Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Hunter X Hunter rights belong to Togashi. Don't ever dump Palm Siberia. Don't even date her in fact if you can't make her happy.
Info: Hisoka gets the fight he's been waiting for and Kurapika comes to a decision about how to solve his issues along with hearing about Gon and learning of his sacrifice.
Rubrum Oculus Aranea: XXV Ink Tattoo
- November 11th -
Kurapika needed to sit outside of the Hunter Association building to calm down. His body was shaking violently, the mind was unable to comprehend what Killua and Leorio just told him a few moments ago, but he couldn't accept the news about Gon's suffering. The Kurta knew that dealing with Kite's death must have been difficult on his psyche, but to hear about him sacrificing his Nen to slaughter the Royal Guard Chimera Ant: Neferpitou. From what he heard from his friends he was glad that he wasn't at the hospital to see his current condition.
'He seemed like a mummified corpse if what Killua and Leorio told me was true about how he looked.' Kurapika wasn't allowed off the grounds of the association, the cuffs on his hands would ensure he could not break free and escape without help along with the security observing his private grieving about his friend's condition. He knew that today would be his personal battle with Hisoka, the duel that would decide his fate along with Chrollo's was the last thing on his mind. He wanted to know if Gon would be okay since it was likely he would never be the same again.
'Would things have been different if I was there? Perhaps my involvement could have made a difference no matter how small it likely would be in the grander scheme of things.' He began to question if he should have ever agreed to read his future in the first place. Like a domino that one choice likely resulted in these series of events occurring, but he also considered the fact they might have happened like this anyway although he might have continued down the path of being his clan's avenger.
'Perhaps more of those spiders would be dead if I refused Chrolllo's offer in the first place.' Kurapika knew it was pointless to lament things that he could not change. Of course, that meant he would need to focus on how to overcome Hisoka's skills with his Nen-based gum attacks. Gon was the only person Kurapika knew that could pose a threat against Hisoka in combat, but that wasn't even a true battle of life and death which was his situation given the stipulations explained to him by the jester-themed hunter.
"I can't lose this battle, so I have to overcome a man that even Chrollo Lucifer fears to battle. How can I possibly do this on my own?" If I can't overcome my weaknesses this will be my last days on this earth, the Judgement Chain's command is too powerful to overcome even for the user of such abilities. As he was lamenting how to deal with this problem one of the Zodiacs arrived to confront him while he was sitting on a bench. She knew that his reason for being here was more than what was told to her, but she needed to discover the truth from the horse's mouth himself.
'That's weird the flock of birds is moving around in a circle...' The Kurta even while feeling a strange spike in nen activity he knew this kind of behavior for these animals was bizarre. Turning around he saw a woman who was hardly wearing any clothing on her body, the outfit is meant to represent her codename within the Zodiac despite most of the men who saw her usually pawed over her slim, and curvy figure. She walked in front of Kurapika while forcing the birds under her command to fly near their location.
"Quite a lovely school of pigeons, wouldn't you agree?" She watched his confused expression with a smile, he might have been considered a threat to everyone else, but she was aware of the relationship he had with several people involved with the association. Talking with Melody earlier she was caught up with the torment which was building inside of Kurapika. She was also not underestimating what could have gone down while he was under the stay of the Phantom Troupe. Not only were they people who slaughtered everyone he loved when he was little their actions were also infectious.
"This is your ability? It certainly looks to be a long-range kind of Manipulation skill."
"Why thank you! Many consider my abilities rather uninteresting, but personally, I prefer this kind of talent to be used from my nen. It befits my status as one of the Biology team members for the Dark Continent voyage."
"Ahh, I'd forgotten that trip was being planned out this quickly after what happened with the Chimera Ants..."
He knew someone like Pariston would be impatient in trying to hurry up and make history with a trip like that. A feather in his cap and he knew that combined with being elected the new Chairman would send that man's ego up on a rocket ship right into the cold depths of space never to return.
"I heard from that criminal you encountered some of those beasts in Meteor City. That is a rare thing for someone like yourself considering how many lives those beasts have claimed." Such luck was fortunate considering the people he was spending time with during that period in his young life. Would he be able to regain his mortality or fully succumb to the nature of the spiders? Oh, she dreaded the image of Kurapika having the black ink tattoo covering a part of his body, and the idea of him embracing their ideology. Despite being close to his friends and fellow hunters he was heading on a dangerous path.
