Note: I finished editing this chapter last night after receiving it from Aion-san. I'm done typing SD chap 4 as well, but I didn't immediately posted. I went to a market yesterday with Mom (Divisoria- the largest shopping district here in the Philippines.) We bought so many fabrics for my mom's latest project. We supply school uniforms for 2 private elementary and high school institute. It's my job to work as the runner since I'm out of school. Runner- buying fabrics, finishing (buttons and holes, trimming, revisions. Yeah.), delivery, up to getting the payment. You read my fic, 'CUT!'? Remember when I said on the first chap where 'I brought a roll of fabric all by myself?' That's true. It's my job. Kargador slash quality control slash taga-salo ng sermon (our customers were a bit... hot headed, specially when were delayed on delivery. And the one who'll catch their freaking outs is none other than me. Oh yeah.)

So I was so tired last night, but still managed to check out stuffs in net. I received 2 e-mails. One was the beta-d manuscript. One was a devastating confession. I gave up trying to post this- my heart seriously broke last night.

But I'm really fine now. Everything was cleared. Don't mind asking what it was all about. I bet it will come out sooner or later. So... Here you are. After *counting...* more than a month, I finally managed to update this fic. And as usual, it's fluff-less. Another flashback (I usually do long flashback since I think short ones were a little... not so good. I'm a little fan of One Piece. I love it every time they go for long flashbacks that consume episodes). And from now on, I'll be answering reviews IF they are asking things about this. I know this is confusing a bit. The plot is really unique so I have to clear everything to everyone. So feel free to ask me.

For the long time I didn't update (hey, I updated SD! Its latest chapter is so long!), I was able to watch anime such as Ao no exorcist and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I came to read Yaoi manga as well, titled Love Stage! and Royal Fiancee. Now I'm reading Okane ga nai.

Another thing. Last week, I found myself working on the sequel of 'CUT!'. IT WAS CRAZY. Ryodan and the main chars on the beach. KilluGon madness overload. Hisoka in a trunks. Beach volleyball. Nightlife in the bonfire. Off-air kissing scenes. NOSEBLEEDS. I'm telling you guys it awesome! But... I don't think I can post it yet since I'm working on these and SD. And the summer is almost over *but it was still 37 degrees in here. Hell.* So... what do you think?

Lastly. Thanks so much for confirming that I'M THE ONLY KURAKURO FAN IN THE WHOLE METRO MANILA. No one replied when I invited them to watch the movie. SABI KO NGA. Honestly I can't believe I'm updating this since I'm supposed to be saving money for May 15. But... nothing. So I'll watch it all by myself.

So, this is it. Another long flashback.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HxH.

Special thanksssss to aionwatha-san for beta reading~!

Chapter 10: A Mirror.

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As he opened the closet, darkness abruptly spilled out of it. And as emptiness took over the place, Kurapika felt time freeze.

And the next thing he knew, he was stopping himself from screaming.

He managed to turn the sound into an audible gasp. In the middle of the darkness, right in front of him, were several cylindrical glass containers filled with eyeballs that had red irises. Kurapika counted them by pairs. Thirty-six pairs, exactly. The kid felt so happy, that he started walking towards them. But as he took a few steps, the eyes started to move on their own - away from him. Kurapika was perturbed. What was happening? The boy walked faster, taking longer strides as he did so. To Kurapika's horror, the eyes moved faster too. The distance between the eyes and the boy was ascending as he opted to run. The eyes were unreachable, they were retreating farther, away from Kurapika's reach. The Kuruta stopped in his track, grasping for breath. He didn't make it. He lost the eyes.

"What the-"

As Kurapika clutched his chest, he saw another horrifying thing. At his right side were his best friends. Gon, Killua and Leorio were there as well, and- they were lying on the ground, injured and bloodied all over. Their eyes were blank and empty. Their bodies were limp. They looked lifeless, and their horrified faces were making the matter worst. Yet, as Kurapika's eyes turned to scarlet, he could see how they hardly breathed. They were still alive, but their injuries and blood showed how hard it was for them to hold onto their lives. Kurapika took a breath again before reaching for his friends. But as he took the fast steps that would take him to their side, something horrible again caught his eyes.

