Disclaimer: I don't know anything from Hunter X Hunter all rights belong to Togashi. Once again we come to the end of a story, but now you will fully understand the reasoning behind Kurapika and Chrollo's relationship. A spider's bound in steel as both men will bleed out as their hearts remained joined together for a common goal to achieve.
Info: The bait has been set, and now the predator begins the next hunt...
Diebus Solet Aranea: ROA Ultimo Contract
Pariston Hill was quite the busy man these days dealing with all of the work the former Chairman Netero had left behind after his death. The Hunters Association had gone through a rather complicated election process for all the hunters who wanted the position. Many expected the ambitious Vice-Chairman to get the position as the head of this organization of hunters once everything was said and done; instead, no one expected Pariston to merely be a temporary figure in this role resulting in one of the Zodiacs to become the new Chairman: Cheadle Yorkshire.
The results were certainly surprising, but that wasn't the only bombshell to occur during those days of the election process involving one of Kurapika's friends who was sitting in a room in front of one of the major figures behind the Dark Continent voyage. He was called here because of an upcoming call from a contact from the Kakin Empire with very important information regarding someone recently put into their region.
"Tell me how have you been enjoying yourself "Rat" of the Zodiac?"
"It's a job nothing more nothing less." The sandy blonde couldn't help the grin on his face that formed at the guest in his office room knowing their settings would soon change once the trip into the unknown world begins for all of the ones seeking to cross into that land. Holding the phone in his left hand, the speaker had been turned out as one of the guards began this discussion.
"Greetings once again, your majesty. I hope you don't mind if one of the Zodiacs being here during our conversation, Oito Hui Guo Rou." The Eighth Queen and wife of King Nasubi had a lot on her plate these days.
"That is fine, but things have become rather strained on this end lately. I hope our guest doesn't plan on stirring more conflict with the information he's about to receive..."
"Actually, the only thing I care about is someone who's gotten involved with your empire," The man who once might have once feared the idea of standing up to speak his mind to the royalty of a military country like the Kakin Empire was not the current Leorio Paradinight. "I know him, even if you have no idea about the kind of friend I worked with during the Hunter Exam. He was a troubled person back then I'll grant you that, but he still had something good inside of him that we all liked."
"Of course, the avenger would naturally fall into a rabid state all for the sake of pitiful revenge. A shame considering I was considering giving him the role of the "Rat" in the Zodiac, but now he's nothing more than a fugitive on the run who needs to be locked up."
"Actually he has been imprisoned in our country." Oito's bombshell left Kurapika's friend shocked not expecting him to end up all the way in that land from where he last heard about his whereabouts. Leorio considered getting Killua and possibly Gon if he was up to it, and bringing their other friend back home away from the poisonous influence of the spiders.
"Looking to negotiate him return to our side of the world, your highness?"
"I'm afraid that might not be an option considering the circumstances of his arrival here." She tried to explain what happened to Pariston, the only response she got was an enraged-sounding Leorio on her end.
"Those god-damned spiders are the cause of all this! If Kurapika never gave himself for the sake of all of us none of this crap would be happening to him!" He blamed Chrollo and his followers as the cause of this entire situation, his anger making him want to finish with the last-remaining Kurta started in these past few years. To kill each and every last one of them until they were extinct like the clan they nearly killed. Pariston could see the killing intent in his hunter finding this aggression rather amusing to watch.
"I can tell that you care about your friend, but I'm not sure if that is the same blonde criminal in our care. He seemingly has changed, and then I heard about the tattoo covering his back." Leorio heard about Killua's last encounter with Kurapika when they were back at the residence of the Zoldyck family, but he couldn't believe that Kurapika has actually happened. There was no way Kurapika would nearly abandoned all of his morals and beliefs for the sake of protecting his friends.
"We didn't expect him to surrender without putting up much of a fight. Then, he began to explain his reasoning for coming to our kingdom and before we could ask more Kacho leaped to his defense to the surprise of us all. She was very adamant that Kurapika becomes her new bodyguard for the upcoming Dark Continent voyage."
Pariston began to play with a red ball to ponder this revelation while Leorio asked the obvious question on his mind.