"I wonder if I should have even lived considering what I've needed to do in order to survive - and even then, am I really alive right now?"
"So what if you've killed people! That doesn't mean you're a monster; it is when you decide to enjoy killing people for sheer enjoyment..." He looked downward at that reply knowing he couldn't refute her statement since deep within himself there was something that liked what he's been doing lately. Cluck had forgotten that he was going through a much deeper battle within between his remaining humanity and the serial killer he was slowly turning into over the last few months. Deciding to change the subject she asked him what he was thinking about doing with his upcoming fight with Hisoka.
"You know you're getting you ass kicked? You know you're getting your ass kicked?!" She spoke twice as he didn't answer her question as his mind began to ponder what he was going to do about that. He nearly got a dropping of a bird's gift from above moving out of the way before his hair got splashed in the less than pleasing liquid.
"Are you trying to piss me off, lady? What on earth were you thinking trying to make those pigeons crap on me like that?!" Pointing his finger at her she merely shrugged her shoulders like that was nothing to her. This was her method of getting people's attention when they ended up ignoring her when she repeated herself more than once.
"Are you keeping a secret plan on handling that clown or not? The other hunters are expecting you not only to lose, but the general consensus is you won't even land a blow on him." She knew he fooled everyone in Heavens Arena with that whole "magical" wizard stick, but he did seem pretty savvy in battle from the battles she watched his involvement in.
"Why should I tell you anything considering that you could go behind my back to warn Hisoka or your buddies in the association."
"That is true, and yet that is exactly what I'm not going to do Kurapika. Believe it or not, I do hope you can surprise everyone in this bout if only to knock that perverted clown down a peg or two." She doubted anyone actually really wanted Hisoka to win his battles as a true fan would, the reputation he's gotten makes him only slightly more favorable than the people he pretended to work under. The other problem for the Kurta was Hisoka knew most of the tricks behind his Conjuring skills from the time in Yorknew City.
'He was under the command of my chains, so he likely knows how they work plus he is not working with the Phantom Troupe so they wouldn't affect him now anyways...' Before he could think to himself further Cluck pulled out a feather from her outfit, her hand moving on Kurapika's body to tickle him with said feather on his chest.
"PftttAHAHAHAHA! What in the HeAHAHAHAHA! What are you doing!"
"Getting you out of this funk. Or, as you might assume I'm doing currently tickling you into submission." He glared at her while ripping up the feather in her hand to prevent such a devastating attack on him from happening again. Then, he realized something as he looked at the ruined feathery item scattered on the ground ignoring Cluck's ranting. A sudden spark of inspiration came into his mind about how he might stand a chance in his battle with the magician of gum, the idea being of killing the clown with kindness.
"Where do you think you're heading off to, boy?"
"Getting ready for my fight, and thank you for the idea uhhhh-" He had been in such a rush he forgot to ever ask her name out of politeness.
"Cluck, the "Chicken" of the Zodiac. Now, would you mind explaining to me why tickling you with my clothing attire caused your eyes to brighten up like there is a lightbulb turning on in your head."
"Sorry I can't reveal my secrets if Hisoka is unwilling to do the same for me!" Waving and saying he was sorry about the ruined feather Kurapika headed back inside to find Melody to get some help from her about his battle plan for the fight. To his surprise, he heard from the guards that she was actually with one of the spiders wanting to interrogate Shalnark in a private room. As he walked down the hall he could hear screaming coming from a room that was padded down to make hearing things difficult; the girlish shrieking from Shalnark was the one thing this special room could not contain along with Melody's flute.
"What is wrong with you lady?! I already told you everything Boss said to me before we came here!"
"Liar! There is something you haven't told everyone else, so until you explain what you're been doing with Kurapika this flute is not going to stop playing!" Opening the door, sure enough, was Shalnark huddled in the corner of the room with Melody demanding the truth while threatening to continue with this music to harm both his body and ears.
"Give him a minute to breathe, Melody!"
"Pika! Oh, thank the video game gods you showed up!" Despite both of the blondes still being cuffed Shalnark was gripping his personal cell phone while pleading with Kurapika's associate to give him a minute to rest. Melody was flabbergasted he would come to the defense of this person rather than join in with the questioning. Her method was something Kurapika didn't mind, but he told her that Chrollo wouldn't even let him in on why he decided to show up here besides to complete the pact with Hisoka.
"What makes you think either of us knows what is going on in that man's head. This won't crack him or get him to talk, Melody."
