Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Hunter X Hunter rights belong to Togashi. Did you know that Gon is angry?
Info: Kurapika is helpless, without help, and completely at the mercy of a cult of personality. There will be themes of rape and abuse in this chapter, but nothing too graphic.
Rubrum Oculus Aranea: XXI Painting The Town
"W-Why did you stab me like that?"
Were the first words spoken by a very injured Kurta who was resting in the head priestess' room in this temple after being removed from the box he came here in. His last memories had someone from the spiders giving him a nice slice across his chest adding to the many wounds covering his body. His eyes quickly darted around trying to understand how he ended up a different location than on the ferry boat he was traveling on a few days ago. His mind knew why he needed to come here, but his body was still unsure how the previous events led him into this place in a helpless state.
"W-Where the hell I am?"
His first minutes of waking up were trying to figure out why he was laying on a well-prepared futon. The scent of fresh mint entered his nose as he began to adjust to the brightness of this room. The candles were freshly lit up for Tsubaki's guest, the water next to him was meant to revive him, and the covers around his body managed to keep his body warm in the cold air surrounding the temple. The months in fall usually brought about a colder atmosphere in the environment, which also resulted in a change in the rest of the year as everyone focused on the upcoming holidays.
Kurapika tried getting up, the limbs in his body had other ideas leaving him stuck in his current position until he could rest longer. He knew that whoever was here likely had a sinister purpose for keeping the last Kurta here, but he couldn't complain about the room service they provided for him.
'Could this room belong to a girl?' He figured the layout of the wallpaper and different candles might suggest this place belonging to a female then again he wasn't sure who else in this place including himself at the moment. He also noticed there were several different kinds of balls that were scattered across the room, which matched the color scheme of this place of mainly orange with hints of blue and yellow.
"He must awaken soon...do you think we should bind him down?"
"Nonsense, the task we had been given was to stand by until Lady Tsubaki arrives. We shouldn't need to keep him tied up since he won't be able to leave on his own anyways."
Turns out he should be trying to get the hell out of here after all, not stick around to find out the kind of person his host, Tsubaki is when she arrives to meet him. He tried remaining as quiet as possible, his arms tried climbing out of his bedding so that he could sneak out when the guards were not focused on him. Inching closer to the paper thin doorway he heard the guards outside move away, which gave him the opportunity to escape as slowly as he could in his current state.
"I'm going for a piss you coming already?"
"Wait up we have to be quick in case Lady Tsubaki gets here before we come back!"
'Perfect timing for a duo of guards who deserve a low payment.' Smirking at his own humor Kurapika pulled back the door to find no one around, so he began to inch along the wooden floor hoping to not make a lot of sound-he couldn't get caught in an unknown area with no way of defending himself from his kidnappers. All he knew was the Phantom Troupe was going to suffer even more the minute he comes across them again. The catch was he needed to find a way out of this temple, and he didn't know how he would even get away from here besides some kind of vehicle.
'I can't stop...don't get caught Kurapika.'
He didn't want to have to kill anyone here, but if they began to attack him then he would have no other choice if it meant surviving past tonight. Using all of the strength he could muster he noticed the different torches burning that make light around the hallway he was inching through with his hands. His head was dripping with sweat, his sheer will allowed him to get this far away, the legs were struggling to keep moving, and he knew it was only a matter of time before someone figured out he left the room.
'Okay so far so good now where should I go next?' He came to a fork in the path he was going down, the split of two different ways meant he would need to pick a way to continue through. Choosing the left path he was able to see the outside portion of the temple, and luck smiled down on him again since the guards were off patrolling another portion of the temple at the moment. Holding onto the wall he was able to slowly regain his footing allowing him to rise back onto his feet, but they felt rather heavy and he could barely put pressure on them before he nearly collapsed in pain.
"Hmm, where are those two idiots guarding that new little piggy? Don't tell me they abandoned their post again?!" Darting his eyes back from where he came from he knew that he needed to get out of this place, the limbs on his body slowly limped along as he figured the best way out was simply going over the wall surrounding the temple. It certainly was a dangerous idea, but he couldn't think of a better option in his crisis that was only getting worse by the second.
"What in the hell happened to that boy!?" His senses kicked into high gear as he heard loud footsteps ring through the cult's temple. He tried getting to the wall, but a girl suddenly called out to him.