"Why the hell would he do that?" None of that made any kind of sense to him considering how Kurapika desired revenge for his people's demise; what could Kurapika gain by risking his life for one of the royal family of the Kakin Empire. There had to be some other angle that was going on here about Kurapika's real goal with these people Leorio thought to himself.
"I can't be sure of his intentions, but the issues with the empire's princes already is a lot to deal with at this moment. Whatever is going on, the fact is Chrollo Lucifer is the one pulling the strings behind all of this." The man who's gotten his tendrils in pretty much just about every kind of criminal activity that could be imagined by someone in the underworld. Being the one who leads the slaughter of the Kurta Clan, his intellect and scheming would fit into this new turn of events involving the rogue Kurta.
"Well, that is pretty obvious considering the kind of individual Chrollo is along with his methods. Becoming a licensed hunter just to fight Hisoka in an way to try killing him and faking his own demise, enlisting Kurapika into his heists with the reward being to return all of the stolen eyes back to him, and then with attention away from his group they returned to the shadows in order to strike at the Black Whale during the voyage into the Dark Continent. A long-term heist of the century sounds like the ultimate accomplishment for a criminal like that man."
Leorio knew that catching up at this point was very difficult considering the resources and manpower still left at his disposal, so the only way to get his friend back from the brink of such evil was to rely on the Hunters Association to work with the Kakin Empire on this issue.
"Damn it! Here I am sitting in this chair unable to save him from this screwed up situation. That raven-haired son of a bitch keeps ruining people's lives, his likely just laughing at myself and everyone else he's screwed over..." Slamming his fist into the fine chair he was lounging in much to the irritation of Pariston Hill, his outburst was interrupted by the current high Queen of the Kakin Empire making the point clear about what was going to happen next.
"The voyage must go on without any delay, and you both know that Chrollo will seize this opportunity. Therefore, it would only make sense that we let events play out like the Phantom Troupe expects." Oito knew that the "Rat" figured that sounded ludicrous while Pariston figured the valuables onboard the ship would make the juicy bait for the spiders to sink their teeth into only to have them get pulled out by the webbing of this trap being laid.
"Kurapika will be one of the bodyguards like he wants so that your men from the association will be waiting for him and Chrollo to make it onto the cruiser. The battle in the Imperial Family will be one the ship heads off into the ocean. Everything will be decided on that continent including what happens to your friend..."
"What are you saying-" Leorio saw Pariston put up his hand to stop him before he continued with his "anticipated response" to this news.
"You will be working under the new Chairman of the Hunter Association during the voyage, Leorio. As fellow Zodiacs, I'm sure Cheadle will get along just fine with you in the medical team." Pariston wasn't wearing his usual grin as he made it clear, the arrangement would be made for Leorio regardless of how he felt about it.
"That's our grand plan? Let them come to the Black Whale in order to trap them out in the middle of the ocean, and that is supposed to make me feel better?!" Leorio knew he was just another cog in the machine due to accepting this offer by the former Vice-President, but in truth, there was no real choice here the offer would be accepted no matter what Leorio said. All of this was just to save his friend before he was too far gone down this rabbit hole. His hand, shaking with anger and fury, pointed at the cell phone to make himself clear to this woman.
"If you do anything to him, then you will have a bunch of new enemies to worry about, your highness!"
"That depends on if Kurapika can be captured alive or-"
"Don't finish that goddamned sentence!" Pariston snickered at the lack of respect one of his hunters was showing to a royal queen while not physically present, but very much listening to this outburst. Holding out his shaking hand that was being pointed at the cellphone with Oito's voice coming out from the device, his conviction was to bring back Kurapika alive with anything else being a personal failure to his friend.
Leorio knew that Killua and Melody would certainly have to know about this revelation, so he quickly made his way out of the room until Pariston calls him back to tell him something else that was important to know. Oito wasn't sure if she wanted to reveal this bit of information, but considering the state of mind Leorio was in it might be vital she thought that he learn about this.
"He doesn't just want to become a bodyguard of Kacho. He might be coming after you, Pariston. You and those others you've mentioned before..."