"I don't care about that! He's one of the people who killed your clan not to mention they likely abused you during your stay with the spiders." He knew she was still upset by what they've done, which might get pardoned if this arrangement with the hunters might let them get off with little punishment for their crimes.
"It just isn't fair," She yelled out while pointing a finger at Shalnark's face. "You've likely hurt so many people just to steal pointless crap over your lifespan. All of those lives hurt or taken for mere greed!" She was furious by this lack of justice more so than ever Kurapika who was beginning to wonder about everything he's been preaching over his life.
"It won't solve anything just to attack him when he's just one of Chrollo's followers. Besides I need your help with this battle with Hisoka..." She remembered the "Ox" explaining to her that fight would happen today since he would be the official in charge of making sure things don't get too out of hand. Her concern quickly began focused on Kurapika's do or die situation.
"How can I help you take on that man exactly?"
"Well, I kinda of need Shalnark's help as well..." Despite his ears still ringing from the music being sent down his eardrums, Shalnark was delighted to hear about his "friend" needing his aid.
"Why do you want this monster's help? He doesn't even deserve anything besides death and-"
"I need you to trust me on this one, Melody. It sounds insane certainly, but I need to know more about Hisoka, the nature of his gum, and he's one of the only few people who's seen him in action. I can't go to the hunters because they've lost their trust in me. Killua and Leorio are going to be coming back from the hospital which leaves only you guys that can help me out." With Chrollo being detained by Pariston for more questioning these WERE the only people around who can help him out.
"I don't know what we can really do to help you out with this issue, the guy is pretty clever even without using his Bungee Gum. I don't know what you can do with her terrible-terribly good music and my Black Voice." Shalnark hoped she wouldn't play again after correcting himself while covering his ears just in case. Kurapika sighed having gotten used to the information manager within the shadow thief brigade.
"This is better than simply accepting my death. Also, this will ensure none of you get killed by this man out of spite for me not living up to Chrollo's bargain."
"Why are you playing into that man's hand! You can easily refuse his request for a battle, and I'm sure the hunters will keep you and that criminal out of Hisoka's reach." He knew that was impossible to have protection against someone like Hisoka, so the only way out was to embrace his role in Chrollo's mental warfare with the traitor of his group.
Everyone had gathered in a prepared area where hunters usually had practice bouts with one another, but this was for everything besides training. Killua, Leorio, Melody, Pariston, some of the Zodiac, and even Chrollo were taking the part of the audience but Chrollo had to remain in a special outfit to ensure he wouldn't escape. He didn't mind the mental institution white outfit except for the strange mouth guard with three bars covering his face, which he considered was put onto him out of spite by Pariston Hill.
Hisoka was watching Mizaistom Nana go over the details for the upcoming bout tuning him out when he looked down at the troubled Kurta and his opponent for this bout. Finally, he would either confirm if Chrollo's faith in this boy's potential was a fool's errand or something that could be worth the risk of taking him under his wing.
Inner Kurapika was screaming at himself for going along with this crazy scheme knowing this would hurt later and Outer Kurapika agreed, the mindset would end up doing more harm than good to himself.
'You should have killed Chrollo Lucifer and dealt with the consequences of that decision.'
'Yes, but that would have meant a whole different outcome for everyone. At least my comrades are still alive...'
'For how much longer? If Gon is anything to go by then none of your precious friends will survive the trip-and you will lose them on the Dark Continent at this rate.'
Shaking his head to get out of his inner conversation he quickly focused on the jester, he knew Kurapika better than most of the spiders, had come to an "agreement" with him to help achieve their own goals, and now were facing each other to continue down their own separate paths. There would be only one winner and only one loser when this battle was completed.
Yes, everything that Kurapika has learned since his stay with the Phantom Troupe would come into play as Hisoka gave off a smirk of confidence, his hands were twirling around a Jack card in his hands while looking at his new prey for today.
"Keep things clean gentlemen this is not a fight to the death. With that said you may begin!" Waving at both individuals they each began to feel each other out by letting their Nen-levels match each other as when one rose up while the other was raised up to make them both even. Hisoka made the first move, easily tossing out his razor-sharp cards, the entire of which had been easily dodged by Kurapika's agile movements. To respond to such an act the Kurta sent out one of his conjured chains, which was blocked by one of Hisoka's hands leaving a small slash on his left palm.
