Note: The fluff refused to go away, so there you go. Fluffy beginning. The idea of the phonepic well.. it's kind of silly, but it wouldn't leave my brain so I decided to put it in. Is it weird? Kind of ooc, I think. Oh well. I find it hard to write a proper break between chapters. Over 30,000 words, woo.
Beta-reader: None.
Chapter summary: Kuroro is driving, Kurapica sleeps.

Chapter 13

They drove on through the night, each lost in his own thoughts. And Kuroro had a lot to think about. He still believed – and was even more convinced as the days unfurled with his new recruit becoming more and more communicative – that he had made the right decision. Everyday, his companion was a little less aggressive, everyday a little more vocal. That the first thing he had chosen to say was an utterance of hatred was only proof that they were making progress. If not, there would have been no need to say it at all. They would both know.

No, the reason Kurapica needed to tell his hatred was because he was losing his grip on it. Kuroro flicked his eyes briefly over to his companion. The sun had set and was about to rise again. They had been driving for what seemed an eternity. Kurapica had a sweater rolled into a makeshift pillow, wedged between his head and the car window. His eyes were closed in slumber. The street lights flicked over his youthful face, showing briefly the delicate features, the long lashes and the bruises starting to form under his eyes from lack of proper sleep.

Well, they were in no great hurry other than put some distance between Morinya and themselves, so after the their next stop, they could take it easier. They were reaching the borders and they would soon be safe from the law. For some time in any case. They would be able to take their time and take things easier. They had plenty of time to make it to Ryuuseigai before they met up with the others. Plenty of time to get to know his new recruit and get through his cold demeanour, somehow.

He flicked his eyes over to his slumbering companion again. There was something tugging at his mind, a small possibility that had started to germinate in his thoughts. Kurapica sighed and shifted in his sleep. Kuroro gently pulled over, careful not to wake the blond. He unbuckled his seat-belt and pulled at the sleeves of his coat. It took a bit of work to get the garment off. That done, he pulled out onto the highway again, intent to let the blond settle into a deeper sleep once more. He didn't want to see Kurapica's reaction were he to wake up now. It took some time until he felt confident that the blond was once again deep in sleep. Holding the wheel with one hand, he pulled his coat over the Kuruta. It was a little awkward, but he managed to get the coat up above the boy's shoulders. Satisfied, he went back to his driving, fixing both of his eyes onto the road again. Most of the time, anyway.

As the sun came up again over the horizon, Kuroro pulled over into a rest area off the highway. He needed to stretch his legs for a few minutes. As he turned the key and took it out of the ignition, he glanced over at the Kuruta. He was still sleeping soundly, something that the Spider head found incredible since the boy hardly ever seemed to sleep at all around him. Well, the rest would do him good. The mere fact that he hadn't woken up either time that Kuroro had stopped was proof that he had been tired to the extreme. Kuroro twisted in his seat, peering over the young hunter's shoulder. It was hard to see his face with the fur of his coat in the way but he was satisfied to see that the boy looked more rested than he had since – well, since the first time Kuroro had ever seen him, actually.

He was about to move away, when Kurapica stirred slightly, making him halt his movements for fear of waking the boy. He held still, taking the chance to observe the younger man's face. He had had many occasions to do so before, but never when the boy looked this unguarded. Kurapica stirred again, pulling the coat higher. A soft sigh and he rubbed his cheek against the fur. To say Kuroro was astounded was an understatement. Slowly, ever so slowly, he took out his cellphone. The fake shutter sound was a little too loud for his liking, but Kurapica kept on sleeping. Kuroro straightened back into his seat, trying to decide whether this picture would go in the Ryodan folder he had started years before. It had begun with a picture Shalnark had sent him by mistake, one of Nobunaga passed out drunk in a bathtub. Since then, he found he liked taking the small pictures. He was too good to let his phone fall into the hands of someone else, so he wasn't worried about them getting out. After careful mental deliberation, he made a new folder to save the latest picture in. That done, he opened his door and got out, taking a moment to just stretch before closing it again. He did it as softly as he could, but Kurapica still sat up in alarm. Kuroro walked to the front of the car, looking at the young Hunter from the corner of his eye. The blond blinked, stifled a yawn behind a hand, looked around for a bit, then finally noticed the coat that had now fallen to his lap. He brought it up with something like consternation showing up on his face. Then bewilderment. Finally, he rolled it carefully and set it on the back seat. Kuroro turned away, not wanting to be caught staring at the boy's reaction.

The passenger door opened, closed, and Kurapica made his way towards the front, stopping a relatively reasonable distance from Kuroro. They stood for some time in silence, just content to be upright and to let the blood circulate freely through their legs. Kuroro waited for Kurapica to speak first, wanting to let him initiate the conversation. The minutes trickled away slowly between them. Then, finally, the young Hunter spoke up. "I hate you," he said, by way of good morning.

"I know," Kuroro replied, fighting the urge to have a small, victorious grin. "Good morning." Another moment of silence, where the Spider head waited to see if the Kuruta would speak again.

He did. "Where are we?"

"About an hour from the border into Hamenz." Kuroro turned to face him. "From there, we're going to head north for a while."

"Are we heading for Eresvor, then?" Kurapica was not looking at him, keeping his eyes on the horizon instead. Behind them, the sun was rising above the mountains to the east. To the North of them, hills raised steadily up towards the tallest mountains in the range they had kept to their right since Morinya.