"You there! Stop!" He saw the pink haired priestess call out to him, so he ignored her reply and tried climbing up the huge wall in front of him. His hands couldn't latch onto the wall as he was scratching the bricks in order to find his footing, and hoping the girl behind him didn't try grabbing onto his leg. Sure enough, the young priestess was holding his leg attempting to stop his escape.
"You mustn't strain your body, Kurta. Lady Tsubaki has put much care into helping you recover!" He wondered then why were they trying to keep him here, and how they knew about him being a Kurta. No, he refused to stick around and find out while he struggled to shake off the grip the female priestess had on him. Unfortunately, his body was unable to climb onto another brick making him fall down on top of Izumi. He didn't realize how far he climbed until he saw the pink-haired girl behind him remained motionless, which let him get away from her as he was now desperate to get out of this place.
"There he is after him!" His eyes grew red in color, his hands projected out his chains, and he was prepared to fight them all until his last breath. Suddenly the crowd standing in front of Kurapika dispersed revealing the head of their cult. Despite her blurred vision, she could see the shimmer of the scarlet eyes on Kurapika's face, a glare of crimson that made her blush with joy. Finally, her cult's work shall pay off with Kurapika now being in their clutches.
"Izumi, take the boy back into my chambers. Everyone else go and find those two fools and cut off their fingers. I refused to allow more disobedience for my orders." She spoke with a sigh watching the other cultists give Kurapika several different punches to keep him down while her assistant moved back to her room with the special guest of Omekata. Although he was a bloody, broken, and beaten young man she was looking forward to learning more about him.
"Poor thing at the very least I get to make you feel better."
Kurapika once more had been put int Tsubaki's only, the difference was he couldn't get out of the cuffs keeping his arms stuck to the futon he was laying on once again. This time he awoke to find Tsubaki waiting for him, reading something from a scroll as she was sitting on a small chair. It was the tale of a legendary treasure of value beyond the scope of man, hidden away in a land undiscovered by mankind, and only those gifted with the special light could find it. Kurapika was considered their special gift from "god" leaving them with the key to unlocking their own salvation.
"Forgive me for not explaining things to you properly earlier. Those fools are being punished as I speak for their ignorance." Her calm tone started Kurapika who remained unaware of the two cultists being punished by having their limbs removed while they were awake. Smiling at his reaction she gave a small bow to introduce herself properly.
"Greetings, I am Tsubaki Kasugano. Welcome dear Kurta into the holy temple of the Omekata Society."
"Society?" He wasn't sure if she was being honest considering how happy she looked about kidnapping him, so he decided to remain calm and be nice in return.
"I'm Kurapika Kurta..." Now tell me what possessed you to just abduct me all of a sudden is what he wanted to say instead of that.
"Hmm, such a nice name that makes you have the same letter initials for your first and last name. Do you mind if I call you K.K? Oh, I shouldn't be rude after all you're my guest here a very special one at that!" He knew that he would have to sweet talk her in order to get out of this place since he realized charging head-on past security would be impossible at this point.
"That being said I find it strange you were considered dead months ago, but only thanks to the Phantom Troupe you were brought here as a peace offering for us."
"Peace offering?"
"Indeed, the spiders have been a problem since they refused to sell the Scarlet Eyes that belonged to your fallen clansmen to us. We've been considering stealing them ourselves, and yet they inexplicably brought you here in a nice wooden box...seems rather sudden and strange." She told him while approaching his bedside to continue the negotiation process.
"They kept me as their hostage by threatening the lives of my comrades...I wouldn't stay with them if I had any choice in the matter." It was the truth, but he couldn't be sure if he remained by them during the last few weeks because of the commandments on himself or by his own will.
"I'm sure you glad to be away from such a band of murderous crooks...don't worry I will not harm you, Kurapika." She got closer to him to whisper that near his ear. He tried back away, the time he spent with Zazan of the chimera ants made him feel uneasy around females who did this kind of stuff. She gasped by his concerned expression, and yet part of herself wanting to go further despite his fearful eyes.
"Don't worry the others will not bother you until the ritual is ready, a lucky break for us since we can talk with each other like this." She was glad he couldn't escape from his binding on the futon, Tsubaki wondered if she needed to light a few more candles in the room- a simple gesture, to make Kurapika feel more relaxed to make things easier for her plans.