A bunch of people were pacing on his left side, where the Kuruta eyes had disappeared. Kurapika turned again to see thirteen familiar faces. The blond's eyes widened and brightened to its scarlet shade even more, if possible, as he witness how that unforgettable poker-faced, raven-haired and black-coated figure of Kuroro Lucifer led his Spider comrades to the direction where the Kuruta eyes had gone.

What had just happened? Had Kuroro Lucifer regained his nen? Had he already found the nen-remover? No, he should have known. And there was no way around that he could be back to normal state after removing the Judgement Chain as fast and easy as that. More importantly, why were they were here, pacing that way -

No - the Kuruta eyes!

Kurapika tried to scream as he ran to the figures.

"SPIDERS!" he bellowed.

The figures didn't stop as Kurapika's voice echoed in the space. As though they didn't hear him, they just continued walking.

"Ryodan... I'LL KILL YOU! STOP!"

Nothing.

Kurapika ran faster, but the Ryodan seemed to move faster than him, and to think that the boy was now running to his limits! The Spiders were moving faster, as though each of their step measured a meter, without actually making their steps wider. They were pacing faster, becoming more unreachable, just like the eyes.

Kurapika's legs gave away. He was tired of this. What the hell was going on? Why couldn't he chase them? What were they doing here? Why was Genei Ryodan here, even his friends?

His friends -

"NO."

Kurapika almost keeled over when he recalled his friends. He looked around again, looking for them.

There they were, on his far right side.

"Gon! Killua! No! What's going on here!?"

The boy pushed himself up by his knees to go to them. Those injuries had to be tended to as soon as possible.

As he moved towards his dying friends, he found himself in the same situation again. So this was what deja-vu felt like. Every time that he tried going after the things that he desired, the same thing happened. His three friends were moving away from him, as though they were being pulled by something invisible. Kurapika summoned all of his remaining strength to run after them.

But it was useless. Gradually, his friends went out of sight, just like the eyes. Just like the Ryodan. He was left alone, again, in the emptiness. His legs couldn't hold him any longer. Kurapika just let himself fall to his knees, giving his body what it wanted, or rather, what it needed. His head had started to throb, his heart was pounding so hard out of exhaustion and his mixed emotions. Kurapika wanted to cry out and scream for help, but there was no way he would do that. He wouldn't just give up.

But what should he do next? How would he chase after the most important things in his life if the things themselves were running away from him? How would he be able to escape this place?Just how had that mere cabinet brought him here?

Maybe everything was just an illusion, just like the emotions the ray of lights from the stained glass windows did to him earlier. Seriously, what was this test really all about!? Where was that closet? How could he escape from the illusion? Where was the door?

The Kuruta then decided to do what he hadn't tried to do ever since he opened the closet's door. Laying his back on the floor to relax, Kurapka started to think.

The Kuruta felt odd when his eyes noticed something. Looking upward, he saw his own faint reflection, very faint, as though the ceiling were made from water, just few meters away from him. He was sure that it was just a reflection, as he noticed how his hair struck everywhere as his head laid on the floor. He blinked, then moved his body to position himself in a comfortable position?. He fixed his eyes on his reflection as he started to muse about everything.

He looked at himself tentatively. His eyes were no longer scarlet. He decided to calm himself since his head was feeling dizzy already due to his use of his eyes. They were half-opened. He saw the visible dark lines under them. Simply looking at them was exhausting.

He had sure grown. Five years ago, he was not that big. His eyes looked bigger back then, holding their happier shade of gray, not that empty pair of tired eyes. They had no dark lines under them. He had shorter hair before, since his mother was still alive to fix it for him. He had no cursed chain on his right hand back then. Come to think of it, he had already killed two people at the age of seventeen. He was reminded how the blood dripped from those unbreakable chains as it lashed on the human's flesh, how the small Judgement Chain struck and crushed his opponent's heart once they disobeyed his demands. His face was a bit gaunt, due to lack of sleep, as he was always busy, and he hadn't eaten proper meals for days. He was just a mere seventeen year old boy,with only Kuruta eyes as difference from with the Kuruta eye the only difference between him and the others. But he didn't look like that. Indeed, he was too stressed and mature-thinking for a seventeen year old kid.

