Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Ps: Again, I'm too lazy to check for invisible-unless-you-squint mistakes, so pardon me for minor errors =P
Story so far: Kuroro was being test for his competency in taking Ishtar's seat in Ryuusei-gai. Would it be as easy as he had predicted? Meanwhile, Kurapika and the others were taking their time walking around Ryuusei-gai. Perhaps they; and especially Kurapika, would discover something as they spent their time with that broken city?
Chapter 24
SETTLE
They had reached Ryuusei-gai at afternoon, and the sun was blazing hot; hovering above the poverty-stricken city like an unforgiving deity. The atmosphere in the city had not changed much since Kurapika visited the city years ago. The last time she came to Ryuusei-gai in search of Meta, she had not gone to the city.
She still saw the same activities 'bustling' in the city as per normal in Ryuusei-gai term. Adults chasing after children to rob them, children ganging up to beat the crap out of some (deserving) adults, men trying to rip each other's throats to get their hands on a certain items they happened to find at the same time—and the list went on. It was unsettling to her, but Kurapika knew better than to meddle with the laws of that supposedly non-existent city. She had absolutely no right to judge that city, no matter how ugly it was.
Besides, she was more concerned to see how Meta and Bia seemed to be so engrossed in inspecting every nook and cranny of the city. Granted that both of them had nothing valuable on them that would guarantee them to be the target of any thugs from the city, and their outfits were plain enough not to attract attention, but Kurapika was still at edge.
"You worry too much, Kurapika. You'll grow grey hair before you know it, if you continue like that."
The muscle of Kurapika's cheek twitched when she heard that coming from Hatsubaba. She suspected that Hatsubaba had her own share of raising Kuroro more than Kurapika had initially thought.
"Let them explore. If you are too overprotective of them, they won't grow strong," Hatsubaba continued as she hobbled next to Kurapika. Despite her seemingly vulnerable appearance, Kurapika knew better that the old woman was capable of beating the living daylight out of a grown-up man.
"…That's exactly why I let them be right now." Kurapika said flatly, and there was a very faint tone of displeasure in her voice.
"But you're still tailing them like you don't trust them." The old woman sneered.
"I'm just being prudent." Kurapika countered icily.
Hatsubaba snorted somewhat mockingly, but said nothing further. However, the silence only lasted for just a short moment.
"I'm surprised that Kuroro actually let that mute little girl tag along. I honestly thought he'd dump her somewhere, despite your protest."
Kurapika was silent for a while, before she admitted: "I'm surprised myself. I hadn't expected him to relent that easily."
"So things do change eventually. Though I doubt that the boy notice this change." Hatsubaba let out her characteristic witch-like laugh. "From what you told me, she seems to be suffering from aphasia due to mental trauma, coupled with memory loss. It'll be up to the three of you to heal her."
"The three of us?" Kurapika cringed. "I doubt that Kuroro will pitch in. He told me himself that he doesn't care about her as much. I don't think he'll go out of his way to help Bia."
The Elder grinned almost wickedly at Kurapika, causing the latter to shudder slightly. "You wanna bet?"
Kurapika sighed.
"…I'll pass."
The ground shook violently as three bulky creatures hit the ground hard. The three of them were not intact anymore, and they were positively dead. The ground had turned soft due to all the blood spilled. Despite the carnage in that place, one person remained standing; perfectly intact and largely unscathed except for some small insignificant scratches, with his outfit still immaculately clean. It was a rather unnerving scene.
Kuroro flicked his wrist as he took out his needle-like weapons out and flung them with deadly accuracy to his approaching opponents. Some struck the incoming 'monsters' right through their heads—puncturing the brains—some pierced through the vulnerable eyes, some were embedded on the creatures' muscular necks.
He looked around calmly. The number of the incoming attackers had hardly decreased, and he was going to run short of his weapons soon if things continued at this rate. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that an insect-like creature had bloated its throat and; expectedly, the next moment it vomited a swarm of small bugs that flew in frenzy to his direction.
A red leather-bound book appeared on his open palm and the pages turned by themselves until they stopped at a certain page. Kuroro tilted his head backwards slightly as he inhaled. When the swarm of insects were close enough that their buzzes almost deafened him, he opened his mouth and breathed fire as if he was a dragon. The bugs were instantly burned into crisps and the mother insect was turned into a lump of unrecognisable charcoal. It was not a skill that he was particularly fond of, as it made him coughed out puffs of smokes like some broken engine.
Ferocious hisses of snakes grabbed his attention. A three-headed snake towered over him with their jaws open hungrily. He looked at them with composed face. Kuroro heard the low growl of another creature behind him. The three heads suddenly squirted out darts of lethal poisons towards him. Kuroro's Skill Hunter books flipped its own pages and stopped at another particular page. The next moment, Kuroro disappeared and consequently those poisons landed on the unfortunate creature—an odd mix between goat and lion—which had lunged at Kuroro just a moment age before he teleported somewhere else.
Anansi watched the whole scene from the branch where he had perched himself before the battle began.
"Sheesh, he's literally sweeping the floor with them." He combed his pale platinum-gold hair with his sinewy fingers. It was really too easy.
Suddenly, he noticed something. He turned his attention to the Lady of the Lake; who had been watching the carnage with impassive face. She still had the expressionless face, but he did not miss the slight frown on her seemingly sculpted visage. She suddenly raised a pale glittery hand, and from her open palm she produced something that looked forebodingly like a water spear. She did not even flick her wrist or twitch her fingers when the spear suddenly flew from above her palm towards Kuroro's head.
Only by his pure reflex that Kuroro managed to dodge that deadly attack. He spun around and regarded Morgan le Fay with something akin to amusement. Anansi slapped his forehead in exasperation but still he chuckled—trust Kuroro to be amused when somebody had tried to assassinate him.
"Joining the fray now?" Kuroro asked suavely as he dodged the claws of a bear-like creature.
His mannerism caused the Lady to raise a curious eyebrow.
What have you noticed? She questioned him.
"That you didn't say that there's only one round of battle. There is a possibility that there will be a second round, most likely where you'll decide to test me yourself." Kuroro shrugged.
Very good. I expect no less from you, Kuroro Lucifer. However, I do have one question for you. Why have you not used the Solomon Ring?