His smile once again transformed into a frown of irritation over this. He knew the penny would be dropped if he reveals the truth behind that ancient society, the group many feared, obeyed, and respected including himself once upon a time. Of course, the strains of time have a way of making you forget something that was once at the peak of power in the world only to decay, rot, and dissolve into nothing that hardly resembled its former self.
"What you're about to hear is top-secret as in saying any of this to the wrong people, and you will end up dead in a ditch somewhere. The Philosophers, a group of individuals who were regulated to the shadows after they gave the approval for the hit on the Kurta Clan. Worming their way into the higher positions of society, the founders were looking for something of value on the Dark Continent..." Looking down at the cellphone he knew that Oito had her dealings with these people as well.
"My husband was once pressured by these men into capturing a Kurta alive in order to bring him into their hands alive. At the time we just thought it was because they wanted to gain powerful new soldiers or knowledge about the treasures of their people. but never did we imagine they were truly after their eyes instead."
Oito knew that those eyes had much more value than simply being sold on the Black Market for a price. She was very much aware of the fabled story of the "Holy Grail" somewhere hidden in the unknown world that wasn't explored by many people up to this point.
"Netero knew what these people were doing, but figured that something would happen with their organization before they could finish their objective merely asking Ging and myself to keep tabs on the group while trying to dive deeper into their ranks." Pariston knew these skeletons in his closet would only create more tension in the room.
"Where are these bastards, then? If Kurapika is trying to find them for ordering the hit on his clan like you said do you know where they are?"
"...Yes I do," Pariston closed his eyes while laying back in his chair before delivering another bombshell to Leorio. "They are dead."
"...Are you fuc-"
"They are all dead by now. I don't know when, where, why, and how but you can believe they are rotting six feet under the ground. While their followers still believe this group is active, the leadership has been disposed over leaving their followers behind to continue working even after their demise." Leorio couldn't believe what he was hearing from Pariston Hill. This enigmatic group was already gone, but their subordinates were still following their orders in the present day?
"Many believed this group might have known their demise was coming, so they left these instructions to continue their projects even after they were all gone. That is all the information I was able to uncover from their operations."
"Mindless drones, following orders for people who aren't alive, but to think they were programmed to come after people in the Kakin Empire. Do you think they are getting ready for something, Pariston?"
"I can't say for sure what might be going on, but chances are Chrollo knows about this truth considering he was given the go-ahead from these men. Dangling a nice, juicy carrot like the full story behind the massacre would be an easy temptation for anyone else but getting to hurt someone like me would make it pretty much impossible to not take the offer..."
Leorio almost snorted by the honest tone Pariston had when saying that Kurapika couldn't ignore the chance to hurt this man, which combined with the other motivations being put onto the Kurta made his decision all the more understandable. Leorio wondered if this might have been avoided on that rainy night if he had stopped Kurapika's train of thought that leads down into that sequence of events. Still, if there was another opportunity to get him out of this mess Leorio would take it like Kurapika had to save his friends.
"Just tell me when we're getting on that damn boat, and like I said don't lay a finger on my friend's head or else lady!"
"You have my word that no harm will come his way, but should he step out of line..." Leorio slammed his fist down on Pariston's table while grabbing his cell phone to drive him the point to Queen Oito.
"Just keep your freaking hands off him, and that goes for your princes, soldiers, and hell even your maids and butlers who likely do everything for your lazy asses!" Leorio had decided to leave the room after making his point clear, his hand let the phone fall to the ground for Pariston to pick up on his own to finish this conversation.
"He's truly deserving of being my own replacement of the "Rat" compared to Kurapika, as you're no doubt aware." Despite the lack of respect shown to this royal woman, the boldness in "saving his friend" was something the former vice-president found both ignorant and admirable.
"This is going to end in glorious disaster, isn't it?"
"Quite the optimist aren't you, Queen Oito! At the very least our wonderful voyage will get all the more interesting now. Fifteen employees picked out for each prince, and yet, the most important one happens to be a wild card working for a master thief. You can't write something like this for a cheap drama television show!"