Look how time and fate changed everything. It was just like yesterday when he was still with his fellow tribesmen. Then today, he was alone and lost. Kurapika wondered how he would look like by tomorrow. Maybe an eyeless corpse? Maybe a successful S-class black list Hunter after he managed to finish all the Spiders? Maybe a mere bodyguard who was taking good care of the Kuruta eyeballs? Maybe an ordinary person who decided to forget and embarked on his way to a peaceful life back in Rukuso province?

Kurapika mentally scolded himself for thinking the last.

He remembered another memory. About his friends. He was reminded how their fate had crossed during the Hunter exam. He recalled how he and Leorio fought, for the very first time they had met, then ended up as friends when the silly Gon almost fell from the ship they were in, and they found themselves helping each other to save the boy along with one of the crew.

They were ambushed by some freak-looking, hooded examiners next. He recalled the question that those examiners asked to them. He let out a small smile as Gon's hard-thinking face surfaced in his mind. The way Gon had indulged himself with the question even though they already gave the answer that the examiner had wanted them to give. Gon looked so agitated back then, even though the examiners had already allowed them to go to the next phase. And the way he had given up in the end, feeling discontent with himself.

Now, if he would think about the question again.

What if your son and your daughter were in danger? Who would you save first? Their answer back there on the Hunter exam was 'silence.' Yes, you couldn't answer that kind of question simply. You simply couldn't tell what side you favor more. No one could tell what a person would choose when you ask them that kind of question, unless the situation itself was already progressing in front of them.

To consider the issue again this time.

If he had to choose only one of his missions in life, what would it be? Would it be the Kuruta eyes? His revenge against Ryodan? Or to keep his friends' lives? Which of these would be his priority? Which of them would matter the most for him? There was no way he could simply shut his mouth to be quiet. This was not a Hunter exam anymore. He couldn't retake this one if ever he failed. So, what was his choice?

Back there in York Shin, when his friends, Gon and Killua were held captive by Ryodan , he was 'forced' to lie-low just to make sure of his friends' safety in the thieves' hands. He couldn't bring himself to kill the Ryodan leader that he had kidnapped and used as hostage even though that unguarded figure of stoic-faced Kuroro Lucifer was just several inches away from him back there in the get-away vehicle. Once he killed the head, the arms and legs would fall down. That was his priority ... wasn't it? If only he decided to sacrifice his friends, then one of his businesses in life would be partially accomplished.

But he didn't. Of course, he would never do such thing.

Kurapika sighed. Friends were indeed burdens. If only he hadn't met those three, then maybe everything wouldn't have turned out like that. If only he decided to get away from those guys, then there would be less headaches. But he didn't. And he had to deal with the consequences.

Yet - he never regretted anything at all.

Kurapika reached out his right arm in front of him, as though grasping ((for)) something. The reflection did as well. 'When and how would I able to reach for my goals in life? Could I ever lay my hands over the things I really want? And what do I... really want?'

The reflection smiled, and so did Kurapika. Yes, the Kuruta eyeballs were the most important point of all. It was followed by his friends' lives. His revenge against Ryodan was just the third one. No matter how he denied it, what had happened had proven that . The eyes were his top priority. Next was his friends. He actually never thought that he would laugh again after the Kuruta tragedy. Only those three made him do that. The mere thought of those guys were enough for a genuine smile to play over his lips.

Wait a second - genuine smile?

Kurapika looked again to his reflection. This time, he slowly smoothed his face back into a serious look. And to his utmost surprise, even though his eyes were already wide open and the corners of his lips were lowered, the reflection still wore the sweet smile that was not quite Kurapika's (or rather, a really rare smile that Kurapika himself wasn't aware he was capable of doing). And to add more shock, the reflection started to move - towards him. The reflection was still smiling back at the jaw-dropped and stunned Kurapika. Both of their arm was still stretched out, Kurapika's right and the reflection's left. The latter opened his palm, and Kurapika found himself doing the same. More seconds passed, they were only mere inches away from each other. Until both of their hand met. Kurapika felt an odd warmth from the contact, as though heat was being shared by the reflection. His own face was still smiling at him.