Kuroro dodged the snapping jaw of a jaguar-like creature before breaking its neck with one swift and firm twist of his arms that had been wrapped around the muscular neck. He then turned to answer the Lady.
"I prefer to fight with my own skills and powers. I may be the Solomon Ring's rightful master right now, but I do not consider it as an extension of my skill. It is merely an additional power granted to me. I don't fancy using something that I do not acquire myself."
Anansi; who overheard everything from above there on the tree branch, rolled his eyes.
I do not know whether to think of you as noble or arrogant, The Lady said softly.
"Think whatever you wish to think. I don't care about it." Kuroro said as he killed yet another creature.
I wish to see you using that Solomon Ring, Kuroro Lucifer. Show me how much you are the master of that abominable item, the Lady said as she waved her arm gently.
The movement was graceful but it was not purposeless. With a low hum, a batch of water spears appeared around the Lady of the Lake. They hovered around her in almost a docile manner while waiting for their cue to fly towards Kuroro in attempt to impale him. Kuroro regarded those water spears with even eyes and not the slightest hint of worry. It was obvious that she was threatening him so that he used the demonic artefact.
"Why do you insist?" He asked, truly curious.
The Solomon Ring hosts 72 powerful demons, and it can still exert control over other minor, lowly demons. The extent in which you can control that Ring shows how powerful you are; both physically and mentally, in terms of your body and your soul.
"And to what extent do you wish to see my control over this Ring?"
The Lady of the Lake eyed him critically. Anansi held his breath as he waited for the Lady's response.
Milady Medusa could summon all 72 demons in one shot and still she prevailed, The Lady said almost too softly.
Kuroro did notice that she did not specifically mention her requirement of his display of control over the Ring.
"My Lady, you don't mean to make him summon all 72 demons, I hope!" Ananasi left his post and landed on the bank of the lake. His face showed an expression of contained fury and fear.
Kuroro raised an eyebrow as he noticed those two emotions playing on Anansi's face quite obviously. It was uncanny to see him with those two particular emotions.
I did not say so, The Lady said gently.
"Oh, but you did imply so, didn't you? I object!"
"Why?" Kuroro asked, though he knew the answer.
Anansi looked at him with an expression of anguish and reluctance.
"Because I'm essentially a human, right?" Kuroro answered his own question. "Therefore it is close to impossible to exert full control over 72 demons. I am not a fool, Anansi." Kuroro turned to the Lady and challenged her: "And so now you know that I am unable to control all 72 demons if I am to summon them in one shot. Are you going to deem me as unworthy then?"
The Lady looked at Kuroro with soft eyes. He truly reminded her of her dear Lancelot, though admittedly Lancelot was not as arrogant as this boy was.
The Solomon Ring is not proof of the master of this place. Show me your capability, that is all I ask of you, she answered, her voice like gentle ripples of calm water.
"Then you should have simply told me so since the beginning." Kuroro raised up his hand that wore the cursed Ring.
"Kuroro, don't. You haven't had any rest since Valhalla. You summoned two demons back then, didn't you?" Anansi intercepted before Kuroro could utilise the Ring.
"I had my rest." Kuroro said dismissively. For him, riding on Bara was enough a rest for his body. At least all he did was to sit down while keeping an eye on two overly excited children.
Kuroro did not even bother asking him how he knew about the Valhalla incident. Knowing Anansi, he would only answer with an 'I have my own ways with things'. To be frank, though, it kind of tick him off that Anansi seemed to watch him wherever he went and whatever he did. Kuroro made a mental note to give Anansi a piece of his mind regarding that issue later.
"Besides, I am curious to see how many demons I can summon in one succession." Kuroro continued, and the ring glowed in its unearthly manner.
"Kuroro, you are insane!"
The said young man turned to smirk at the spider incarnation.
"You and Ishtar brought me up," he merely stated.
Under normal circumstances, Anansi perhaps would have died out of pure happiness since Kuroro had just admitted that he was his parent (in Anansi's interpretation), but this was no time to feel touched. The Solomon Ring glowed brighter; it was almost a shade of hellish fire. Kuroro's face was tinged red from the glow, and he himself was looking at the Lady of the Lake straight in her eyes. There was anticipation in her glassy eyes.
Kuroro raised the Ring with the gem facing the Lady.
"Lemegeton: Ars Goetia."
They had reached the Scavenger's Ground, and both the blonde boy and the white-haired girl had turned everything into a fantasized treasure-hunting expedition. Kurapika walked slowly at distance while watching her footing, and she was slightly envious of Hatsubaba who was walking as if it was flat ground. Well, the wizened old woman had walked the terrain countless time in her lifetime, so it was just natural.
At first Kurapika had been reluctant to go to the Scavenger's Ground, but not only that the children had insisted and Hatsubaba had told her to let them explore (again), Kurapika herself felt compelled to get a taste on how it would feel to stand above that mountain of trashes and left-over.
Standing there, Kurapika could not help but to think of the Genei Ryodan.
Genei Ryodan, the Phantom Troupe. They are people of the world; people of nowhere and people of everywhere. There is nothing that can restrict them, no rule that can bend them, because they came from Ryuusei-gai; a city that is not supposed to exist, along with its citizens. They do not exist politically therefore legal laws do not apply to them.
Kurapika mused over that thought silently and solemnly as she scanned the surrounding almost warily. Here she was standing on one of the highest points in the Scavenger's Ground, so that she would have the vantage view of the whole ground, and probably the city as well. Bathed in the orange tint of late afternoon sun, the city gave a very disheartening impression to her. It was so run-down, so pitiful, so impoverished—so lawless.
She could hear the excited noises that Meta was giving off in his exploration with Bia; them being oblivious of the truth of the place. How those noises were a complete contrast with the ground. Perhaps for the natives of the place, those noises would be like an insult.
The city looked so fragile and weak, with no strong fortress to surround it except for nature. At the same time, it had nothing to shelter itself from nature's harsh attacks. Yet, exactly because of its fragility and nature's unforgiving behaviour, the people grew strong—stronger than average. The lawless-ness, however, desensitised its citizen except for the notion that they were one big family when they were out there, in the outside world.
Kurapika wondered vaguely if the Genei Ryodan did consider themselves one big family or not. Not to mention that some of the members were not natives of Ryuusei-gai.
"So what do you think of them?"
