished it." Yue said with a wide grin. "Only you would like such a blasted thing!"

"I enjoy them." Kurapika said rather reluctantly.

"You and Lucifer are pretty similar in some ways." Nancy decided to tease.

Yue snorted. "You think all young people are alike. Well I personally think you two are like night and day."

The conversation continued on. Nancy confirmed that Kurapika was extremely distracted. Whenever footsteps sounded outside from doctors, nurses, or patients, Kurapika would always jolt a little in the direction of the door with a look of concentration. It only happened in milliseconds, but Nancy nonetheless noticed. He definitely was eagerly awaiting someone and Nancy would bet all her money on Lucifer. Honestly, this was a welcome change. For most of the trip, Nancy had detected a slight tension between her two favorite fellow passengers. Lucifer seemed to easily get under the other boy's skin and while it was occasionally amusing to watch, it also tired her out. The seemed oddly competitive, whether it was chess or simple conversations, and it would be nice to see them get along. She did, however, think the blonde boy was finally warming up to the older one, and that in turn warmed her own heart. She had a good feeling about the two of them.

"Alright, cripple." Yue said with her usual tactless teasing, "We need to get going. We have another interview in an hour." She checked her watch and nodded.

"We'll come visit again, Kurapika!" Nancy promised as she gathered her things. "I enjoyed chatting with you. I hope you feel better soon!"

"Thanks for visiting." She detected a note of genuine gratefulness and she smiled at him even though he wouldn't be able to see.

"Of course." She said fondly. The boy had been through so much, it was the least she could do. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

With that, Yue motioned to her, and they filed out of Kurapika's room.

Perhaps it was a premonition or just a simple gut feeling, but she was entirely unsurprised to see Lucifer sitting in the hospital cafeteria nursing a coffee and a book, apparently waiting for them.

"Ahh." He said with a sweet smile as they neared. "Just the people I wanted to see. How is he?" He folded his book closed and gestured for them to take seats.

"He's tough, he's doing better." Yue answered. With a sigh, she waved away Lucifer's offer to sit. "We can't stay long, we have interrogations to go to." She grinned at him. "I have no idea how you managed to finish yours so quickly, considering you're probably all witnesses talk about."

Nancy thought the smile Lucifer returned was the slightest bit smug. "I have a good relationship with the police. Always have." Was all he said on that matter. "So tell me more about Kurapika."

"Why don't you just visit him yourself?" Nancy asked.

"I have a feeling he wants to be alone for a while." Lucifer said. Nancy disagreed, it seemed like Kurapika was dying to see him. "He's pretty independent, he probably wants some time to deal with his blindness in his own way."

Well that made sense, so Nancy just nodded. "He's finished that puzzle box, by the way. He really likes it, won't stop playing with it."

"Oh has he?" Lucifer's gaze sharpened and he seemed to be lost in thought at the same time. "That's sooner than I thought." he said softly.

"Well you know Kurapika." Nancy said with a smile. "Anyway, we really have to get going. It's nice talking to you. Visit Kurapika soon though!"

Kuroro smiled at the two ladies as they quickly bustled out of the cafeteria and into the lobby. So Kurapika finished the puzzle. He knew the nen hidden inside the box would attract and compel the blonde closer before long, but the speed with which the box was opened.. that was surprising. The Kurta was likely brimming with questions and conflicting feelings. Good.

Kuroro opened up his book and began reading with a pleased, satisfied feeling in his gut.

Good. Now to let the blonde stew for a few days.

-x-x-x-

This chapter was a little bit shorter than the other ones (usually my chapters get longer and longer by far) but this was the best place to end it and I felt enough happened this chapter. But yeah! Kuroro being so sideways nice to Kurapika always makes me really happy to imagine. He wouldn't be himself though, if it also wasn't a tad calculated and planned out. xDD