He quickly turned off the call ignoring the Kakin Queen as she tried explaining what was going to happen with her people. He wanted to chat with Ging about this development, but also to get some popcorn ready for the spectacle to come soon.
vvv
Kurapika wasn't sure why he was suddenly dragged out of this holding cell, but knowing what he's been through the Kurta expected to get a moment to breathe and heal before getting attacked once again. Despite being a bloody awful mess with the bruises, cuts, and wounds on his skin Kurapika was still arrogant enough to smirk at the guards looking at him walk through the hallway. He didn't know which of the princes he would be interrogated by today since his capture the only kindness he was given is some water and minutes when he wasn't getting punched around like a worthless sack of crap.
Kurapika figured this was likely that brutal woman is known as karma giving him a beatdown for all of his crimes and actions. Instead of finding one of the male princes ready to harm him some more he found the "mole" implanted back into the fold here, a bright smile seemed eerie to the Kurta when he looked up at the Tenth Prince from his chair. She had some exciting news for Kurapika today since her goal had been to help convince the rest of her family into making him one of her guards for the voyage into the Dark Continent.
"You've got the approval for the job. Congratulations, the honor of serving as one of MY guards for the Dark Continent trip is yours!"
"Well, hoo-freaking-yay for me..." His sarcasm came out while he was fortunate that she also provided him with some water to drink ensuring he wouldn't dry out today from a lack of hydration.
"Come on, Kurapika. Sure we might have gotten off to a rocky beginning, and while you might be a wanted fugitive you might be able to redeem yourself in society by working under me." In translation, she was merely telling him what Chrollo likely convinced her to say under the effects of Pakunoda's Nen-Abilities mixed in with his manipulative skills. Kurapika knew that even if these were people here who could detect the effects of Kacho's altered mind it wouldn't be for a while at least.
"I'm guessing that you will need more for more than just being eye-candy for the other famous people boarding the ship..." Kurapika got wind from Chrollo about the issues between the imperial family. The infighting with the family members would likely turn deadly once the Black Whale was drifting in the ocean, so the spiders would take advantage of this family feud.
"Chances are we won't need to lift a single finger to make them begin to kill each other off during this voyage. Your goal will be to earn the trust and approval of the King and Queen by protecting the more vulnerable ones who can't defend themselves. After a certain point in the journey, we will make our move to capture the treasures, which will be easier enough to steal once a majority of the royal family is out of the picture." The gameplan sounded quite simple in retrospect compared to the more complicated heists committed by this gang.
"Hisoka won't miss a chance like this either..." The biggest wild card left on the table in this dangerous gamble being made by the Kakin Empire, Hunters Association, and the Phantom Troupe was this man. After all, his corpse has not been found in the ruined Heavens Arena from the bombing incident, a clear sign that he was very much alive. Chrollo knew that he was going to try wiping out his group for what happened during their one-on-one duel, and he was prepared for that issue to come up during this major heist.
"Nothing truly every goes according to plan; the ones who truly can formulate a scheme are those who can plan a long-term scheme that can overcome most setbacks and problems. Hisoka would rather consider thinking in the heat of battle rather than formulate a bigger plan for things not related to combat, but that has turned out to be a useful weakness on his part for eliminating him temporarily." Chrollo was pleased to get rid of that thorn in his side for a while, but he knew that Kurapika was like the middle ground between himself and Hisoka.
"You are the perfect balance between the two opposites of the spectrum myself and Hisoka present, Kurapika. You adapt to battle situations, and yet, that brain of yours also considers thinking ahead for obstacles that might happen to come your way."
Kurapika wasn't expected that much praise, when Chrollo once considered merely killing him after the chains around his heart had been removed binding him to the former avenging Kurta. The idea of a relationship, a partnership between these two seemed like a nightmare come to life at first. Two predators of each other coming together for a common cause, and worse actually joining forces into becoming a pair of hunters seeking out new prey to devour in their tainted web of lies, deceit, and manipulation.
"In a way, you have the potential of becoming a better version of myself, where I failed in my shortcomings you will certainly make up for them." Chrollo grinned at his former enemy, turn blonde accomplice, turn friendly partner, and perhaps something greater than that if they could overcome this last job that would likely mean a possible chance of retirement considering the rewards they planned on getting for this crime. How would someone like Chrollo spend a life without killing, stealing, or committing any real kind of crime Kurapika wondered to himself?