Heen turned to look straight into Fino's big hazel brown eyes. They were shining with, undoubtedly, genuine curiosity and kindness. Fino was patching him up after the 'showdown' between Heen and Nobunaga, while Shalnark was tending to Nobunaga—who was swearing that the next time would not be a draw. Yes, it ended up with a draw, but a good portion of the forest where they fought had been flat-out destroyed and they were far from being unscathed. Fino could imagine Kurapika burning in fury when she came back and discovered that the forest had been decimated by Nobunaga. She had heard enough tales from Shalnark about how Kurapika and Nobunaga used to be after each other's throats in the past.
"They are interesting, but ultimately crazy. However," he smiled at her knowingly, "I can ask you the same. What do you think of them? You are a normal person. I can't help but to keep asking myself how a sweet girl such as you came to be associated with this crazy bunch of people."
Fino laughed and slapped his bandaged arm lightly just after she had finished clipping the bandage. Heen winced at this but kept quiet.
"It's a looo~~ng story, but since you are a new member of this interesting group, maybe I'll tell you."
And so Fino told him about how she first met Kuroro and Kurapika roughly eight years ago, and how things had gone since then. However, she did not go into details especially since she knew that certain things were considered as delicate issues. A few years back she would have vomit everything out with vigour, but she was not a teenager anymore. She was a mature young lady right now (who was being pressed by her parents to quickly get married and have children).
"Hm…How unusual." Heen hummed as he rested his chin on his palm.
"What is?" Fino asked fleetingly as she packed the bandages back to the first-aid kit.
"You and Shalnark. Kurapika and Lucifer. I wouldn't have thought that natives of Ryuusei-gai like them could form such strong bonds with 'outsiders'." Something clicked in Heen's mind. "You get what I mean, don't you? I mean, them coming from Ryuusei-gai…"
"Oh, I know." Fino giggled while waving her hand. "But then, does it matter? Ryuusei-gai or not, they are still humans. Humans always live in interactions with fellow humans. No humans are alone in this world."
"Except the insane ones." Heen added with a grin.
Fino laughed at this. She sat down behind the counter and leaned forward with her arms crossed. She looked at the Spiders who were bickering in the dining hall, although some others seemed to be content with being silent observers without taking part in the merriment. They did take care not to inflict any damages on the inn, of course. Fino's eyes were soft as she observed them.
"Don't worry, you'll be part of this strange family sooner than you thought." Fino suddenly said to Heen, and turned to him as she added with a wide smile: "Ryuusei-gai natives or not."
Heen chuckled as he lowered his head, a content smile playing on his dark-skinned face. He looked at his bandaged arms, while listening to the words of the Spiders; talking about trivial, insignificant gossips. Absentmindedly he recalled that the only family members he had was Bia, but she had forgotten him. Abandoned him, unintentionally as it was. She was now part of Kurapika's family.
Then again…
"Yo, Heen, isn't it? Nobu just said you're good!" Phinks declared suddenly. Nobunaga himself suddenly turned lobster red at this.
If the Spiders were really one big family, then Kuroro Lucifer would be the 'father' of the family. One way or another, he could still be connected with Bia through Lucifer. He could still try to link back to her. Perhaps she would remember. One could hope, couldn't he?
"Friggin' shut up, Phinks! I'm gonna cut you into cubes of flesh—!" Swords unsheathed and bare hands braced, the two of them started wrestling again and another session of betting ensued.
The smile on Heen's face grew. Anyways and besides, he really liked this family.
Kurapika turned her head abruptly in the direction of the temple. She eyed the forest beyond the temple as best as she could—since the temple itself obscured most of the forest from view—and she saw a red glow somewhere in the forest; most probably in the heart of the forest. What made her turn was the sudden twist inside her; Kuroro's Nen. Something happened to him; that much was obvious.
"What's wrong?" Hatsubaba questioned her as she kicked a piece of rusty metal aside.
"The Solomon Ring…I think." Kurapika answered hesitantly. She did not know for sure, it was just an intuition.
Hatsubaba gave a low cackling laugh. She knew that it was simply Kurapika's intuition, but still she had to say inwardly that women intuition was really a scary thing. Hatsubaba said nothing as she knew that Kurapika was highly likely to be correct. Instead, she kept her eyes on Meta.
Meta was standing rigidly, and he was looking to the direction of the forest beyond the temple as well. There was a curios expression on his innocent face, as well as a deep frown. Bia tugged at his sleeves, seemingly asking him of what was bothering him.
"Whispers. I hear whispers…" Meta answered her without averting his eyes from that direction.
Bia cocked her head sideways, as if asking him "What whispers?" Meta closed his eyes so that he could concentrate on those whispers. The more he tried to identify those whispered words, the more he could not discern the words. More voices came and overlapped with each other, creating a cacophony of whispers that sounded like a deafening buzz. Those voices were low and high-pitched, hoarse and smooth, breezy and booming—it was everything.
Meta was dizzied by those voices. He tried blocking those noises by covering his ears, but still those voices reached his mind. Meta squatted down in distress and began crying. On impulse, Bia hugged Meta as she thought he needed comforting. Now it was a given that Bia constantly projected her Nen in the form imperceptible electromagnetic field. It acted as passive field that did not affect anything in its range but transmit information to her; that was how she learned from her environment. When she hugged Meta, she involuntarily received the information—or rather, data extracted from his electrons from his brains—of his thoughts. Terrified, she let go of him as if she had been electrocuted. Bia's expressionless face broke into that of a fearful one.
As best as her weak legs could, Bia ran to Kurapika. She tugged at her hands hard to gain her attention. Kurapika had hardly any time to question her when suddenly the little white-haired girl pulled her towards Meta. Seeing Meta's vulnerable position, Kurapika forgot all kinds of questions and rushed to him. Hatsubaba merely observed everything.
"What's wrong?" She asked Meta, but he could not answer her. He was trembling as if he was cold. Kurapika repeated her question but he stayed silent.
Bia then grabbed Kurapika's wrist and started writing on her palm. It was a method that Lucian had once taught her when he was (forcedly) charged with baby-sitting duty back then. She wrote 'scary', 'voices', and 'forest' on Kurapika's palm, and Kurapika knew what had happened.
Meta could hear the voices of the demons of the Solomon Ring when they were being summoned.
Kurapika scooped Meta in her arms and walked towards one of the stone slabs nearby; it seemed like a fallen stone pillar or something the likes. She sat Meta down there and held him by his upper-arms.