"What is he thinking by confronting Hisoka with force?!" Killua knew better than to make the perverted clown excited, but Leorio figured that was the only way Kurapika could ensure he doesn't get beaten in short fashion. Any kind of boredom will result in Hisoka likely being uninterested in continuing with this battle, and that is the last thing Kurapika wants to happen considering the violent nature Hisoka is known to have when he feels uninterested in someone.
"Damn it all we can do it watch and hope for the best..." Leorio felt so helpless in knowing it was all up to their friend whereas Melody hoped her last-minute training with Kurapika would be enough, the small assistance from Shalnark was something she wishes hadn't come into play with that but if it helps him out she would admit that he was helpful...to a small degree.
Hisoka charged after Kurapika, moving out his leg to land a few kicks to his chest. But Kurapika was prepared for this; he quickly held out his hands to catch the foot belonging to the jester before sending out his chains attempting to slash at his make-up colored face. Hisoka blocked, then reached out to grab Kurapika's right arm to disable it getting a kick from the Kurta's own feet to his hand - the contact with the foot made Hisoka back off into a crouching position finding amusement with this physical style opening to the fight.
"Not bad. I thought you would cave in already," Hisoka admitted to his opponent that he underestimated his talents, but this was simply the first series of blows that wouldn't matter later on as time went on in their duel. "That said I hope you can provide more than simple punches or kicks, Kurta." As he was saying this he didn't notice Kurapika reaching behind his pants to draw out a weapon to handle Hisoka's playing cards that were being shuffled through his hands. The man tossed around a few more cards, his yawn implied that he was bored of Kurapika's tactics already when his cards were knocked away.
"Hmm? Well, that is certainly a "big" stick you have there, Kurta." The weapon was something he picked up from a hunter, and his "crash course" training from Melody and Shalnark helped him understand how useful it could be in place of his other weapons. The key reason he did this was it wasn't something he used before, and both Hisoka and Kurapika himself wouldn't be sure how it could factor into this fight.
'A game of following the leader won't solve anything like Cluck showed me. If I want to overcome this problem I need to consider thinking outside of the flock...'
Twirling around the long stick Kurapika moved in by making a running move towards Hisoka, his stick was slammed onto the ground, and he propelled himself into Hisoka landing a punch right on his cheek before getting in a few more jabs on his chest. His eyes widen as he could see a pink glow on Hisoka's hands, the dread of the Bungee Gum was now in effect forcing him to back off from his opponent. The seconds were crucial as Kurapika dodged every attempt to stick his body with that gum, which would drastically change the tide of the battle in the clown's favor.
"Very amusing how you are dancing for me! This is what I wanted to see, Kurapika..." The black-listed hunter growled at the grin on Hisoka's face matching with the hardened stiffness in his pants. He was indeed beginning to enjoy this in more ways than one, and this set Kurapika off knowing what was happening with the man's bulge. Wrapping his chains around the new staff in his possession Kurapika ran up to Hisoka, avoiding the series of gum attacks, and moving under the last one he sent out his staff that was connected to his chains landing a direct blow...to the crotch area.
"Well..."
"That"
"Is"
"One"
"Way"
"To"
"Make"
"A"
"Statement!"
Everyone was left stunned by this sudden act even the usually calm individual Chrollo Lucifer, which made him fearful about how this man whom he dreaded fighting would react to this. Kurapika was waiting to see how this man would react, the feeling of having one's special area being hurt like that must phase someone even Hisoka. Then, laughter broke up the silence followed by a series of giggles mixed in with slight wheezing as the magician couldn't help this sensation of chortling.
"AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, hehehehe that was simply glorious! You must really hate me to try and wound me in such a way, but I'm now in love with this newly discovered mean-streak you have, KURTA!" His schwing was in full height, everyone in the room figured Hisoka's private weapon was indestructible, and his lips were licking at the thought of what else Kurapika would to in order to hurt him. Holding out two more cards he attacked them with his Bungee Gum at maximum speed to use them as projectiles.
"Now, show me those beautiful eyes of yours! The crimson scarlet that has seen so much blood and death, the real value of the Kurta Clan!" Throwing out his lightning-fast cards Kurapika had to use his new staff to block each attack from cutting his body up.
'Even after everything I've done to reach this point, do I still want to let loose the animal within myself?'