Chrollo meanwhile figured that Kurapika would eventually seek out to find his friends once their bond had been broken, and when he was cut loose from all of his remaining obligations to Chrollo Lucifer his life would be forfeit. He knew this was his eventual fate, which he actually didn't mind embracing if it was caused by the hands of this man. Then, the future for Kurapika and his followers would be certainly more interesting in that it seemed like they would be lost without Chrollo's guidance.
That said, the truth of it was Chrollo also was prepared for this possibility with having a successor ready to step up however it likely wouldn't be Pakunoda, certainly not someone like Nobunaga, and maybe not even Feitan who fit the bill of running this group in Chrollo's absence during the Chimera Ant extermination mission.
His beating heart crushed in the palm of Kurapika's hand leaving the lifeless corpse of the former criminal mastermind dead on the ground, his followers lost in confusion while the one remaining Kurta in the world asserted his dominance over the other spiders for killing their leader. While they could easily kill him for taking away their Boss like this, a new mindset came into their mind about spiders not fighting each other. Kurapika has brought about change into the group's ideology much like Hisoka before him. Perhaps some of the limbs would be even willing to follow in Kurapika's footsteps.
"The times. They are a changin..."
Chrollo knew the future had to belong to the younger generation with the old guard to show them the ropes in order from them to grow and mature into men ready to take on this harsh world that, even now had loads of places yet unexplored by men would have to be uncovered eventually by the future generation.
"You need to grow up, Chrollo. Your folks aren't here to save your ass when some muggers are gonna come for what you have left. You have a cap left from a can of soda, then stab out someone's eye if they want your stuff!" Those thoughts echoed in the raven-haired man knowing what those days, months, and years were like for himself learning the basics of being a thief on the run. Scrapping and clawing his way to get to find a wild animal to eat in order to not starve, so many of his followers knew that Chrollo took his share of strife before he became their leader.
"Where would you like to go after this trip is done with, Kurapika?"
"Why would you ask me that considering we haven't even made our trip for the Black Whale yet..." His eyes blinked in confusion before Chrollo proved him with a camera that Shalnark had in his personal belongings that he wanted to use for capturing special photos that he might put into a picture journal.
"Consider it another motivation for going along with this plan of mine." Holding out the camera to perform a "selfie" as some of the younger kids put this kind of picture taking in the modern era of the world, a bright flash captured Kurapika keeping Chrollo's face back from his own with a hand. The resulting picture was something that the likes of Shizuku, Phinks, and even Kortopi found charming to look at later.
"Memories might actually be the most valuable item to have, Kurapika. Compared to any gem, treasure, and valuable portraits the memories in your mind can't be taken from you unless you have someone like Pakunoda," Chuckling at his own joke Chrollo rubbed his hand through the blonde locks that he's grown to love so much along with the other features of Kurapika. "Perhaps once I'm gone you can remember me through several different pictures taken around the world." The idea was brought on by his subordinates who wanted something they could use in case not all of them made it back from this journey into the Dark Continent.
"Better enjoy life while you can Boss. Knowing our luck when we get back from this heist, the suits in the government will likely ban the internet and slow down data usage for a small fee of 10 bucks per hour."
Shalnark hissed out while looking at his Black Voice cellphone, his concern over not being able to download new mobile game was made clear by the many hours he spent bitching over the new laws being discussed by the "real thieves" currently elected in the political offices. Machi felt that it would get him away from playing the Joystation 4 online for quite a few couple of hours bragging to all of the geeks he would beat during a week for being "weak" showing off his neat gaming feats.
"Man, the other young blonde gamer could use some time to unplug himself from the forum pages he frequents..." Machi made a sigh that was barely heard by all of the men in the room while looking at Chrollo and Kurapika interact with each other while Pakunoda walked up behind her; she was a lot more expressive in her emotions considering what she just did to Kacho by re-arranging and reading all of her memories up until just recently.
"Shalnark has issues adding to the electric bill, and despite this, we couldn't operate that well if he was gone much like Uvogin's absence leaving a major gap in power in the Phantom Troupe."