"Meta, concentrate on other things. Look at this stone, concentrate on it." Kurapika tried instructing him.
With feeble nod, Meta did as he was told. He looked at the stone beneath him, and after a while he caught a vibe off it. There was a strong memory lingering from that stone, and with his innate empathic ability he could feel it. As he concentrated on that faint trace of memory from the stone pillar, Meta leaned to Kurapika's arms. Kurapika herself sat down by his side and embraced his small shoulders with one arm.
Bia then sat in front of Meta with her passive electromagnetic field still activated. At first she sat while hugging her knees, but after a while she felt compelled to hold Meta's hands, and so she did. The moment the flesh contact was made, somehow Bia involuntarily projected the fragments of memories from the stone pillar they were sitting that Meta was focusing on.
Kurapika looked up as she saw something appearing. Her eyes widened as she saw a young boy sitting on the edge of the stone pillar somewhere near them, with his back towards them. The young boy was clad in black, and his black hair swayed as if gentle breezed caressed it. In reality, there was no wind at the moment. Kurapika had not sensed the boy's presence. It was as if he had just miraculously appeared out of thin air. Then again, as Kurapika narrowed her eyes and scrutinised the boy, she noticed that the boy was not solid. His body was rather transparent.
From her position, she could only see that he was looking down on something he had in his hands. A moment later, another image appeared. It was a tall girl wearing something that reminded Kurapika of school uniform. Her dirty-blonde hair and long skirt also swayed gently, caressed by invisible breeze. Her mouths opened, but no sound came. It was like watching a silent movie.
The Kuruta looked on at the scene playing before her. She knew the girl in uniform. Her face was younger, but the characteristic physical trait of her face was unmistakable. It was Pakunoda in her younger days.
The girl said several words to the black-haired boy. The boy simply looked up and held up a VCR for the tall girl to see. After a while, the boy threw the VCR down to the mountains of trash below. It felt like eternity before the VCR finally crashed down there, its parts scattering everywhere.
Kurapika knew that VCR; the one that contained the message from the mafia asking for elite soldiers from Ryuusei-gai; the present-day Genei Ryodan. Kuroro changed everything back then, and in his defiance against the mafia he recruited those 'soldiers' as his Spiders.
However, Kurapika was not paying attention to either the VCR or the black-haired boy; who undoubtedly was Kuroro Lucifer in his teenage days. Instead, Kurapika focused on the holograph of memories of Pakunoda. Kurapika remembered the time in the blimp in Yorkshin City when she made a deal with Pakunoda for hostages exchange; Kuroro Lucifer for Gon and Killua. She remembered how Senritsu had pointed out that particular Spider's humanity; on how she was willing to go through such risk for the sake of one man.
She had respected Pakunoda back then. When she felt through her Nen that her Judgement Chain had killed her, Kurapika had somehow anticipated it—she knew that Pakunoda was far too loyal to the Spiders and her Danchou that she would gladly throw away her life for it. At the same time, she felt a pang of regret, almost guilt, for causing her death.
Kurapika then knew that she would never be able to deal death to anyone so easily. It was just not in her nature, and she did not wish to get used to it.
Suddenly, the black-haired boy disappeared and so did the young Pakunoda. Instead, the Pakunoda that Kurapika knew well; the one with short cropped hair and black suit, stood before her. Apparently, Meta had shifted his concentration from the stone pillar to Kurapika's memories of Pakunoda; it was stronger than the weak fragments from the stone pillar.
The slightly transparent Pakunoda looked at her with blank eyes; her expression undecipherable. Kurapika was genuinely shocked to see that Pakunoda. That projection of Pakunoda wavered, as if she was projected from a television screen that was going static.
"Mom…" Meta's voice was dry and muffled, and it sounded terribly like one on the verge of crying. "Mom…" He repeated.
"Yes, Meta?" Kurapika answered without averting her eyes from Pakunoda's image.
"Why...did you kill her?"
Night had come, and the wind was chilly. The city was dead, there was hardly a single soul wandering in the streets below there. She was standing on the top of the building that housed Kuroro's quarter. She was still thinking about the issue about Pakunoda; she could not shake it off her mind. Above all, however, she knew that it was the fact that Meta knew that she had murdered Pakunoda that shook her to the core.
Granted that Meta was far more intelligent than the children his age because he had been immersed among books since his infancy due to Kurapika's influence, and also because he had others like Leorio, Killua, Gon, Lucian, and Fino who home-tutored him; teaching him things that children his age did not learn in their schools, but still to think that he would grasp the concept of murder...
Suddenly, she felt the Nen within her shifting. Someone had come home, it seemed.
Wordlessly, Kurapika gave a final glance at the city below there before she walked towards the trap door that led to the inside of the building. She had just discovered another door in the bedroom that led to this small empty room that only had that trap door leading to the rooftop of the building.
When she entered the room, she saw the silhouette of a man standing by the bed. The window of the room was open, and moonlight spilled into the bedroom. The man was looking at the two children sleeping peacefully on the bed, completely unaware of being observed. Kurapika closed the door behind her soundlessly and approached that man.
She still said nothing as she reached his side. She glanced at the children, and then back to observe the man's visage. It was unreadable, but she could read his eyes. Those obsidian-like orbs of eyes had a soft light in them. She did, however, notice the shallow cuts that blemished his handsome face. She could also smell brimstone about his person, and she noticed that his outfit as well as the flesh underneath had several odd cuts that seemed as if they were done by razor-sharp wind.
"What happened?" She asked softly as she raised a hand and activated her Holy Chain.
The tinkling sound of the chains chimed in the room softly, and it gave off faint silvery glow. The Nen chain moved to surround Kuroro's body, and it gave off a warm white glow as it healed those insignificant cuts. While they really were nothing, Kurapika figured that it would be better to handle things fast if she could afford it. Besides, she could feel that Kuroro could barely stand on his two legs despite showing no sign of weakness. For some reasons, he was thoroughly drained of his energy and stamina.
Kuroro closed his eyes as he relished the pleasant feeling of being healed. It seemed that Kurapika's Holy Chain refreshed him to certain extent that he could allow himself to sit down on the floor and leaned his back against the bedside. He propped one knee and rested one arm on it. His eyes stared at nothing in particular in the darkness of the room. Had he tried to do so earlier, he would have just fallen on his knees rather ungracefully. Kurapika sat next to him and waited for him to say something. For him to be that tired, it had to be something really massive.