His eyes watched the cards come at him from all directions, but Hisoka was still holding back on the true strength of his Nen. Holding out his weapon to block the strike from above Kurapika watched Hisoka try and connect his leg to him via Bungee Gum on his foot, and he forced to use his staff to block that losing it to the magician as a consequence. Silently cursing himself for letting that occur Kurapika used his chains to destroy the cards that were about to cut open his midsection. Mizaistom held out a yellow card to warm both combatants to cool it with the violence.
"Remember that this is not a Heavens Arena match. Severe injuries and under-handed attacks won't be tolerated." He ordered to both individuals, which made Hisoka sigh in annoyance.
"You couldn't remind us earlier, and here I was starting to have some fun!" Forgetting that he was not simply fighting in a un-restricted fight Hisoka knew that he would need to hold himself back in order to satisfy Pariston Hill and Chrollo Lucifer, the both of them had investment in Kurapika's development once this battle was finished, unless the fight ended up being taken out of the referee's control.
'Should I employ my Texture Surprise to fool this boy?' While pondering his next move Hisoka decided to play around with Kurapika more by extending Bungee Gum all over his body the next time he went in to punch him to connect each other, so, for now, he played around with the staff he got from him. Charging at Kurapika he began to move it around, connecting with his arms and legs a few times leaving a few bruises over his body. Kurapika's eyes glimmered red for a split-second as he was getting frustrated by his game plan not working against Hisoka.
Sending out his chains the only other thing Kurapika could do was to attack with physical moves, but he knew that likely was some kind of trap considering how much effort Hisoka was making in order to get him pissed off. He needed to think of a way to relieve the clown of his weapon so that he could get back on the offense. In fact, Kurapika throughout most of this battle so far was simply defending himself again Hisoka and his usage of his special Transmutation Gum. Having no opening to do some real damage thus far Kurapika knew he could only maintain the fellow hunter's attention for so long.
A sudden clothesline move that the Kurta barely dodged caught Kurapika off-guard forcing him to strike back only to discover his hands was now caught in Hisoka's palm. Try as he wanted to break free in a little tug-of-war game each of their sticky hands were now keeping them close to one another, the Bungee Gum was strong enough that not even the sharp tip of Kurapika's chains would be able to cut it.
"Damn it!" The elastic, sticky gum that he feared was now binding together their bodies. Growling in anger Kurapika used his other to send out his sharp chain on Hisoka's arm to wound it, and possibly break him free of this gum now stuck to his other hand. The scars didn't hurt Hisoka that much who simply taunted him by forcing their hands together via the elastic gum.
"We never formally introduced one another, did we? I wish to correct that mistake now Kurapika Kurta. As the man who is going to kill you sometime soon my name is Hisoka Morow." Since he was momentarily letting down his guard, Kurapika decided to return the gesture of sportsmanship.
"Tell me then will you go after Chrollo next? Gon is not going to be the same as when you first laid your perverted eyes on him, so that must mean you plan to kill him and by extension end both my life and the Phantom Troupe in one well swoop." Looking at the playing cards laying on the floor an idea popped into his mind, as Hisoka was explaining what he planned on doing next.
"Perhaps, but then I remembered that it has been a while since I last saw Killua and Leorio." The possible threat drove Kurapika into a rage, his comrades were the last people he wanted to get involved with the mess he was deep in. Changing its direction Kurapika sent the sharp tip of his chain onto a card on the floor, which Hisoka only noticed when he felt a sharp pain in his back once the card made contact with his body, the wound wasn't serious but it made the bloodthirsty clown pause for a second.
"I don't get this plan at all. Hisoka is not the most stable of individuals, and the idea of making him more exciting will only result in more bloodshed..." Leorio was rubbing his chin pondering what Kurapika was thinking while he was watching the fight behind the see-through glass from a window in the room. Killua knew this was the best someone like him could to in these non-killing conditions put into place for this battle. A loud crack could be heard as Hisoka tried to shatter a few bones in Kurapika's arm with the staff he brought into battle only to end up having it wrapped in Kurapika's chains. The staff was mixed into the steel so hard that not even Hisoka's gum could remove it, so he decided to break it in two instead...or appear to try and break it in two by using Texture Surprise.
'He must have a good reason for bringing this into our duel beside merely having it as a secondary form of attack; the item will be his undoing once I try and "crack" it in half.' Looking at the crimson glare being provided from his opponent Hisoka knew that things finally were getting interesting as he removed the contact with his hand keeping the Kurta stuck to him while placing his free one over the staff where he struck it earlier, the cloth that now was mimicking the surface of the weapon had been put into place.
