Well, first things first, I'm going to apologize for that one intro I had where I bitched a bit about my friend and her new boyfriend. That was mostly just the shock and fear of the unfamiliar talking. I don't mean to turn these afore notes into my diary. The purpose of these is basically to interact with you guys, my readers, one on one rather than through my story only. So yes, sometimes I go on rants, but that one was maybe out of line. Forgive me? Still, I hope you guys enjoy these afore notes as much as I do, even if they are just the random ramblings of some girl.
Well then, on with the story!
The ride to the auction is silent. All of us sit, still, save for the rocking of the car. Silva and Zeno sit at the very back of the truck, their presences least noticeable of all. The second we were all seated, I'd sucked in the bits of my aura I'd been releasing. Honestly, it feels odd to let my aura out for so long. Typically, if I stop using Zetsu, it's only for the length of time needed to get someone to notice my existence.
I should have stolen another lollipop. I finished the last one a good thirty minutes ago, and now my mouth is bored. Although I'd prefer some kind of candy, even a mint, or gum would suffice.
Click
One of the men pulls out a lighter, raising it to the cigarette in his mouth. I flinch, but thankfully the person sitting next to the guy scolds him for me.
"Don't smoke in an enclosed space," he chastises. "And why are you smoking before a job, anyway? The smell'll give you away."
Growling, the smoker removes the cigarette from his mouth. "I know, it's a bad habit of mine."
Mr. Smoker is lucky the other guy stopped him. Cigarettes are one of my biggest pet peeves. Cigars aren't much better, but I let that slide back at the hotel because Kurapika wouldn't have been pleased if I'd smashed that suited guy's face in. This guy, even if he is an assassin, would have ended up with worse than a broken nose if he'd lit the thing. He has some nerve to try to smoke this close to me, where the stench would stick to my clothes.
Shortly after, the truck comes to a halt. No one waits for the doors to be opened. Instead, Blue, who's closest to the door, shoves open the door and steps out. We each follow him, hopping down from the truck to the solid ground.
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jean shorts and approach the guys in suits who drove us here. Once again, I release a bit of my aura. "Hey, you two! Where's Kurapika?"
"Was there a girl assassin?" one whispers to his buddy.
The other is kind enough to answer my question. "He's coming a bit later. For now, head inside."
"Wha- That's not fair! He told me we'd meet again when we got to the auction house!"
"Didn't you hear, little girl?" that irritating Blue fellow chortles. "That blonde kid said he didn't have time to play with you!"
"Is that so?" Snarling, I snap out my hand and clench his throat. "Then," I growl, "why don't you play with me for a while?" Before anyone can move to stop me, a loud ring cuts through the tension. Releasing the assassin, I yank my phone out of my pocket and answer it. "Yes, what do you want?"
"The boss has given his orders." I swear, it seems like Shalnark is the only one who ever contacts me.
"They're not orders for me," I point out, "so why're you telling me?"
"Because I can see you from where I am."
I scan the area, not spying the blonde spider. As if he'd be spotted that easily. "So you guys'll be here tonight? Are you stealing more things? What's there left to steal?"
"No," Shalnark corrects. "He told us to go crazy."
A smile twitches at the corners of my lips as I absorb those words. Go crazy. Ah, I wish I had an offensive Nen at a time like this! I mean, even Pakunoda's got her guns. But go crazy...how wonderful! Undoubtedly, every assassin in that truck just now will be dead. Not including the Zoldycks, of course. I'm not included in there either. I'm not actually an assassin at all; I was just hired to pretend to be one for the night.
"In that case…." I suppress a chuckle. "I'll be sure to keep up my defenses tonight."
"One more question," Shalnark rushes before I can hang up. "Do you know if the chain user will be there?"
As he asks, a black car with tinted windows pulls up beside the now empty truck. "If you must know….actually, I can't answer that. I also can't tell you the reason I can't tell you." It would be a violation of the contract Kurapika has me roped into. I can't tell any member of the troupe about him.
After a moment, Shal asks, "Is it the same reason you could barely tell me anything about Uvogin's fight?"
"It might be." I hang up before he can question any more, dashing over to the car where Kurapika is slamming the door. He joins Mr. Nostrade at his side, rushing purposefully towards the auction house. Startled, I jump a step to keep up. "Hey, Kurapika, what's up?"
His gaze shifts over to me, but only for a moment. "Corona, just go join the others."
"No! You said we'd meet again here!" And besides, both of the Zoldycks have already disappeared. The wimps left behind are of no concern of mine. After all, in a few hours they'll all be decaying fodder for flies. If there's anything left of them.
"And now we've met here, so I kept my promise."
"I'm coming whether you like it or not! If you wanted me to listen to whatever you said, you should have made it one of the conditions for your trust!"
He closes his eyes in frustration, no doubt wishing he had indeed made that demand. "You'll be of no help."
"You don't know that, smartypants. How long have you known me? What do you know about my powers? How can you know I won't be able to help?"
Overwhelmed and in a hurry, he sighs. "Fine, you can come."
Not that his consent really changes anything. We're already inside at the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. I'm already coming with. Even so, I grin. As an afterthought, I suck in the remnants of my aura I've let drift. I might as well not get in the way and upset him any further.
Oddly enough, the short elevator ride up with just the three of us is more intense than the truck ride here full of assassins. I study Kurapika's face as we ascend, trying to read it. His poker face is impeccable. I kind of wonder what he went through to create it. Other than his stoic expression, I can't help but marvel at how pretty his face is. He's undeniably a boy, and yet he's prettier than any girl I've met. He leaves me behind in his dust in that regard. Right now his eyes are dark grey, practically black. They're pretty, but I can't stop thinking about the glittering shade of red I saw that night. His eyes can change color….I've come across weirder things, but I'm still curious about this. Maybe it's because his red eyes are so mesmerizing.