"The Lady of the Lake," Kuroro paused, allowing Kurapika to remember the said Lady as she had only seen her once in the flashback of their pasts years ago, "she demanded that I used the Solomon Ring, to show her how much I can control the demons."
"And?"
"Ishtar could summon all 72 of them. I could do only 55."
Kurapika was warily impressed. She vaguely concluded that the cuts all over him were due to the effect of the summoning.
"That is a big figure. No wonder you are this drained." She said huskily.
Kuroro had not bothered telling her about the first stage of the test, which was the battle with the other creatures. He thought of it as insignificant compared to what the Lady had made him do vis-à-vis the Solomon Ring. He figured that she would not be interested in it.
"What would happen if you tried to summon all 72 of them?" She asked with low voice.
"Simple. I'll die, either from utter exhaustion or from losing control of those demons as my concentration breaks due to the fatigue." He answered with a chuckle, as if it was an amusing concept.
"…" Kurapika leaned her back against the bedside and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling above. "I doubt you'll ever need 55 demons for anything, much less 72. I don't think you even need 10."
"I don't like using the Solomon Ring." Kuroro admitted. "It maybe much more effective and efficient, but it drains more energy than using pure Nen."
"Then don't use it." Kurapika said in a whispery voice.
"Yes, Ma'am." Kuroro responded with a low chuckle.
"Especially…" Kurapika added almost reluctantly. "…since Meta can hear their voices when they are being summoned." Bia had told Kurapika about Meta hearing voices by writing on her palm; her new method of communication as of late.
Kuroro closed his eyes.
"I suspected as much. Some of the demons said some things about someone being able to listen to their voices, and they were looking to the direction of the city."
Upon being summoned, those demons had immediately asked him of what his orders or wishes were, but some had been distracted by 'someone who was listening to them'. He had not voiced any questions or orders to them, in case they deliberately misinterpreted any of his words. Instead, he dismissed them as soon as he could feel that he had been reaching his limit. Counting the number of the summoned demons as 55 strong while seeing how Kuroro was still sane and very much in control, the Lady of the Lake was very satisfied with him.
"You don't need the power of the Solomon Ring." Kurapika said, as if trying to convince him.
"No, I don't." He could feel the cold touch of the cruel ring around his finger. "I don't even want it."
"…You're odd," said Kurapika, but a small smile was playing on her lips.
Kuroro turned to look at her while intending to give a witty remark, but something caught his interest and he forgot all comments he had in his mind. The room was dark, and the dim illumination of the moon was the only source of light in the room, but it was enough to allow him to notice the faint trace of redness on her sclera and around her eyes in general. Intrigued, Kuroro shifted so that he could take a closer look at her eyes.
Just in the same instant, Kurapika turned to see what Kuroro was trying to do. She came face-to-face with Kuroro; their faces were only a few inches apart. Kuroro reached out to touch one of her eyes with his thumb. Out of reflex Kurapika closed her eyes, and he touched her eyelids. They were hot.
She had been crying.
As he withdrew his hand from her face, he did not ask anything. He knew that she would tell when she was ready or willing to.
He had fleetingly thought that perhaps it was just one of those notorious mood swings that women tended to have during certain times, but he had this feeling that it was not the case this time. For all he knew, Kurapika was a cool-headed logical woman who hardly ever cried for some trivial things.
Kurapika opened her eyes and gazed into those obsidian eyes of his. She seemed to be searching for something, but found none. After a while, she finally answered his unspoken question in a whisper.
"Meta knows...that I killed Pakunoda."
Kuroro raised both eyebrows at this. It was a very strange notion that almost made no sense. How could the boy know? Kurapika sensed this question from him, and she explained to him.
"He saw her ghost…back then in Yorkshin City. In the building where your Spiders buried her body."
Kurapika then told him exactly what had happened back there in the Scavenger's Ground.
xXx
"She's so…sad…" Meta told her as he buried his face to her arm which he was leaning on. "She said she doesn't hate you…"
Kurapika's throat felt strangled and she was unable to breathe.
"Mom…Why?" Meta shed a tear as he continued to ask his mother.
The world seemed to have turned silent, except for the strong wind that suddenly blew. Kurapika was still staring at the spot where Pakunoda's face was. Her mind felt numb, but still her brains managed to logically think. She assumed that Meta had seen her ghost; she was aware of that perceptive aspect of him. As for where…She could only think of Yorkshin City when the boy was in the custody of the Spiders, kept in that dilapidated building of Headquarter of theirs.
She's so sad…So sad…
Sad? Why? If Meta had really seen her ghost, she had instantly assumed that she would be vengeful at most, angry, or at least bitter. But sad? Was she sad because she could not be with the Spiders anymore?
Her pondering was interrupted when she felt a gentle squeeze on her arm. She looked around and saw Bia clinging to her with her wide eyes looking at her with what seemed like concern. Kurapika did notice that the ice that had frozen the little white-haired girl's expression was beginning to thaw. Bia cocked her head sideways and wrote on her palm:
'Why' and 'cry'.
At that time, Kurapika had shed tears as well. She had not expected Pakunoda not to hate her, considering the hateful relationship between her and the Genei Ryodan at the time of her death. She had had hallucinations of Pakunoda and Uvogin—though those were no more than the remnants of her victims' Nens—haunting her during the time when she had fevers after the whole Yorkshin auction fiasco.
Above all, however, it was the frustration of not being able to tell the truth to her son that distressed her to no end, and thus prompting her to shed tears of despair. Things were too complicated to explain, and he was too young to understand. She had not answered his question. She could not.
xXx
They sat side-by-side in silence. Kurapika had told him everything calmly and almost detachedly. She had a frozen mask of indifference etched on her face. Kuroro stared at the empty darkness in the room; his face thoughtful.
"Are you still upset?" He asked her finally, his voice quiet.
"…Somewhat…"
"He discovered an unpleasant fact. That is all that I see. Why are you upset?"
Kurapika had opened her mouth to answer—or rather, to refute his statements vehemently—but decided against it. When dealing with Kuroro Lucifer, she had to be really coherent with her words and answers otherwise he would just keep firing her down; finding mistakes and loopholes in her arguments. As such, Kurapika thought it over.