"I hate having to "break" it to you, but this is all she wrote for your little toy here along with my patience for your stalling. Such a shame this is the best the last of the Kurta can offer to me..." Moving down his card to "chop it" the weapon was suddenly pulled in two for real as Kurapika was not fooled by Hisoka's attempt to fool him by a trick of the eye, and he knew exactly why he brought this staff into this battle...a secret weapon within the staff that not even the staff who searched him before this fight could find on him.
"What's that ball doing in his hands?!" Mizaistom could blink only once before the whole room was covered in a white gas being emitted by the smokescreen ball Kurapika got his hands on from one of the hunters in the building along with a shuriken that was being held up by the skin of Hisoka's throat by Kurapika. Everyone else was shocked to see this sudden turn of events, and Chrollo Lucifer was grinning from ear to ear in the wheelchair he was strapped in.
"Excellent work, Kurapika. Everyone might consider you a cheater, but you have shown real ingenuity in this battle. You might be ready to earn that ink tattoo..." He watched in excitement as Kurapika actually was holding back the man he would likely face in combat sometime in the near future.
"While I have your undivided attention why don't you explain to me your purpose in picking a fight with me besides to please that bastard Chrollo Lucifer." Beginning an interrogation of his own despite the protests of the referee Mizaistom. Hisoka knew he could easily break free of this hold, but watching those scarlet irises look at him made him feel intoxicated by their color, the light of their shine on the face of a more experienced killer than when he first met Kurapika.
"That is the question indeed..." He chuckled as he watched the sharp throwing star reach his neck ready to slice it open even while the Ox of the Zodiac brought out his yellow card to restrain them both when he knew that all of this was simply a falsehood and his life wasn't really in danger.
"Do you think this is a joke, clown? Trust me I wouldn't be laughing right now..."
"I don't know getting you to go through all of this trouble, and only for you to discover how fruitless your efforts now are in the end."
"Kurapika! Put down the weapon now!"
He turned out the referee as he tilted his head in confusion, which made Hisoka laugh further as he decided to spill the beans.
"You certainly do seem like a genuine killer now, but alas your potential will be wasted once I'm done with your "leader" Chrollo Lucifer," Looking down at the playing cards he saw the Ace card finding it rather ironic that he was observing that one from the rest of his deck right now. "Your boss and his deal with me, unfortunately, is null and void."
"What are you saying-"
"I tried to make the Nen-Exorcist understand the situation, which Abengane did but then something rather unexpected happened. He simply ended up disappearing when I tried to capture him for the deal to be completed." Time crawled to a halt as Kurapika tried processing those words explained to him at that moment.
"I suppose that was the consequence of bringing along the Zoldyck family along for such an exchange of information; that idea of bringing them along for a non-aggressive meeting seems counter-productive in retrospect..." Blood rushed through his body at a quickened state, his mind finally realized what he was saying, the hope he stuck to after all this time was now lost.
"Despite my efforts, Illumi felt like the exorcist wouldn't comply with my demand, so he removed him from existence. He did explain to me that he could seize control of his corpse with his needle, but then his dead body mysteriously disappeared during our travel back from the meeting point." All reason was gone as Kurapika went in to rip out as much blood from Hisoka as possible, the only thing stopping them was a sudden nen-constricting box covering their bodies and splitting both men apart.
"Cross Game!" Mizaistom's cross-designed yellow card restrained both individuals since they both ignored his warnings. Hisoka merely shrugged his shoulders while Kurapika was banging the box in a rabid animal like sensation. All of the audience watching couldn't believe what they just heard from the jester-styled hunter.
'Sly bastard...' Chrollo knew that by having Illumi take the fall Hisoka tried to push all the blame for this "fubar'd" assignment when he knew the former spider better than that. It seemed that his worst enemy wanted to have all the cards in his favor in order to screw over his former boss. Looking at the hatred being displayed by Kurapika he realized that now shared another thing in common with one another, the equal disgust for Hisoka Morow with Illumi Zoldyck coming in at a close second place.
"That is enough from both of you! The final decision lies with the chairman, but Kurapika you clearly have a temper problem that interfered with your better judgment. If I were the one who determines the victor of this contest, then the answer would be obvious. Hisoka has shown himself to be the better man."