"Do you mind if I ask you something more personal? Have you ever...consider exploring the full scope of a woman." He tried his best to push her away while growling in angry, his eyes began to shimmer as they were in sync with his emotions. Sighing she gave a playful slap to his cheek trying to calm him down with a friendly giggle. The blonde remained hostile towards his host frowning at her high-pitched laughter. She curled some of her hair around while she tried to find the best way of making him easier to communicate with she missed having such a companion.
"Forgive me I guess after what I've been through you must still be pure when it comes to such matters. That makes curious however to know what sins you've committed in your short life, Kurapika." Or rather what sins haven't you committed she wanted to say, but she merely brought a small bowl of water to Kurapika while she waited for his answer. He wasn't sure if he should drink whatever she was offering, so he decided to keep talking to keep that liquid out of his mouth.
"I have claimed a few lives, committed crimes, and lied to people just to save my own skin. Honestly, I'm not sure how this foolish boy got this far without being killed, the only reason I can assume is because of the promises I've made to those who matter to me that are both my friends and enemies." His vow to reunite with Gon, Leorio, and Killua along with killing the Phantom Troupe kept him from taking his own life during the first days in this deal he made with that devil in black leather.
"Why did you bring me here exactly? Revenge against the spiders or do you want to take my eyes like others in the black market?" He asked her while staring at her face, he wondered if she would break and admit the truth or hide behind a lie. She gave a little bit of both in order to keep the surviving Kurta reeled in.
"We do require your help, so that we may finally uncover the fabled treasure hidden away on that dark continent that is mostly unexplored by mankind."
"You know about that as well?" He was certain now that if this legend was spread across this world then it might actually be a real thing. Nodding she brought up the bowl to his lips, but he slowly shook his head wanting to get some more answers not drink that stuff she was offering.
"We can't be sure if it really does exist, but all of the scrolls we've uncovered about that place suggest that is the case. It also seems rather convenient the key to uncovering the truth lies in those special eyes like you possess in your skull dear Kurta."
"...Then you do want to rip out my eyes, bitch." He could feel the strings in his head beginning to untangle as he was no longer in the mood to play nice with his kidnappers. His comment got a hiss out of Tsubaki along with a harsher slap onto his cheek leaving it slightly red and bruised.
"You're like everyone else in the end just harvesting us for these damn eyeballs!"
"I can't even see you that well with this light, but rest assured that is not going to happen if you behave." She hoped they wouldn't be too rough with him during the ceremony, the sake of their cult's years of work depended on Kurapika's cooperation. With a tap, she brought over one of her many small balls in the room, but this one had a red eye design on the top, which resembled the eyes of the Kurta clan. Playing with it a little she had a gentle smile while continue to warm up Kurapika to the idea of helping her cult.
"There are many secrets in that dark land, and I'm sure you want to uncover them just as badly as we do, Kurapika."
"I will admit that those secrets have gotten me interested in visited that land, so why don't you just let me go and I'll go there on my own terms." He wouldn't be swayed by her charm, the following response was her grabbing his nose and holding it long enough for him to breathe through his mouth. He would soon be rendered unable to stop the sleeping medicine from entering his body without losing his ability to breathe.
"This is how it started for me, you know?" She placed herself on Kurapika's chest, feeling him to express the last moments before she lost her purity to the very cult she now obeys without question. "I begged, pleaded, and demanded mercy however they continued to defile both my mind and body until I gave into their sinful desires." The cuts that scarred her young, pale skin would never leave along with the memories of those first nights. She had a better vision of the men driving themselves into her, her mind could remember their faces, tongues, and groans of pleasure come at her expense.
"You're lucky these eyes of yours have some use, left, unlike mine..." With that Kurapika struggled in vain to remain conscious leaving him at the mercy of Tsubaki. She was considering doing something she was used to while he couldn't say or do anything, but a voice in her head told her that it might be too much so she simply removed his clothing to prepare him for the holy cleansing.
Everyone gathered in the main room with several lit candles in their hands, chanting the same thing in a loud chorus while Kurapika is led into the room on a white bed being held on several wooden poles. Tsubaki lied in the center in a white outfit to keep herself as the "pure" oracle; Kurapika was now in a black Haori outfit in contrast to Tsubaki's clothing. Being put in the circle that was filled with candles burning each of the cultists sat down in a formal position ready to begin things.