Yes she was upset to find out that Meta had discovered it since a while ago and not from her own mouth. It was even more unsettling that he had heard of it from Pakunoda herself. What else had she told him? However, a small part of herself whispered to her that there was something else that made her upset.
It was the fact that her reputation in Meta's eyes had been marred. She was afraid that he would hate her if he found out that she had murdered someone. But then again… He was only four-years old. Perhaps he would not hate her because he had not understood the whole concept of killing and murder, but she would not be so sure of it once he had grown up. What if he remembered that incident when he was older and turned to despise her because of that?
…Was she being paranoid?
"Well?" Kuroro asked again.
"I…I guess I'm afraid because he'll hate me for it. Also…" She was hesitant to answer, but under Kuroro's intense gaze she finally spilled it out, "…maybe I'm just ashamed that he has discovered my crime."
"Hmm…" Kuroro hummed as he looked away, back into the darkness of the room.
They remained silent for a while, until Kuroro spoke again; his tone even and composed as ever.
"You call it a crime. If he can't handle yours," he turned to look at Kurapika in the eyes; there was even a slight amusement in those obsidian eyes, "how can he handle mine?"
At this, Kurapika was completely taken aback and flabbergasted. Of course, it went without saying that Kuroro's reputation was far worse than hers. He might as well be one of the most dangerous people living on Earth considering all the crimes he had committed—though he did not seem bothered at all by this (and perhaps this was exactly why he was very dangerous). Compared to his, her crime might seem puny and insignificant; pale in comparison.
And he was the father.
Now Kurapika had yet another issue that was a very potential cause for a grand headache, and so she let out a frustrated groan. She pulled her knees close to her body and buried her face between her knees. Kuroro chuckled very faintly and ruffled her golden hair.
"You should trust the boy more, Kurapika. Trust him to handle that piece of information, and everything else that will be given to him."
Trust…She repeated the word in her mind.
Now that she thought over it, Killua had been born into a family of assassins and grew up with them, yet now he had grown up to become such a fine young man—notably with Gon's help, though. Perhaps she ought to really trust Meta more, and his future as well. Perhaps, he would find someone who would help him go through his parents dark shadows; considering their not-very-pretty pasts.
Suddenly, she felt like a burden had been slightly lifted off her chest.
"Oh, and another thing: I think you can stop feeling guilty over Paku's death." Kuroro added, as he kept staring at certain spot in the darkness.
Kurapika looked up to regard him with a how-do-you-know-that-I'm-feeling-guilty look. Kuroro caught this look and raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"It's quite obvious." He stated with a slightly crooked smile, and he went back staring at the darkness of the room. "In any case, I'm quite positive that Paku doesn't blame you for her death."
"You can never be so sure about that." Kurapika retorted.
"Oh, but I do know." Suddenly, Kuroro bowed his head lowly, but Kurapika did not catch this strange gesture since she was too busy rebutting his words.
"No, you don't. At least not 100%. The two of you might hail from Ryuusei-gai, but that doesn't mean you know exactly what she was feeling or thinking during her time of death." She argued.
"Trust me on this one, Kurapika. Or at least," Kuroro turned to her, raised a finger and tapped the corner of his left eye, "at least trust this."
Kurapika's mouth was hanging open. She did not exactly understand what he was implying, and he did not seem inclined to explain either.
True that Kuroro's left eye had been granted the True Vision via Ishtar's blood/essence within him, but it seemed that the ability had taken one step further and evolved. Kuroro had not been looking purposelessly at the dark recess of the room. He was looking at one particular entity that was invisible to Kurapika's eyes.
Pakunoda's spirit hovered in the room, observing the two of them with serene eyes. She was rather jealous of them; not because of their intimacy—she had never thought of her Danchou in such romantic term—but because of the fact that they were living. She missed the feeling of being alive, of having tangible flesh and blood. It had been so long…
When Kuroro had said the part about her not blaming the Kuruta for her death, their eyes met for a few seconds. Pakunoda could not help but to smile broadly at this eye contact. She had no idea on how her Danchou could see her, but she would simply be grateful for the opportunity. To substantiate Kuroro's assertion that she was not bitter of her death, Pakunoda nodded at him, before she gave a deep bow of gratitude and respect.
Earlier, Pakunoda's spirit had the urge to return to Ryuusei-gai for the last time, and she had felt even more compelled to visit the Spider Head's private quarter. She was not so surprised to see both her Danchou and the chain-assassin together. In fact, she had been elated to see them. She took her time observing them and their interactions with each other, and then she came to a comforting conclusion that all would be well.
She could finally rest in peace.
The dead Spider then straightened up and said a "Take care, both of you," before her spirit started to glowed dimly and dispersed into tiny balls of light that glowed weakly. It was as if her spirit was shaped out of thousands of fireflies; and now those fireflies were dying off.
To show his respect to her, Kuroro bowed his head as she departed from the material world—though he could still respond properly to Kurapika's arguments. He told her that she ought to at least trust his True Vision, but he did not intend to tell her about the apparition of Pakunoda's spirit to her. She would be better off not knowing that her spirit had paid a visit. The Kuruta was already distressed as she was, there was no need to add more to the tension.
Kurapika was still staring at him as if he had grown another head. With a sigh that was accompanied with faint smile, Kuroro lifted one hand. He put the palm of that hand on her eyes so she closed them out of reflex, then he pulled her by her neck and rested his chin on the crown of her golden hair. He closed his eyes and buried his face among her silken hair.
"I'm exhausted, you are distraught. Let's call it a day and rest for now."
Kurapika did not protest against this. It sounded good to her. There were faint whiffs of woods lingering about his body, as well as the strong scent of brimstone as the result of him attending to his duty during the day. However, she found it endearingly comforting.
Nights in desert were always cold. However, around the vicinity of the forest of Ryuusei-gai it was a different case. One might call it an anomaly, but for Bara it was a pleasant anomaly. They stayed at the outskirt of the forest for the night, because it was more comfortable than inside the humid forest or out there in the freezing world of sand. There were those spider guardians all over the outskirts, but Anansi was there to ensure their safety. Actually, the reason of Anansi's presence was not solely to guarantee their safeties, but more because he had things to talk about with Bara.