"You stupid son of a bitch..." Kurapika didn't care about wins or losses at this point, the sight of Hisoka's smirking expression raised the ire of the Kurta. Everything he worked for in order to finally be free of his own chains wrapped around his heart and to hear that this battle was simply a waste of his time and effort drove his rage into a frenzied state. His friends were shocked to see this kind of personality being displayed, but they were also upset to hear that Hisoka played him and Chrollo for a loop.
"Now, he can't be free of the bond between himself and the leader of the Phantom Troupe." Melody shuttered to think about what this meant for everyone involved with this situation.
"Not exactly, Melody. There have to be more Nen-Exorcists out in the world, but finding one will prove to be very difficult since they usually tend to avoid getting involved in conflicts." Killua knew that hope was becoming dimmer in Kurapika's mind while Leorio wanted to give a hard punch on the smug face the clown was providing to his mentally-defeated opponent.
"Do you think he might be lying?" Leorio figured this could be another one of his tricks to manipulate someone to his advantage-not that being the "winner" of this battle would really matter regardless considering how things escalated between Hisoka and Kurapika. Pariston Hill walked into the room with an uncertain look on his face, and Mizaistom warned him to be careful around such men even while holding back with his nen-ability and the yellow card. Geru, Kanzai, Cheadle, and Cluck wondered how their Vice-Chairman would react to all of this.
"You took advantage of the fractured mind of your opponent to drive him into a position where he would have nothing left to lose by actually trying to kill you. This, sadly, doesn't mean you had the advantage since Kurapika was about to slice open your throat despite knowing my referee would interfere with the match to save your skin," Rubbing his hands together in delight Pariston had come to a conclusion about who truly was the "winner" of this contest. "While Hisoka won the mental battle Kurapika clearly was about to physically obtain the win albeit in a more gruesome fashion thus this match will end in a draw!"
"Not surprising really, but you didn't need to make it sound so dramatic, vice-chairman." Hisoka sighed in boredom as he was finally allowed to head off to do something else with his time leaving Kurapika alone with Pariston Hill as he requested the "Ox" to leave with the other Zodiac members.
"I would like for you to come by my office now, the matter of something close to your personal life must be discussed."
"..." Kurapika said and did nothing while he was slumped on the floor in the room. Pariston figured that battle could have broken his mind a little so he needed to gain the Kurta's attention.
"You wish to reclaim the Scarlet Eyes, yes?" Two red eyeballs made contact with the current figurehead of the Hunter Association since Kurapika now had a new target to vent out his anger no matter what the consequences would be later. All of Kurapika's friends looked and called out to him, but he didn't look or respond back to them as he left the area right behind Pariston following the trail to his personal office. Deciding to leave him alone they went after the only person who might know what is going on with him, Chrollo Lucifer.
"Going to electrocute me if I don't give you an explanation, Zoldyck?" Seeing the short hunter's arm get stretched out the criminal got that feeling he was going to be in for a world of hurt either by Killua's nen or through another round of an un-interesting round of interrogation.
"Why did you want Hisoka to find this exorcist with the Zoldycks? You should know by now how dangerous my family is when given the chance to take me back to their home!" Killua yelled out as he was holding Chrollo responsible for all of this so that he could have a person he can beat the hell out of later if things got even worse.
"They were the ones who helped arrange the deal with me and Hisoka," Chrollo looked upward, trying to figure out the best way he could describe what needed to be done in order to secure himself, his spiders, and Kurapika into this picture where they would all survive while keeping themselves out of getting killed by the hunters working here. "We were up a deep brown creek with no paddle to swim with, so I figured why not take a dive off the cliff to dive into the lake below. Fight or flight, the need to survive is something I never considered having before since I wanted my comrades to live should I face certain death."
That all changed when he got to learn more about that one lone survivor of the clan he was meant to fully exterminate; he began to feel like he was able to truly understand what a human being is when he was able to study him during their journey together.
"You care about him?" Leorio was stunned that Chrollo seemed genuine about this sudden change in personality.
"Indeed," Chrollo responded without losing a step. "The death of his family and friends was a less than positive beginning to our relationship begin, certainly." Killua flinched in response; of course, the idea of the man who killed the Kurta Clan suddenly feeling guilty made him feel sick inside. He couldn't believe that this man of all people gained a conscious like this.
"Do you really think you can ever be anything to Kurapika besides someone needs to kill?"
"Honestly...yes." Leorio was ready to knock a tooth out of the mastermind's mouth when the Zodiac hunters arrived to bring Chrolo back into a holding area where Shalnark had been placed in for the rest of the day.