"Gentlemen, it has been such a long time since we've all been together in this place having our greatest dream within our grasp. Long have we worked to reach this point, but finally our moment has come! With the aid of our precious sacrifice, we shall be blessed with the keys to a wonderful new kingdom!" Pointing at the unconscious blonde each of the men began to drop red ink marks onto his body. The liquid came down onto his arms, legs, feet, chest, and finally onto his forehead leaving the finishing touches in the hands of Tsubaki.
"To receive the treasure of old one must possess the sight of the scarlet eyes. Now, I shall claim this pair as my own along with the others in our possession. They shall grant us the gift hidden on that unexplored world, and then we shall create our new paradise!" Grinning in triumph she awoke the boy with a bottle of special perfume that she sprayed over herself. The other cultists were ready to remove their eyes to inherit the other scarlet eyes while Tsubaki was desiring her own way to recreate the Kurta clan.
"Wake up my precious Kurapika the time has finally come for you to be enlightened!" His first moment of being awakened out of his slumber was Tsubaki laying a kiss down on his cheeks. Instinct took over as he struggling with Tsubaki to break free of her grip, which resulted in him punching her in the face. Once he realized what was going on much to the shock of everyone chanting the same thing in the room Kurapika didn't hold back anything.
"Get the hell away from me, perverted bitch!" Tsubaki retaliated by scratching him on the cheek, hissing out her disgust for how he was not cooperating with the sacred ritual. He was considering jumping down off this bed, the cultists glaring at him with a few sharp objects in their hands gave him hesitation. Turning around he saw the oracle began to remove her kimono revealing a lacy bra and silky panties, but he took notice of the scars across her body along with bite marks on her legs.
"Don't ruin this for me! I've become adjusted to this for years, but you need to accept me by the end of tonight or your eyes will come right out of your skull!" The realization sunk into Kurapika about what might have occurred with Tsubaki and this cult, which made him feel slightly guilty about hurting her a moment ago until he remembered her trying to feel him up when he woke up.
"You're crazy if you think I'm going to have sex with you, and why the here are all these people here!"
"You're in the center of the Omekata Society's temple, the reason my followers are here is to serve as witnesses to this sacred ritual. Either you comply with our wish to help us reach the holy grail or we shall take both your precious seed and eyes for ourselves. The choice is yours, Kurapika." They are all insane, a bunch of screwed-up cultists who were trying to abuse him for his genes and eyes. Suddenly he began to see there was evil in this world that didn't involve the Phantom Troupe between the chimera ants and people like this.
'I might have lost the right to be morally correct, but I refuse to let these bastards get away with abusing the legacy of the Kurta!' That said he needed to get out of the cuffs locking him into this futon while dealing with the angry mob of cultists ready to cut and slice him open like a pig. Tsubaki was grabbing hold of a sharp needle in preparation for this rebellious attitude, sending a few stabs into the back of the Kurta.
"We'll need to do this the hard way then, Izumi!" She hissed while licking the blood dripping from the backside of Kurapika enjoying the taste of his crimson liquid. Her handmaiden brought a towel for her to clean up the mess the created which Tsubaki accepted. While this was going on she was completely oblivious to the unseen threat approaching her and her cult that already infiltrated their temple, the very threat that sent Kurapika into their clutches in the first place.
"Operation: Trojan Horse is successful." Shalnark got a bump in his head from Feitan while the first team made their way inside of the temple since mostly everyone was stuck in the same room. Led by Nobunaga they would remove the rest of the hostiles, but the samurai, in particular, wanted the head of the Divine Blade on a silver platter not caring about what might happen to Kurapika. Pakunoda sighed as she knew how thick-headed Nobunaga could be around the Kurta, the fact was it was Kurapika who agreed to infiltrate this cult by having his memories erased.
"He must feel so afraid being used as a spy without even being able to remember his role here despite agreeing to it. I think we should make it up to him, Paku." Shalnark wondered how he must be doing in the heart of this cult, and the fact they could possibly pluck out his eyes if he didn't cooperate with their insane demands. They certainly knew the boy had killed one their own, but they couldn't let him die in this kind of place.
"The first team already is on the move, so we should gather the scarlet eyes and everything else of value in this temple before all hell breaks loose as usual. Machi, Shizuku, Shalnark and Kalluto you're all with me."