Una was fast asleep next to her father like how she always did with her mother when she was still alive. Bara looked at the faraway desolate horizon of the desert, visible between the trunks of trees around their campsite. He had been telling Anansi about his first meeting with Kuroro Lucifer, and his thoughts about that young man. However, that idle conversation was simply to kill time.
"They are coming." Anansi suddenly said as he looked to the direction of the desert.
Sure they are, said Bara with a soft neigh, as if mocking whoever was coming.
"Shall we go and greet them before they touch down here?" Anansi asked as he stood up and dusted himself.
No need. They are a bunch of ridiculously patient people. You can make them wait for hours to no end, and they won't complain, said the black unicorn, but still he got up ever so gently so that he did not to disturb the sleeping unicorn next to him.
Both of them walked to the border of the forest, where the soles of their feet (and hoofs) touched the cold sand. A few seconds later, there was a glowing silhouette standing before them, floating a foot above the sand. The glow wavered and twisted, before it finally took a solid form of a youth with slight build.
The youth had creamy skin colour, with curly locks of bronze hairs framing his child-like round face. His bright blue eyes looked at Anansi and Bara with heightened awareness, and the ivory white clothing that wrapped his slender body danced around him gently. A pair of pure white wings bloomed majestically from his back. The youth smiled at them genially and bowed his head in courtesy.
Greetings, my friends, said the youth.
"Friends? I'm not sure about me, but are you really his friend, Bara? Since you're a half-demon and he's an angel…" Anansi looked at the black unicorn beside him with a smirk.
Well, I just happen to know this particular one. Bara 'shrugged', and turned to address the young-looking angel. Hey, what's up, angel-boy?
I see that you are well, Bara. How are you doing? The angel boy said with a polite smile.
As you can see, fine and dandy. That Apaosa bastard is still well-contained in here, no worries. Well, formalities aside, you're here 'coz those old-geezers up there send you to investigate the sudden appearance of a horde of demons in this forest, ain't it? You alone?
The youth looked slightly awkward. He was not used to the informalities and the brusqueness in the unicorn's mannerism; that much was clear.
Yes, my superiors asked me to investigate, and so they deemed it sufficient to send only one of us. Do you mind explaining?
Suuu~~re, no biggie. In fact, we're here especially to explain things to you. Bara turned to Anansi. Right, buddy?
"Yes." Anansi stepped forward. "Hmm… Well, for politeness' sake, let me introduce myself. I'm Anansi."
Yes, I have heard of you, sir.
"Um…No offense here, but you're being too polite and formal here. It's giving me the creeps, or it is just me?"
It's just you, old man. Bara snorted.
"Thank you so much," Anansi said in a clipping sarcastic tone, before he turned to the winged youth again. "Those demons you're concerned with, they belong to the Solomon Ring. They were summoned today just for the sake of proving that the current master is capable enough of controlling them. Turned out he passed wonderfully with flying colours."
Anansi, cut the crap with those praises about your boy. It bores me to death, already, Bara feigned a yawn.
Anansi glared at the rude unicorn, but continued 'explaining' to the angel, "Yeah well, so bottom line is there's nothing to be worried about. The Ring is in good hands. You can go back and tell your bosses that things are fine here."
The angel looked rather sceptically at them, especially Anansi.
Kuroro Lucifer does not hold a good reputation, he tried to argue.
"Sure he doesn't. Heck, he's a criminal by profession, actually. Then again, who's a saint nowadays? Even Kurapika isn't that saintly either." Anansi shrugged, and added inwardly: considering how she can emit such murderous aura sometimes…
Kurapika Kuruta…Yes, I have heard of her as well…And their son…
They sure do hear a lot of things, don't you think? Gossipers to the core, eh? Bara whispered to Anansi.
"Shut up, Bara. What if he hears you?" Anansi whispered back furiously.
Oh, bother. He's too nice to do anything just because of some remarks. Bara snorted while rolling his eyes. Besides, look. That angel-boy is so pre-occupied with his thoughts he doesn't notice us whispering this loud. We may be cracking fireworks and he won't notice, for all I know.
True enough, the young-looking angel was looking down at the ground beneath him with his arms crossed. He was obviously so deep in thought he did not notice his surrounding.
"You seem to know him so much." Anansi said with an accusing tone.
He was the one checking on me when I first adopted this shitty demon inside me, Bara scrunched up his face and tsk-ed. And I can tell you it's not nice to get nagged at by some youngling angel. He kept on tailing after me until he's damn sure I'm in control.
Anansi leaned further towards the black demonic unicorn.
"Youngling?"
Yeah, don't cha know? Angel-boy here doesn't have a name 'coz he belongs to the lowest rank of the angelic hierarchy. Only an Angel, he is. Higher-ranking angels like Seraphs and Cherubs definitely have names. When Bara saw an expression of curiosity blooming on Anansi's face, he quickly added: Don't ask me about the hierarchy! Do your own research!
"Don't be such a miser!" Anansi started tugging at his black mane.
Shut up. Bara pulled away from Anansi's grasp, and turned to the young angel. And he's taking his bloody sweet time. Yo, angel-boy!
The angel looked up and blinked.
Yes?
You're taking too long. Make up your mind already. What's the big deal now? Bara scraped the sand with his hoofs impatiently.
The angel looked at him with solemn eyes with a tinge of sadness in them, causing them to appear like a pair of glassy pale-blue marbles.
Bara…he started, and he raised a hand to put it on his chest. I sense impurity…from all three of them…
Say what? Bara narrowed his eyes. Oh, yes. Come to think of it, in his first meeting with that Kuroro-lad he did smell that the lad had very odd blood running in his veins. Well, he supposed that such peculiar-smelling blood could very well be defined as impure. But the other two; the woman and the kid, he was not very sure of them. Perhaps their bloods did smell like Kuroro-lad, but even if they did Bara was sure that it was not as strong as Kuroro-lad's.
Anansi might seem composed in the outside, but inwardly he was cringing. He knew exactly what 'impurity' the angel was referring about. He knew that they were going to ask about it, but—
Care to explain 'bout it, Anansi? You're his daddy, so you gotta know one thing or two about it, right?
…talk about bad timing.
He is his father? But—
Just a figure of speech, angel-boy. Sheesh, you're an all-serious-freak, honestly. He's kinda like the lad's surrogate father, so to say.