"That is more than enough you two! The last thing we need to deal with is cleaning up this blight on this organization's reputation." Cheadle had Mizaistom and Kanzai step in to hold the angry trio back from causing more harm to their captive, and Cluck closed her eyes knowing how they were all feeling about what happened with that brawl and the outcome.
"He won't be out to cause more trouble. This is the best outcome you can possibly hope for at this point."
"Like the hell, it is, Cluck!" Melody knew things were only getting worse by the second, and as they watched the man get wheeled away she would be proven right in the following days.
- November 12th -
Chrollo was about to head off into slumber for the night with his companion already dreaming about winning a video game's hardest level, which would result in the "princess giving him a cake" and the head of the spiders could only assume this meant anything but a bakery desert. The young adult was skimming through the pages of his book since he learned this area had no hidden mics when he sweet-talked one of the male guards who...had asked him for a small kiss in return. He was grateful that he was still wrapped in his long-sleeve prison outfit during that period, but Chrollo missed being able to use his hands freely in a room like this.
'If Paku ever learns about that she would have a field day along with the other spiders.'
A knock at the door revealed a figure in light with red eyes that let Chrollo know who was standing in front of him. The Kurta didn't move from his spot as the ability-snatcher watched the black-list hunter observe him silently for a while.
"Is this place bugged?" A simple question, but Chrollo figured the Kurta wanted to have a small conversation with no one else listening to them so he nodded his head as Kurapika closed the door behind them with the guard standing outside. He slowly moved next to Chrollo before sitting in the chair nearby Shalnark's bed where he was resting.
"I'm sure we all should be doing with poor Shalnark is doing after what he's been through with all the questions about secret plans, agendas, and other plots against Pariston Hill. To think we've been doing everything except act like official hunters." He agreed with that sentiment as he would need to spend tonight with Chrollo since they were due for another session with Pariston in the morning.
"I am saddened to have seen your wish to be free get ruined by Hisoka. I wasn't that surprised to hear that he ended up playing us both for fools, the one true weakness I have is having faith in my followers. It has resulted in me suffering these kinds of losses and defeats often these days."
"No. This is not over just yet. I've learned about the final location of the Scarlet Eyes..." Chrollo couldn't believe what his imprisoned companion was saying, the final pair of eyes had been uncovered but how could he know of such a thing.
"Pariston...he wants me to be his "Rat" for the Zodiac during the upcoming Dark Continent trip. The agreement would be I act as his spy, and learn as much as I could from my friends, the Zolydck family's youngest member: Kalluto, and the personal informant on the Phantom Troupe's next move."
'Why is he admitting that to me?' For a hidden mole, Kurapika wasn't doing much of a good job of keeping this a secret, it was then Kurapika looked up from the ground he was starting at to meet Chrollo Lucifer face to face.
"I-I need YOUR help, Chrollo Lucifer. If you can help me gather the last two eyes...I...I..."
"Do not fear you will be free of the Judgement Chain. There are other Nen-Exorcists in the world besides Abengane." Chrollo wanted to fulfill his end of the deal since Hisoka and Illumi decided to break their word to help solve this mess he's gotten Kurapika involved in. Instead of looking angry or upset Kurapika seemed uneasy about himself, the next words would explain to Chrollo why that was the case.
"No, it is not that. If you and your subordinates can help me reclaim the last items from my fallen clan, then you can give me that ink tattoo. Once the last of the Scarlet Eyes are back where they belong...I'll join YOU...and the Phantom Troupe."
With that Kurapika looked at the devil himself with his soul now being offered as payment to reclaim the last set of eyes that were from his fallen clansmen. With the night still young a shocking contract was about to be formed even more unexpected than the one which began this bizarre adventure with an avenger meeting a spider.
Afterwords: Endgame begins. Kurapika's decision has been realized, but there are still a few more chapters in place before the conclusion in the last five updates. I know you all expected more out of this story, but I really need to put all my attention on my other on-going work. Some certainly saw the tie coming, but I wanted to make it a surprise since you all expected the fight to simply end in a both men were capable of beating the other, which is how this happened although Hisoka was superior with his intellect while Kurapika gained the physical upper hand. That in mind I do hope you enjoyed my interpretation of how their fight would happen in this alternate canon of the main story. BTW Hisoka would have been able to survive getting cut in the throat he would just put some gum on it...literally. :P