Being the number two in Chrollo's small, but infamous group meant her life was supposed to be just as important to keep safe; when in fact she would gladly give up her own life to protect her leader. Of course, should the worse case situation happen and Chrollo did lose his life many expected Pakunoda to step up if Feitan wasn't feeling up to becoming the new Boss of the spiders.
"Think Kurapika has what it takes, you know?" Pakunoda was asked this question by her bright-pink medical expert friend. Her cold eyes seemed a lot more gentle when looking at one of her only real friends in this group.
"Kill him? If this was at the beginning of this strange trip I would have thought you had gone insane, Machi. I misjudged the potential talent our Boss saw in that kid back in Yorknew. My feelings likely were because of the loss of Uvo, but over the past year when I looked into those memories Kurapika had when asked by Chrollo I could see why he wanted to recruit this Kurta we failed to kill on that day."
Machi knew that in a funny way things ended up working out for both parties involved, and despite not finding much use in keeping the "third" blonde around she eventually warmed up to the idea of giving Kurapika a tattoo symbol of the Phantom Troupe including Uvo's old number on his back. In a strange way, she was reminded of Uvo whenever she got the rare sight of Kurapika smiling when he was around the killers of his clan.
She wondered if in a messed up way they filled the hole left behind with the absence of his family and friends who weren't here to watch him drink beer like Uvo and Franklin while learning from Phinks about how to hold on his bladder after what happened after his first time.
"Kurapika would make a good new Boss." Shizuku blurted that out while cleaning her glasses like nothing was wrong with that statement, which was followed by Shalnark spitting out soda and Feitan glaring at the youngest female in the Phantom Troupe. All of the eyes in the room were suddenly gazing at her face.
"Like hell, I would let that chain-bastard assume leadership over me!"
"Feitan's right about that! Letting this Kurta into the fold was one thing, but to have him order me around for missions?!" The samurai was considering slicing the girl's eyeglasses in half for even that suggestion in front of him, so with that Shizuku restated her comment without any kind of fear or hesitation in her tone of voice at her fellow criminals.
"Kurapika as our new Boss would be fine by me..."
"I second that notion!" The room was filled with many gasps when Chrollo stood up for Shizuku's opinion about who might become the new leader of this traveling gang with everyone unsure if he was serious about that including Kurapika himself.
"Boss, you must be joking about that idea! There is no way that..."
"We formed a contract of sorts, Nobu. The details are quite clear to everyone in this room," The smirk now present on the criminal kingpin's face made Nobu shiver in fear, there was a lack of defiance in all of his followers to question their boss as he continued to explain his feelings on this matter. "I would certainly follow Feitan if he was running the Phantom Troupe with no questions asked. Why should Kurapika be any different considering he bears our mark with genuine blood and ink shed over the back of his body..."
"He was an outsider, and he still might be a traitor!" Feitan wasn't trusting this Kurta feeling that he will strike when everyone let their guard down, which wasn't that far from the truth yet Chrollo didn't mind this possible outcome.
"We're already had our share of a Judas, so I would think Kurapika is smart enough to make his move in the limited window of time presented to him. Still, he is much more intelligence than you give him credit for such a simple concept as mere reverence, Feitan." Looking at the red eyes that attracted the older man to this former hunter in the first place, his desire to strengthen their relationship grew more by the day. Kurapika didn't realize how he would miss these days of being around a pack of murderers when he was stuck on the Black Whale in a matter of months...
vvv
The smell of blood was very pungent in the air, a body lay on the carpet in the middle of one of the many rooms in this gigantic ship as the would-be assassin of Fourteenth Prince Woble and Queen Oito lay dead at the hands of the blonde man in a black suit who was currently serving as a "bodyguard" for the Tenth Prince Kacho on this ship. Many were shocked to see the "deceased" Phantom Troupe operative working for the royal family like this, but many of the assassins knew this person wasn't to be underestimated. He wasn't willing to hold back his killing intent unlike many of the others working here.