Their mission objective was clear as the spiders dispersed throughout the temple's hallways. Meanwhile in the area where the scrolls containing information on the dark continent was Jikoku who was killing some of the cultists out of sheer boredom, his decision to help out this group during their "ritual" was turning out to be a bad one in his mind. He just wanted to get his hands on that boy in order to get a small amount of retribution for his fallen comrades; blood vengeance would do even if the circumstances didn't much up for it.
"I have to maintain the reputation of our group since the leader is now working with that Hunter Association. At the very least we're gonna be the survivor of this ordeal with those freaky ants." His thoughts were broken up when he heard a loud scream next to the room he was sitting in, which he wasn't the cause of from his sword and he couldn't have anyone else steal his fun. Walking out he saw much more carnage than he expected, the hallways were littered with dead bodies belonging to the cultists who stayed behind on watch. Nothing but streaks of red entered his vision as Jikoku drew out his weapon in preparation for this intruder to show him/herself.
"Who the hell could have done this?" Even for a well-known murderer like himself he never encountered such a sight like this often in his line of work. Then he began to remember there was a group who usually had this trail of bodies left behind in their wake, the group he thought would show up tonight to create some mayhem while likely coming for the scarlet eyes. He grinned in satisfaction knowing they would at least relieve his boredom completely unaware of the figure walking closer to him from the shadows.
"You must be one of the Divine Blades, and I doubt any of these cultists possesses any kind of nen-ability involving lightning."
"Nobunaga, the wanna-be samurai of a group of thugs. You couldn't even beat the old man or the newbie in the Divine Blades. So, what do you think you can accomplish besides getting turned into a crispy corpse that is..." Instead of getting a response Nobunaga simply drew out his weapon despite Franklin warning him to just leave him alone for now.
"Piss off, Franky! This is my fight and if you want to go join the others be my guest. If I don't come back then I shouldn't even be considered a spider to the Boss anymore..." His pride was fueling himself into taking on this challenge on his own, and Franklin knew he couldn't get through to the samurai when he was like this.
"Nobu, don't die you crazy son of a bitch!"
"Tch, are you mocking me, Franky?!" He drew out his sword feeling like proving his critics wrong by delivering the head of a Divine Blade to his fellow criminals. Jikoku simply laughed not feeling threatened by this man's words. He thought this samurai was nothing than a fool who deluded himself into believing he could be a true warrior of the sword. In other words, he was another person who looked down on Nobunaga, which didn't surprise the spider at this point being used to such ridicule over the years.
"Tell you to want I will make things interesting for you by not using my nen ability. At least you can feel some amount of confidence in facing a normal man in battle and not a superior samurai of the Divine Blades!"
"Are you done with your diarrhea of the mouth? I'm not bragging about being a Phantom Troupe member or someone who's killed many people over the years...right at this moment you're looking at someone who will become something greater than he was before today." Metal clashed with metal as both combatants started off with each other to continue a long tradition of man that's been passed down for years, the art of killing.
The other team of spiders began to rob the place for everything with value since their deal with the cult has been broken, which had been in fact part of the plan. Chrollo knew this cult would either steal Kurapika's eyes or turn him into a victim like they've done with their own priestess. Pakunoda knew the cult would attempt their scheme tonight, so they figured to attack when they least expected this double cross from the spiders. As Shizuku and Shalnark were bagging all of the valuable items Machi was busy torturing a pool man in order to learn where the rest of the cult was in the temple.
"Like I would betray my comrades for my own lifeeeee!" A loud scream was made with a simple tug on nen-strings by Machi, her hand quickly adding pressure onto his arm wrapped up in her strings. Her methods didn't involve cutting up someone like Feitan, but in the end, they usually would start singing like a bird. The oldest woman in the room wanted to know why she couldn't just read his mind to find the answers, but Machi apparently felt like getting in some work as she felt like she was a bit rusty in this field.
"You can remove my limbs until I'm just a torso there is no way I will betray Lady Tsubaki! Besides you're too late in trying to stop our sacred ritual! Soon, that boy will deliver us to paradi-" He suddenly felt his throat get squeezed by her strings nearly being choked to death except Machi still needed him to live long enough for Pakunoda to suck out his memories. While he was helpless Shizuku asked about how Kurapika was doing since his captured by the Omekata group, her increasing interest in his well-being didn't go unnoticed by the other members of the brigade.