"Who... are you?"

The reflection smiled even more.

"You." The reflection said with Kurapika's voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You and I are the same. We're sharing the same mind and soul. We're residing in the same body. You and I are only one. It's just that we're different. How about you? Who are you?"

"I..." Kurapika found himself oddly having a hard time answering the simple question. Or rather, he wasn't sure what to answer. "I... I'm the last survivor of the Kuruta clan," he blurted.

"No," the reflection easily shoved Kurapika's answer aside. "We are the last survivor of the Kuruta clan," the reflection leaned his head slightly to the side, smiling warmly. "But I'm asking you, not us... So, who are you?"

'Who am I?' The blond reflected on the question that his own self had asked him.

Disregarding his name, age, looks, and identity, who would he be? Setting aside everything that made him what he was this time, what kind of person would he possibly be? And aside from his eyes, what would be the other things that would make him different from the others?

Recollecting his fragmented memories as a child, Kurapika slowly tried to look for an answer. Years ago, he was someone who valued justice and dignity. He treasured life, from his own to the other beings. Being different - having this scarlet hued eyes wasn't a reason to get discriminated against by the ordinary people. He was human, as were his clansmen. They were alive, they had the right to live on this world and spend their time in any way they wanted. They had reasons to live. He had something to do in this world, that was why he was alive.

He sought for that reason and decided to explore the world, inspired by a hero he met in a marvelous book. Exploring the exciting world outside of his hometown, which had provided for all of his needs, had always been the dream of boys like Kurapika. To get out from the restrain of elders and his difference from the norm, to be free from the bound aries imposed on him as a youth, and find his way to be a fulfilled man and to seek change. He wanted to get the equal treatment from the non-Kurutas so that they wouldn't need to hide in small, hidden villages anymore. To find his reason of existence and search the way that would lead him to happiness was something normal for everyone. It was normal for anyone to want to find the reason for their existence and to search for the way that would lead them to true happiness.

He simply couldn't get why it had led him to this misery.

His dreams as a child and his dark aims at this moment as a teenager wavered him. He wavered between his childhood dreams and the dark goals that he now reached for as a teenager. He wanted nothing in his life now but to seek justice for his family even if he needed to take others' and his own life in process, yet his childhood dreams for a better world was still there inside him. Somewhere.

Now he didn't know which side had to overpower the other.

"I..." Kurapika stuttered again. "I... don't know."

"Same goes with me," the reflection said. "I don't know who I am anymore; ever since we parted. Same goes with you, I suppose it's the same for you?"

Kurapika simply looked at the reflection with confusion all over his face.

"Time and fate surely bring changes among humans. Things were being molded according to the destiny that every being has. It sometimes bring convenient things to them. But more often, people forget themselves about how they used to be due to age. Time and fate surely bring change among humans, but humans rarely bring changes into their own time and fate. These humans could do such things once they possess something everyone called 'dreams.' Yes, humans are strong enough to wield the destiny they want to have in life. But no matter how perfect the track will be, there are still chances when we have to waver. But always remember, in the end, the choice is still all yours."

Kurapika just let his own voice wash the anxiety away from him. He never even thought that he could ever hear his own voice say these kinds of words. He simply looked at his smiling face.

"Let's bring changes on our time and fate and look for what we really want, Kurapika," the reflection reached out his right arm with his hand stretched open for Kurapika. "Shall we?"

Seeing himself in such state was somehow nice. He himself knew that he was cold as ice, enough for him to think that it was impossible for his own face to wield that kind of smile, so full of hope and joy. He couldn't help but comply.