"So, the first move has been made in this game of chess..." Oito knew that something like this might happen to her considering the unstable state of her family, and when the former bodyguard Woody had been discovered killed by the loss of blood Kurapika knew this child might have killed him with her Guardian Spirit Beast. While the dangers of having a criminal work her family was evident, she knew how devious her own empire and family could be as well likely evening the playing field.
"Can you tell me something, Kurapika. This contract you have with the one you know as Chrollo Lucifer; surely your deal with this man doesn't involve your life being paid for working for the spiders, right?"
There was nothing said by the blonde Kurta as he was busy piecing together who this man was working for or rather who wanted to kill Oito and Woble in order to learn more about the potential threats remaining onboard this ship.
"What about that man gives you the will to continue helping him and those other spiders?" Her question remained unanswered as Kurapika picked through the dead man's pants for any kind of clue to give him any kind of lead in this investigation. She was not happy with this lack of truth, but then he turned around to remove his suit and point at his beating chest that remained wrapped up in those silver chains that sealed his fate.
"Would you give up your freedom for the ones you care about? To wish you can gain the revenge you've sought out for years only to work for the man who killed those you love while keeping you away from the only friends you have in this screwed-up planet?"
Meanwhile in the bowels of the Black Whale lay a bunch of regular travelers who were stuck in the lower section of this ship. One man, in particular, was trying to crush some of the bugs roaming around the floor unaware of the well-dressed individual sitting on a box near him.
"Damn pests! Where do they keep coming from on this ship? Huh? You seem pretty happy right now, there must be something that is putting a smile on your face today." With the white band covering the tattoo on his forehead no one knew they were in the same room as the infamous Chrollo Lucifer who managed to sneak onto the Black Whale. Should any of them discover the truth about this man, their bodies would be sinking into the deep sea they were riding on to the Dark Continent.
"You seem antsy to kill someone. You've must have gone through quite a lot, leading up to coming here. Now that you're here, you really should forget about all of that from your old life and forget those ties!"
"That isn't easy when you think about it? Ties aren't forgotten. They're severed..." He placed a hand over his heart feeling the bind of Kurapika's Chain Jail that kept him a prisoner to the whims of the Kurta who owned his life even now. His life would end by Kurapika's hands, and by then he will leave all of the other matters of life in his hands. The spider would survive despite his death either being led by Feitan or the group's former enemy so that in his final moments he would be okay with accepting the idea that deep down Chrollo did...love this Kurta.
Kurapika also couldn't deny these strong feelings of passion running through him as he knew that only he could crush the heart of that man, and no one else should have that honor including the royal family trying to kill each other on this ship. While he was serving as a bodyguard, the truth was he was merely aiding a fellow criminal in his grand plan on making a theft to be remembered for years to come in the history books.
"I am just a spider, a mere criminal wanted by the hunters, my former friends, and a perverted clown who likes to use gum to kill people. I am a traitor to my clan, my old ethics, and I kissed Chrollo Lucifer on the lips when I was drunk off my ass. This is the person you asked to serve as your bodyguard, so don't blame me for doing what I do best these days. Killing for my man...so that I can eventually kill THAT man who's made me this way!"
The scarlet eyes shined brightly as he made his declaration clear to the queen and baby in her arms. This was the path he chose to follow, and he couldn't go back from where this road will lead him to this web of corruption has consumed his body. Leaving him inside a cocoon where the predator will swallow him whole or he will become that very predator feeding on the hungry spider.
[ Afterwords: No, I'm not bitter about the idea of my internet being slowed down or just sites, in general, being black-listed because one guy is getting paid off to get this idea passed. I'm merely having a small detail in the world of HXH convey something that just happens to bear a coincidence to that situation happening in the United States. I know this seems like a to be continued thing, but if HXH taught me anything you can always leave your audience hanging and craving more. :P
Anyway, the answers you were curious about have finally been revealed. YES, this has led to a gay yaoi paring are you readers happy now!? :V I did have fun with the elements in this story, and now I am free to do new stories like something with Code Geass or perhaps I should go back to Marvel with something new with the X-Men or perhaps Spider-Man. Either way, I hope you've enjoyed this mini-series to the main story of ROA see ya later, Happy Thanksgiving, and don't let the internet die at the hands of silly politicians and lobbyists! ]