We begin our mad dash again as soon as the doors slide open, darting to room 501 and skidding to a stop. I puff my hair out of my eyes as Mr. Nostrade twists the doorknob and barrels into the room. Laying in the bed smack in the middle of the room is a young girl with stark blue hair. Despite what one would think, considering Light Nostrade's panicking, she doesn't seem to be dead. Only asleep.
"She appears to be fine," Kurapika mirrors my thoughts, sliding into a seat and opening a laptop.
I take a seat on the edge of the girl's bed. After staring at the girl for a minute, I ask, "Is anyone gonna explain to me what's happening? Or who this chick is?" When neither of them responds, I recall my Zetsu and groan. It's not like I regret having such a useful ability, but it can be so inconvenient. Although...it's really only inconvenient when I interact with people. I suppose I've been doing that more often lately. It's not like I can help it, though. If I don't start interacting with interesting people, I'm gonna die of boredom. Chrollo's been helpful to alleviate said boredom for the past few years, but once he declared my training was finished, I've had way too much free time. I can't blame him, though. He's tried to keep me satisfied. He lets me accompany the troupe members whenever I want, and lets me take any spoils I want, and sometimes provides me with different puzzles to solve….but still.
Once more, I release a bit of my aura and repeat my questions. "I can't know if or how I can help unless someone tells me what's going on. And who is this chick?"
Kurapika speaks in haste to catch me up, fingers flying at incredible speed across the keyboard. "This is Neon Nostrade. She was brought here accompanying an unknown man who disappeared after she collapsed for unknown reasons."
"I see…" I think for a moment. "Yeah, not much I can do to help you there. I guess I could do a bit exploring and figure out who that man was, if you want." As I say that, I immediately regret that. There's no way he'll turn down that offer, but that means separating. He won't go with me.
"That could be good to know," Kurapika nods. I knew it. I should've held my tongue. But it's not like I can just retract that offer now, after he's already given me permission to go. He did only allow me to tag along since I could be useful somehow, and there's not much I can do in this room.
"You!" Light Nostrade addresses me, rudely jamming a finger in my direction. "If you find that bastard, kill him! As painfully as you can!"
I open my mouth to retort, but Kurapika gives me a warning glance. If I speak out, it'll reflect badly on him since he recommended me. Scowling, I keep my mouth shut as I head over to the door. Before I close the door behind me, I mutter loud enough for Kurapika to hear, "I'll be back soon."
Like hell I'll have followed him around like this to leave him here. And I still don't have his number. I need to get that before we part ways, or who knows when we'll meet next. So...what am I gonna do? I told him I could try to find the mystery guy Neon was with, but how exactly do I go about doing that? That guy could be long gone by now.
….I guess I could check the security cameras. Those can rewind, right? So I can see who the girl was with? Okay, there's a start, but where's the room with all the moniters the security cameras are connected to?
Growling, I scratch my head roughly with both of my hands. I should have thought about this when I was still in the room and asked Mr. Nostrade! If I go back, Kurapika might think I'm incompetent!
As I'm in the midst of regretting, the elevator door dings and opens. The squeak of room service wheels sends relief flowing through my body. The moment the woman steps off the elevator, I yank her aside by her collar.
"You work here, so you should know where all the security footage is. So? Where is it?"
"I….am not allowed to give guests that information, Ms."
"Lucky me, I'm not a guest. But I happen to work for one of the big shots staying in this place, and I'm pretty certain your boss wouldn't like it very much if you upset him! If you wanna stick to your flimsy little rules and incite his anger, by all means, it's your job. Not mine. If you wanna keep this little workplace of yours where you run food to rich money grubbers, though, I suggest you speak up and tell me what I wanna know!"
"I, um…" She glances between my face and my hand, which is still at her throat. "Although I'm not entirely certain….I think it's in the basement. You need a employee key to get down there."
"Oh, then in that case, I'll just borrow yours," I smile, dangling her key in front of her face.
Her hand flies to her skirt pocket. "When did you-"
"Don't take it personally. Not many people have been able to detect me when I'm pickpocketing. Also, you shouldn't take this personally, either." I trade out her key for the pin in my pocket, whipping it out and sticking it in her arm before she can react. She stiffens, then relaxes, her eyes slipping out of focus. "Forget you ever met me. Kapeesh?" When she nods, I jerk out the pin and replace it in my pocket, now alongside the key I need.
Then I leave behind the baffled employee and step into the elevator, waiting for the doors to shut before inserting the key in the keyhole beneath the B button.
I'm going to nitpick my own story, so bear with me for a moment. I think the part where she worries over Kurapika thinking her incompetent is pretty important. She likes being seen as superior, but the fact that she has concern over how a specific person sees her shows that she's started to take him personally. That's how I feel, anyway. I mean, as the author, I could just be reading too much into it and casting whatever meaning I wish onto those words. Words are heavy, though. It saddens me when people throw around words nonchalantly. You should never speak without a decided purpose for your words, and they should be precise to convey exactly what you want. Even if your purpose is to ease the mood, or get someone to laugh, that counts as an acceptable purpose. I just don't like when people throw words around with no regard to the weight that's supposed to be behind them. They render their meaning null and void doing that. I could go on, but I'll conclude with this. I'm sure you guys aren't reading my stories to hear me complain about the world, after all. I'll be sure to update soon.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!