Note: I'm now at over 20,000 words!
Beta-reader: None.
Chapter summary: A sign of trouble.

Chapter 09

In autumn, the male members of the Borongi tribe participate in the ritualistic killing of the first three game animals caught after the equinox –

Kurapica flicked his eyes up briefly to observe the man sitting across from him. The cabin was quiet, the sound of the wheels on the rails muffled by the plush carpet and tapestries. Kuroro Lucifer was reading intently from the large, burgundy coloured book that he had summoned. Somehow, this had to do with his abilities, but Kurapica wasn't entirely sure what those were, yet. It was not a comforting thought.

– male members of the Borongi tribe participate in the ritualist–

The man himself was sitting impeccably straight, showing manners that Kurapica had trouble intertwining in his mind with someone who had grown up in Ryuuseigai. He had never visited the place himself, but his mind pictured the worse possible slums one could imagine. The people living there existed amongst the refuse of the rest of the world, after all. Yet here was this mystery of a man, showing signs of a good upbringing. The Kuruta was curious as to how the Spider head had learned to look so –so posh, for lack of a better word. What does it matter?!part of his mind protested, this is the leader of the people who have massacred your comrades!

– the Borongi tribe participate in the ritualistic killing of the first three game animals –

The Spider leader who had just... touched him in a way that still made Kurapica blush. He wanted to believe that it was all a misunderstanding on his part. The man he saw as his captor could have been only trying to inspect his wounds, but... something just didn't feel right with this assumption. He nearly thought that the Spider head had, had touched him in a... se – sensual way. He brought his book up sharply to hide his face that he felt growing hotter, suddenly.

– participate in the ritualistic killing of the first three game animals caught after the equinox, followed by a feast –

No, it couldn't have been. Kurapica had probably imagined the warmth at his lower back. There was no logical reason why the older man would have intended anything untoward with his touches, no reason why he should have any interest in the blond, other than on a professional level. He must have been imagining things. Not that he usually did. He was pretty observant by nature and he trusted his gut feelings.

– caught after the equinox, followed by a feast shared by all members of the village. For this feast, long, wooden tables are laid out –

The man was probably playing with him, trying to humiliate him some more.

He called me beautiful...

Playing,he reasoned. He is simply trying to get a reaction out of me.

His course of action seemed pretty obvious. He would pretend it had never happened. He wouldn't give that filthy criminal the satisfaction of raising any more of a reaction. He would have to be even stronger than ever before. Somehow, he would make it out of this situation. He would find a way to come out the victor. He would see the Spiders crushed, once he had regained as many pair of eyes as he could.

A sound – paper. He looked up just in time to see the page Kuroro Lucifer had just turned settle on the left side of the open book. A little higher and their gaze met. Kurapica felt his lips pinch and he stopped himself before it turned into a complete frown. No. No more of this. Ice. He had to be made of ice. He had to stop letting the older man get under his skin. That would be pretty difficult, considering what the man had done to him six years prior. He distractedly pulled gently at his earring, as he tended to do when thinking of his fallen tribe, and he caught the Spider head's eyes locking on his movement. He paused. Kuroro Lucifer returned to his book and turned a page. The sound was loud in the silence between them.

– by all members of the village. For this feast, long, wooden tables are laid out on the rocky ledge carved out –

Kurapica placed his bookmark – one of Kuroro's, he reminded himself, but managed not to grimace – inside the volume and closed it. There was no point. He couldn't focus on the damn thing. He set it down on the seat next to him and got up. Out of his peripheral vision he saw the Spider head look up again, but refused to explain himself unless questioned. He made his way to a door he assumed to lead into the restroom. It latched behind him with a satisfying click. He locked it hurriedly – just in case – then put his hands on either side of the sink, leaning heavily on them, head lowered. Slowly, he breathed in and out, until he felt he was calm enough. It was so hard, knowing that his enemy was rightthere, yet there was nothing he could do. His need for revenge had to be forcibly squelched down. He knew well enough that being violent now would be counter-productive. He had to retrieve the eyes. He hadto get them back and return them to the grave – the mass grave Kurapica had dug himself – where his tribesmen were laid to rest.

Again and again, he needed to remind himself that, not only would attacking any of the Spiders without use of his Nen be suicidal, but doing so now would mean forfeiting the only chance he might have at fulfilling the other part of his oath. It was hard. It was nearly more than Kurapica could bear, just to sit next to the man who had caused him so much grief and not be able to exact his revenge.

My only fear is that this anger should disappear, he had once told his friends. Well, there would be little chance of thathappening with the way things were going with the Spider head. The man seemed to be actively tryingto get under Kurapica's skin. As if things weren't bad enough as they were! But Kurapica wouldn't let him have the upper hand. And he wouldn't let him get anymore reactions out of him.

Ice,he told himself. I am made of ice and stone. The thought was somehow comforting. He felt stronger already. He noticed his fingers were curled so tightly around the edge of the small, metallic counter that the joints hurt. He took a shaky breath and slowly uncurled them as he exhaled. He straightened up and stared at his reflexion in the mirror. Sometime during his mental turmoil, his eyes must have turned red because they were now changing back. He hadn't even felt it happen. He frowned lightly, but waited until they had returned to blue. When he was certain he looked calm and composed, he took another breath, let it out, then unlocked the door and walked out. As he walked back to his seat, the Spider head looked up but Kurapica refused to acknowledge him. He sat across from him and picked up his book again. This time, he had no trouble focusing on it.