"You worried about your "boyfriend", Shizuku?"
"Shalnark, don't mess with her like that. Matters of love are pretty serious considering the kind of people we are to the public. Many things we don't have the heart to really care about anything even ourselves." Hearing Machi verbally stick up for Shizuku like that surprised both Pakunoda and Shalnark never seeing the normally cold girl speak with such passion in her tone. The pink-haired girl merely lets Pakunonda's mind-reading skills get to work as she quickly executed the man once she was finished. They doubted the world would miss a man who lost himself in a group of mindless followers.
"That's the last of the eyes. I can't believe this place doesn't have any kind of real security. No wonder they needed to hire those nen-users as bodyguards." It was a good plan to have extra security besides the Divine Blade, and yet the two men who failed to become hunters only ended up becoming puppets of Machi and Shalnark during their assault on the guards in this room.
"They are in the underground complex. Apparently, there is a secret pathway through the main temple hidden under a statue with a switch on the bottom of a boar." Seeing through his eyes she also recalled Kurapika being unconscious while the other cultists strapped him into the futon. Shizuku knew they were doing something very wrong if what Pakunoda said was currently happening to him.
"They won't rip those eyeballs out just yet, but the fact this group brought so many of the eyes here could mean they intend to insert them in their own skulls Still, if they want to use the eyes to find this treasure on the dark continent then Kurapika has become a lot more valuable to us." Being a hunter himself Shalnark was aware of what it means for them all to reveal themselves like this, the dangers in the future would become far more difficult to face. All the more reason for them to reunite with their leader sooner rather than later.
On the other end of the place, Feitan was making quick work out of some nen-created ninja who was in his way. He was in the middle of a small game with Bonolenov to see who could get the most kills in one night, but also it provided a good way to converse with one another about the current state of the spider. Being a blood knight himself the warrior of the Gyudondond Tribe knew that Kurapika's mental state was slowly corrupting his nature, which could what Chrollo expected to occur when he inducted the boy into their ranks.
"Will he become like us or perhaps Kurapika will hold onto those morals if his? I can't be certain of the outcome, Feitan." The bandaged man spoke while crushing the skull of the clay-like head belonging to a black-clad shinobi. Despite the enemy not being a real person, it's fake teeth flew out of the mouth under the might of Bonolenov's boxing glove as the body collapsed onto the floor.
"Who cares about that emotional dead weight of ours? I'm more concerned about Boss trying to become an official hunter. I mean it isn't like Shalnark does anything with that job of his anyways, but the fact Hisoka is manipulating our leader into following his rules is pissing me off. He should know better than to believe in that perverted clownish traitor!" It had to be some kind of trick being pulled by the magician on the head spider, the game of chess between them now involved many people in this world in order to create their long-awaited battle. It only made sense the thieves and hunters were simply pieces on this board to be moved around by the main players.
"He will be fine with those hunters even Kurapika's friends can't do much to him. Despite the fact, hunters would love to see us all dead right now they're dealing with a "bigger fish" as the media puts it. It seems like everyone is going about those chimera beasts these days almost as if we've been forgotten by the world." Technically that is the case for a bunch of "dead men" that only now resurfaced with Chrollo beginning to go through the Hunter Exams despite the fact all of the other entrants wanted to kill him for just being there.
"I still don't like it Bonolenov. All of this happened simply because we couldn't kill that one last Kurta child, the fact he bought into Neon's ability to predict possible outcomes in the future, and those stupid eyeballs we sold just for basic supplies along with getting those pricks off our backs." Feitan knew the men who paid for the extermination of the Kurta clan were much higher up on the food chain than other criminal kingpins like the Ten Dons. Their marching order likely meant they were simply being used as pieces in someone else's game but back then the Phantom Troupe were simply small time.
"#Eyegate."
"I beg your pardon, Feitan?"
"Eyegate, a news media term or rather what the papers will be calling this incident once it leaks out to the press. In a strange way, I always enjoy reading the headlines whenever we make the front page." That and hearing about the world acknowledging his rise in fame or rather infamy helped boost his ego. That's also why when he managed to kill the man controlling the clay ninja he considered that winning the game since "he killed more people" by which he meant an actual person. Looking at their carnage they knew it would only get worse from here...for this cult.