Trying to smile back at the reflection, Kurapika reached for the offered hand. As their hands firmly touched each other, Kurapika witnessed how the reflection's smile lessened in its brightness. Then his eyes gradually turned to its normal shade, unlike the empty ones that he showed earlier. From being warm, the contact between their hands slowly turned cold. Behind the reflection was a door. The boy noted how the faint reflection became clearly visible, as a real mirror brought him back to the current time.

The door looked familiar, so he turned his back.

It was the same door from which a man in a suit emerged. It was the same door that he entered for the application for being a bodyguard at Lord Sebastian Cross' manor. He didn't understand - what actually happened? Where was the stained-glass windowed hallway? Where was the altar? Where was the cabinet? Kurapika let his eyes wander around after eyeing the door. Where was he, exactly? He was no longer inside a huge room, but a small one with nothing inside, except for a stained- glass wall in front of the door. Kurapika was standing so close to? a huge mirror that was attached to the wall, surrounded by multi-colored stained-glasses. The different-tinted patches of glass were separated from each other by some weird-looking shapes or symbols, written in black paint. Rays of light were passing through them.

Kurapika looked at the mirror again, nailing his focus on his reflection. He remembered what his 'reflection' had said to him earlier.

'Let's bring changes on our time and fate and look for what we really want.'

So everything was just an illusion. Maybe this wall was holding some nen to hypnotize anyone who would look at it. Maybe that was what this initiation was all about. Maybe he had passed since he had managed to escape from the illusion. Perhaps - this was the end of the test.

The blond ran his way out of the room. The door knob turned, and when Kurapika opened it, the man in the suit greeted him.

"Exactly one and a half hours," the man said while looking at his wristwatch.

"What?" Kurapika blurted out while closing the door at his back, his eyes were on the man's.

"It took you one and a half hours to finish the test," the man smiled then let his hand fall to his side. "I congratulate you for passing the initiation. If you didn't have an organized mind, you'd be in there for days, or weeks, or even longer. Even forever. But you passed."

"So I got the job?"

"Sadly," the man resumed as though he didn't hear Kurapika at all. "One and a half hours was still long. If you were facing an enemy, you would have died in a matter of seconds. My boss only gives every applicant an hour to undergo the test of the Life Mirror. You exceeded the time limit. An applicant who came earlier finished the Mirror in just half an hour. My boss wants to hire only three applicants, and three applicants passed the Mirror in no more than an hour yesterday and this morning. I'm really sorry, young lady. We thank you for your time today."

"Hey - what do you mean? "

"I'm deeply sorry, but you didn't meet the time limit for the test."

"W-wait a second, what's with that?" Kurapika was obviously pissed-off. "You didn't tell me that there was a time limit! And besides, the voice inside there said I can have as much time as I need! Please, sir. Give me another chance."

Sincerity was the only thing Kurapika could see on the man's face. The suited man bowed and said, "I'm really sorry, I'm only taking orders from my boss."

"NO!" Kurapika shouted. He couldn't take it - he had already passed the prestigious Hunter exam. He had mastered nen. He had survived alone in this world for five years at a very young age. He even experienced hell five years ago. He wouldn't take take that he had failed a petty test that he couldn't even fully understand. himself. This was not the time for any epic failure. He wouldn't take this. He couldn't let this thing happen.

"I'm really sorry, young lady, I believe there are tons of better jobs around here that's suitable for you. Please, I don't want to call the security just to pull you out of here. Please, understand."

"NO WAY! Listen to me. I can protect that little girl's life more than my own. I can take good care of her, I can keep her secret as a Kuruta 'til the day I die. I can protect her along with the Kuruta eyes, more than anyone else!"

The old man's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He looked scared and amused at the same time, as he himself witnessed how Kurapika's watery gray eyes turned to a bright, fiery shade of red. The man simply looked at them, dumbfounded.

"I am a Kuruta."

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P.S. The yaoi manga 'Love Stage!' got a character with the same hairdo with Kurapika. It was really explicit. Special thanks to that manga, I can clearly imagine the lemon scenes over Aion-san's 'DAV'. It helped me work more in SD. And I oddly don't know if I should be happy or not.

Don't forget to review!