Loud screeching jolted him out of sleep. Kurapica sat up hurriedly, instantly alert. Kuroro was already at the window, peering out through the darkness. Kurapica got up and grabbed his overshirt, putting it on even as he walked to another window to investigate. The taller man glanced at him. "Trouble," he said. "We're getting off here."

Kurapica nodded as he saw the police car lights in the distance. He clamped down on the vague hope that his travelling companions might get caught, as he well knew they would have no qualm about killing off a bunch of police officers to get out of the situation. Getting off the train seemed like the better option. There wasn't much to pick up, seeing how most of their possessions were in Kuroro's Fun Fun Cloth, but he picked up his book along with Kuroro's and joined him at the window the taller man had just punched broken somehow. Kurapica knew for a fact that these trains had reinforced windows. Somehow, nothing seemed to be impossible for the man. It was good that he had found out about this before facing him off in face-to-face battle.

Kuroro looked back at him, took the books from him and stepped on the bottom of the window frame. He jumped easily, and Kurapica followed. If the dark haired man was trying to impress him, he'd see he wasn't the only one who could jump out of a speeding vehicle. He landed easily, then walked back to where he could barely discern Kuroro's presence in the darkness. The other two Spiders soon joined up with them. "I guess this means we're not going to a nice hotel," Machi remarked.

Kuroro nodded. "It could be unrelated to our presence on the train, but we'll err on the side of caution and lay low for a couple of days. Shalnark, Machi. You circle the city on the west side and find some place to stay until I contact you. I'll go with Kurapica and call you when I think we're free to move without interference from the authorities."

"Roger," Shalnark acquiesced easily. Machi gave Kurapica an appraising look. The blond regarded her coolly for a few seconds, and she turned and walked away, following after the techno-geek. That only left him with his nemesis. Again. He turned to the taller man and Kuroro tilted his head, his large, unblinking eye staring right into the Kuruta's. Then, he turned away and started walking, and Kurapica followed. They kept the lights to their left and started walking up a steep hill. Soon, they were surrounded by odd, twisted trees with knobby branches and trailing vines. The lights soon disappeared from view, leaving only the moon to light their way.

When it set, Kuroro stopped. "We'll stop here and catch a bit more sleep," he said and summoned his book so he could get their luggage. He got blankets and gave one to Kurapica. Wordlessly, the blond took it and laid it on the ground, somewhere that looked relatively comfortable. He lied on it and folded half of it over himself. He listened as Kuroro settled down, only closing his eyes when everything was silent, save for the sounds of the woods around them. Sleep was hard to come, but he must have drifted off because when he opened his eyes again, dawn had come. He turned his head towards his companion. The man had his eyes closed, looking surprisingly young. Kurapica found himself wondering how old he was. He frowned at the thought, reminding himself that no matter the age of his enemy, he was a mass murderer.

He sat up slowly, careful not to make a sound, but as soon as he started moving, Kuroro's eyes snapped open. Kurapica paused, caught by surprise. The Spider head sat up as well and turned towards the sun. Kurapica got up and picked up his blanket, shaking it to get all of the dead leaved and twigs off. Kuroro followed suit. He summoned the cloth and got some food out, just some bread and fruit. They ate in silence, then Kuroro put their things back into the handy cloth and they left.

The weather was hot for the season and heavy with humidity. They had to walk through dense woods and Kurapica could feel the sweat sticking his shirt uncomfortably to his back. He longed for a shower. They walked in silence, the monotony only broken by the cries of strange birds hidden in the thickets. Morning changed to afternoon and it was nearing dinnertime by the time they had made it back to the city. They stood on a rocky hill overlooking Morinya. They had made quite a detour; Kurapica couldn't even see the railway or station from where he was. Kuroro looked back at him for the first time since their midday meal. He regarded him silently for a few moments before speaking. "We're going to stay put for a few days before we go after the Eyes," he said. "I would rather stay out of hotels in case those police cars were waiting there for us." He actually said that like they could be looking for Kurapica, too. Well, the blond wasn't entirely clean, but he still considered himself to be on the honest side of the law.

"I'm going to find us some accommodations." Kuroro continued with a little smile. "But we should wait until after dark before venturing into the city. Do you think you can wait that long before a shower?" There was a teasing – mocking! – edge to his words. The blond was pretty certain he had made no comment or gesture indicating his distaste for the sweat clinging to his back. As far as he knew, Kuroro didn't had the ability to read minds. He frowned and stared at the man, but the Spider head had a blank, unreadable mask on and Kurapica wasn't sure what to think.

In the end, he shrugged. "I'm used to being out in the wild for days on end. This is nothing."

"I'm pretty sure you would rather be clean and sleeping in a warm bed regardless," the older man remarked. "I know I do. Let's have dinner, at least." They ate in silence, then read until the light started getting dim. Then they set out again and went into the city as the last visible sliver of sun went out behind the hills. Finding some accommodations turned out to sit near a market, listening to conversations to find a house where the owners were out of town. They broke in easily, showered and went to sleep in strangers' beds. Breaking and entering. It was one thing to do it when it was for what Kurapica considered a just cause. But there were no Eyes here. He hadn't even blinked before going in. The Kuruta... was adjusting well to criminal life.