"You call yourself a warrior of the sword! This farce of a battle is boring me to death, so that means you don't have long to live." Nobunaga was on the receiving end of such taunting for once, his body was already limping from using all strength available to hold himself up with the battle scars already visible on his limbs. Pure adrenaline was keeping him from passing out due to the pressure, nervousness, and anxiety he was feeling. His next attack was quickly blocked by Jikoku who began to zap the man with his Transmutation skill.
"My ability is certainly nothing like that Killua boy though, in the end, I don't really need your body to be in perfect condition."
"You're right about one thing, the electricity here is pretty many fireworks compared to that Zoldyck's work. Nobunaga's mouth got him more zaps of lightning that made his eyes roll back into his skull. The Divine Blade enjoyed toying with his prey much like Nobunaga making him a dangerous opponent for the spider. Looking down at his weakened foe he couldn't help but get pleasure from this experience. His dream of becoming a name known across the world could be a reality once he kills one of the most wanted criminals that everyone thought were impossible to capture let alone murder.
"This. Certainly. Feels. Like. A. Disappointment. To. You. Right?" Each line came with a jab-filled with lightning that seemed like Jikoku's way of tazing Nobunaga. Sighing he simply sliced Nobunaga's chest when he tried slashing back in retaliation. As the blonde considered just ending this fight Nobunaga knew that his chosen enemy during this raid was making a small mistake. Taking his other hand he put it on his wounded arm to will himself into trying for another attack despite the sparks of electricity running up his spine from hitting Jikoku's weapon.
"This is all you can do, Nobu? I'm aware of you little trick with En, but that won't do much if your body is numbed out by my nen-ability. Your precious IaidÅ couldn't even scratch the other blades, so what in the hell were you thinking by taking me on exactly?"
"You're exactly like me...we both don't know when to shut up. I guess that's why you will be the one I get to kill out of the rest of your pals." A frown formed on the hired bodyguard's face as he moved into to chop off his head, but Nobunaga deflected the strike even with his body getting shocked once more. Several more killing blows were blocked getting the blonde swordsmen upset by this defiance. His steel couldn't cut through Nobunaga's sword, and suddenly he felt a slash across his own left arm.
"How dare you fight back, weakling!" His angry resulted in the room being lit up with his charges of lighting-enhanced attacks that burned Nobunaga's body leaving him in a bruised, battered, but still standing body. Now, Jikoku was on the receiving end of attacks that began to damage his left arm while his sword-using arm remained unharmed by this second wind of Nobunaga. Both men knew they didn't have much left in the tank due to the voltages being discharged out of the bodyguard, and Nobunaga's attacks managing to harm his foe.
"You stupid bastard just give up already! You don't have anything to prove to me or everyone else, they won't forget you exist when you do so why struggle at all?!"
"No, you don't get do you, samurai? They will forget me even with all the crimes and people I've killed with this sword. The man you're mocking isn't a Chrollo Lucifer, a Hisoka, and for damn sure not a chimera ant! That is why I will kill you tonight because when it comes to being the world's greatest swordsmen...that is a goal that I will achieve with your death!" Suddenly blood began to come out of Jikoku's chest as the defiant criminal's sword finally punctured his chest, as he was left shocked by this sudden turn of events in their life or death battle. How dare this mere thief degrade his image, his status, and pride as one of the world's deadliest swordsmen.
"Burn to a crisp you worthless piece of crap! Die! Die! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Sending out every burst of Transmutation throughout the now broken beyond repair "healing" shine he began to unleash attack after attack, his movements seemed endless as he wouldn't stop until Nobunaga wasn't breathing anymore. The yellow irises were filled with savage youth that was powerful and yet untrained in controlling such a fury that he was unleashing on the enemy. In the heat of the moment he remained unaware of how much sweat his body was covered in until Nobunaga seized the moment of swiping enough liquid off his body to put onto his blade, which was followed up with a stab right to his leg, but in the process sending all of that spent electricity into Jikoku's body.
"God damn it! You moth-" He could barely speak since his own nen was now harming his body instead of being used to burn more of Nobunaga's body which looked like second-degree burns covering his chest and arms. Weaken, but not dead the more experienced warrior took hold of Jikoku's sword while he was trying to remove Nobunaga's weapon quickly stabbing him right in the middle of his body. Both men were on the verge of collapsing onto the floor, but one of them would only fall when they were truly near death...which was Jikoku, not Nobunaga.