Kuroro pondered on whether or not to answer the Kuruta. He didn't want another run in with the local police force. In spite of himself, he couldn't help but doubt that the debacle in Morinya was pure coincidence. He wanted to believe in his new recruit, and yet... Oh well. Lying would be pointless at this point, anyway. Eresvor was the closest city to the north, sitting across a small body of saltwater. "Yes," he finally answered. "There is another pair of Scarlet Eyes rumoured to be near the city. It's only a relatively small detour, so I believe it's worth looking into." Kurapica nodded, eyes turning north contemplatively. That turned his head away from Kuroro, and the taller man studied the blond thoughtfully. The morning sun played on the golden locks, giving the boy a kind of ethereal quality. It was nearly ridiculous how beautiful the young Kuruta was. Well, that was only going to make things easier for the plan Kuroro was starting to consider. "We'll catch the Newport ferry," he finally specified. "From there, it should take us a few days drive through the wilderness to reach Eresvor. I'm going to avoid public transportation as much as possible. The less we're seen, the better."

"It's more than a small detour, then." Kurapica shrugged as if it didn't matter to him anyway. "It would only take a few hours by dirigible. But I understand the need to be seen as little as possible. The ferry can't be avoided, but we shouldn't take the car on it. It is a stolen car, after all. They could track us with the license plate number." He turned inquisitively towards Kuroro, and the Spider head hid another smile. The boy was making suggestions on their route now. Yes, they were making good progress.

"I was planning to go without the car. They do allow pedestrians, and even rent out small cabins. I doubt our descriptions reached the authorities there. I won't cross the borders with the car, just to make sure. You don't mind a small hike, I hope? If we start soon, we can make it into Hamenz by lunchtime. I need coffee, though. I drove all night, and I'm willing to risk horrible vending machine coffee at this point. Would you like some?"

"No thanks," Kurapica replied, shaking his head a bit. "I do like coffee in the morning, but I can't stand to drink it from a reheated can. I can always have some when we stop for lunch."

"Suit yourself," Kuroro replied with a shrug. He left the blond by the car and headed towards a couple of vending machines that stood by the low building housing the restrooms and a canteen that was presently closed. He put some change in one of the machines, and the press of a button sent a hot can of coffee down into the retrieving slot. Kuroro grabbed it, then bought a second one. He'd have his third at lunch. He made his way back to the car and leaned against the hood. He opened the first can and took a sip. It wasn't the best, but it was drinkable. He sipped at it, enjoying the warmth and waiting for the caffeine to kick in. Kurapica went back to the car and retrieved his book. Rather than sit down to read it, he walked to the back of the car, leaning against the trunk. Kuroro threw a glance back at him, then went back to his coffee.

The highway was quiet; a few cars drove past the rest area but none pulled in. Kuroro surveyed the area, mentally preparing the hike he was going to take them on so that they could cross the borders without being noticed. He popped the second can open. The easiest way would be to follow the highway, but there would be a high risk that they would be noticed. It would be better to hike through the wooded hills at the foot of the mountains. They could avoid checkpoints and slip into Hamenz unnoticed. So long as they skirted the swamps on the other side, they would be fine. Actually, the swamps would be a very good place to drop the stolen vehicle. He was going to carry it in his Fun Fun Cloth until then. There was a small village nearby. He could go in and buy a car there to drive to Newport. That would mean interacting with some people, but it was better to buy a car than drive a stolen vehicle. The country they were going to be driving through was more heavily populated and had more patrols than the one they were leaving.

His plan made, he finished his canned coffee and chucked the can aside. He walked around the car to the back door on the passenger side of the vehicle. He retrieved his coat, knowing he would need it as they were making their way into cooler regions. Then he made his way to the Kuruta. The blond looked up from his book, impassively watching Kuroro walk up to him. The taller man stopped an arm's length away. "Ready?" he asked.

The blond nodded and put a marker in between the pages of his book. "Yes, I'm ready." He stood aside and Kuroro summoned his Skill Hunter book, and from it, his Fun Fun Cloth. The car and Kurapica's book safely put away, he let the heavy Nen volume fall shut, and it vanished.

"Let's go, then." He started walking north-west, up into the low hills. Kurapica followed. They walked in silence, Kuroro leading them deeper and deeper into the woods until he felt confident that they were well out of view. They stopped mid-morning for a light breakfast of bread and cheese, before veering west towards the ocean. When they could see the water glittering between the trees in front of them, they turned northward and hiked for a few more hours. At this point, they had crossed borders and were heading towards the marshlands that made up the south-most countryside of Hamenz. Here, the air was cooler, and Kuroro was glad for his coat. He got a jacket out of the Fun Fun cloth for Kurapica to wear. The blond accepted it wordlessly and put it on. Kuroro abandoned the car.

They trudged on, walking towards the north-west again so as to avoid the worst of the bogs. Soon, they could see houses peeking through the trees. They had reached a small fishing village by the sea. There, finally, they stopped to eat lunch. By then, it was already mid-afternoon. Kuroro, satisfied that they were far enough away from Morinya to rest a little, decided that they would spend the night. He found a small inn and rented a room. Exhausted, they showered, Kuroro going first. Once Kurapica was in the bathroom, he lied down on one of the beds for a nap. He heard the water turn on in the shower as he closed his eyes. Soon, he let himself go into a light sleep, knowing full well that any unexpected sound from the blond would wake him up instantly. He was conscious of Kurapica getting out of the shower and then back into the room a short while later. He heard him settle down on the other bed. After that, all he heard was the sounds of the pages turning as the blond read in silence.