"Right in the middle of my rise to glory...you bastard! This will not be the end of the great Jikoku...not until you're dead alongside me, spider!" Despite his words, the most he could do was send out more lighting since his body was also unable to move becoming numb like his adversary. His body was closer to the edge of death, and with a gasp he saw every moment in his life pass before his eyes knowing that his sensei and leader of the Divine Blades would be disappointed in his fall, the thought of dishonoring his mentor was worse than dying by the ends of "scum" like Nobunaga.
"You really are like me, but that is your weakness...the only reason you've survived this long is because you value strength and nothing else. There are places, people, and things I want to do even in my old age before this crazy bastard kicks the bucket," He coughed out some blood with his injuries beginning to catch up to him while he continued with his small speech to his nearly dead opponent.
"Being a samurai is a major role in one's life, but there are other things that should matter besides strength. Funny; a killer like me speaking about such humane ideas...guess that brat is starting to get to me after all." He hated the idea of becoming soft like he was, but then again he remembered his first time meeting Uvogin and how he didn't get along with the man he considered his one true friend. Despite Kurapika being the one who took away his comrade...he knew that his life was important to the Phantom Troupe meaning that he couldn't let him get killed here.
"You brat...I can't believe you've gotten me to care about your well being. Oh hell! This isn't much but at least you won't have to worry about this arrogant prick getting your way Boss..." His last moment of sight before darkness covers his vision was the sound of footsteps closing in...
In the underground section of the temple, Kurapika was struggling to keep his virginity from the head priestess of the cult who tried to seize control of everything belonging to the Kurta clan still left in the world. Her nearly clouded eyes saw the object of her obsession with power try to hold her away from him despite being unable to move from the bed.
"Why can't you just do this for me? I'll let you see your friends again, you will be free of the Phantom Troupe's cruelty, and most of all you can have your wonderful clan reborn through me!" She couldn't understand the reason he was struggling...why was he fighting back like she did when they first began to molest her...
"Why are you acting like...me?!" Her voice came out with a sob filled with guilt.
"Lady Tsubaki, we don't have all night so finish this ceremony."
"Izumi, do you really believe this is the only way to reach our salvation?"
"What are you talking about milady? This boy refused to cooperate with us so he must be forced into acceptance!"
'Forced? Is that did was done to her?' Kurapika took notice of the scars covering her body as he began to realize the awful truth about the cult's oracle. His blood was beginning to boil over as his rage was building while looking at the perverted bastards looking at the Kurta.
"If she won't do it then we should like should have with those pretty boys and girls! His eyes would look beautiful to watch while we break him in too!"
"No this is all wrong...he doesn't want this...I don't want this to happen either!" Her mortality managed to come back to Tsubaki, her hands quickly untied Kurapika from the bed unaware of the bald cultist moving up behind her until she felt a knife enter her back. Izumi suddenly ordered the men to hold him down while she began to undress.
"She has been fooled by that brat! I will complete the ritual in her place instead, so keep him down on that bed! That boy is dangerous; just be looking at him now I see a serial-killer in the form of an innocent child. We will need to gather his and just kill him since there is no way we can "tame" him like with Lady Tsubaki." The assistant decreed to everyone unaware of the blood pouring out of the man who stabbed Tsubaki until Kurapika slowly got up off the bed. The crimson liquid clashed with the white sheets he was standing on while he began to laugh.
"Alright, boys and girls! I think we should begin painting the town red!" The shine of the scarlet eyes was revealed in the light made off the torches in the underground area, which meant Kurapika was ready to begin his own attack on the cult who tried to make him their slave...like with Tsubaki before him. His morality unlike with her won't hold him back from killing as many people as he could with his bare hands.
Afterwords: Another cliffhanger, but I couldn't get everything done in this chapter as I need to get back to my KH story. Although my promise of seeing Gon, Leorio, Killua, and Chrollo will be fulfilled soon. As for now, the carnage begins next chapter along with a revelation that Kurapika will have about his current relationship with the Phantom Troupe. On a more serious topic, sexual abuse is never okay if you aren't feeling brave there are people who can talk with you. Remember that you aren't alone.