Anansi sighed and shook his head; not because of the antics of the two odd creatures before him, but because he knew that he was not going to divulge the matter so easily either. It was Kuroro's secret—if he considered it one—and so it was up to Kuroro to decided whether to tell others or not. He might be Kuroro's (self-proclaimed) foster father, but still he respected the boy's privacy.
"Unfortunately, it's not up to me to tell you. If you want to know, ask Kuroro yourself." Anansi said with a shrug and crossed his arms; showing that the topic was closed.
Now who's the miser here? Bara snorted, but he did not pry further.
Oh my…This is bad. I suppose Kuroro Lucifer will not be too delighted to have me asking him about such delicate issue… The angel mused.
Yeah, appear to him like this and he'll blast you to your afterlife with his horde of demons, Bara laughed.
Hm? But we angels do not have afterlife—
Like I said, it's just a figure of speech. Gosh! Loosen up a bit, angel-boy. This time, Bara even arched his head dramatically as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. Anyway, you still gotta make sure that it's safe to leave that thingamagic Ring in Kuroro-boy's hands, correct?
The angel nodded. Anansi observed Bara with keen interest. From the way Bara spoke, Anansi could sense that the black unicorn had something in mind.
Well, let's do it this way. You trust me to handle this shitty demon inside me and I do a good job with it, yes? So now why don't I do the watch-over duty in your stead? I mean, I'm experienced with handling demons by now.
"It's only one demon." Anansi deadpanned.
Apaosa is a kick-ass demon, alright? Bara glared at the spider incarnation with his glazing red eyes, and turned back to the angel; who was looking at the demonic unicorn with anticipation. So, instead of you risking your neck to get an interview with Kuroro-boy, I can accompany him and, for example, be his counsellor or the sort about handling those demons. If anything real bad happens, I'm gonna contact you. Sounds good?
"Too good to be true, actually." Anansi responded.
You shut up. I'm talking to angel-boy here. Bara felt like kicking the dark-skinned spider incarnation with his rear legs.
Why are you willing to do so much? You are not under obligation to do this,the angel asked while tilting his head sideways in slight puzzlement.
Oh, I just like him. It's fun with him. Bara grinned; rather maniacally in Anansi's opinion.
…Very well. I shall inform my superiors about this arrangement. I will let you know if they agree with this. With that, the angel spread his wings wide and they began to beat gently.
Soon enough, the angel was high in the air, and with one bow of respect to the two of them, he flew to the night sky above and disappeared among the clouds. Anansi and Bara stayed where they were standing, both staring at the starry midnight sky with their own thoughts in their minds. There was only the sound of sands shifting as chilly night wind blew. Finally, after a while, Anansi broke the silence.
"You're really going to stay with them? You don't strike me as the settle-down-somewhere-permanently type."
Nah, not exactly permanent. I guess. Bara shrugged and turned around to go back to their temporary campsite.
"It's for Una, isnt' it?" Anansi guessed out loud as he followed the jet-black unicorn.
Although Anansi's question hit home, Bara said nothing. He then recalled one of the stories that Una had told him.
Una mentioned that six years ago, after the end of the journey around the world in search of the Scarlet Eyes with Kuroro and Kurapika, she had gone back to Chiron. The reason for her sudden visit was because she wanted to know what Chiron thought of her staying permanently with them. After observing them, and seeing the human civilization from far away when the two humans needed to go to some cities or villages, Una had had her share of observation about humans. She had seen their interaction, she had seen how they always lived in groups, she had seen how they were never alone; at least that was the impression she had. Una had always been lonely, even during her stay in Chiron's forest. Things changed ever since she started travelling with the two intriguing humans.
Bara was aware; after all the stories that his daughter told him, that Una would not have been this present sweet Una if it was not for those two humans. She would have isolated herself from the world, drawn-back and painfully introvert. She might even be hateful, for all he could imagine.
It seems that I owe them more than enough for what they've done for Una, the black Unicorn mused. I wasn't there for her, but they were.
They had reached their campsite, and Una was still sleeping peacefully; blissfully unaware of the event that had transpired just a few metres away.
"Well…" Anansi sat down and leaned back against a fat tree trunk. "To be honest I'm surprised that Una still retains her third-person manner of speech. I thought Kurapika would've beaten some language lessons into her."
Does it matter? I don't mind it. It's cute. Bara said as he lay down next to his sleeping daughter.
"Pfft. Doting parent."
Like you are one to talk.
Low rumble of laughter could be heard around the campsite, but it was soft enough not to disturb the sleep of a young black-horned unicorn.
Nobunaga yawned widely; so wide it could fit a beehive, as he made his way to the dining hall. It was decided the day before that they were going to leave the town after lunch, since the meeting had ended. The meeting stretched for a few days because Fino—of all people—felt that they would need some quality time together, especially when they had a new member. In fact, she insisted they stayed so that Heen could feel more comfortable and knew better of his comrades.
(Of course Shalnark knew that she did on purpose that because she simply wanted to enjoy their companion since she found it fun to have the Spiders around.)
The samurai scowled at the thought of the new member. He was just a snotty kid and he was already behaving as if he was good friends with their Danchou! He even had the nerve to say that calling Kuroro Lucifer as 'Danchou' would feel weird to him.
"Too bad. You'll just have to learn to do it, otherwise perhaps we have to beat the lesson into you now?" was what Machi had said with the glacial, gelid air of South Pole.
Nobunaga vaguely wondered if he really had seen Heen's face turning an odd shade of blue or green when Machi threatened him. If that brat really did, then good for him.
He was passing the kitchen when he suddenly heard faint voices coming from it. He instantly detected the voices as belonging to Shalnark and his girlfriend. Nobunaga really had no intention of eavesdropping, but his hearing just happened to be really sharp.
"…Danchou and Kurapika are coming back here soon."
"With Meta?"
"With Meta, and another kid. You'll like her."
The moment he had heard the 'coming back' part, Nobunaga had not bothered to listen to the rest of the conversation. He hurried back to where his comrades were waiting and boisterously announced that their Danchou would be coming back soon.
Of course, Shalnark was none too happy when he was assaulted by some Spiders that were just too excited with the prospect of seeing their Danchou again after so long.
"I thought it's decided that we're going to move after lunch today?" He demanded, trying to sound authoritative but failed miserably.
"We are waiting until Danchou is here!" Nobunaga declared while sitting down on the wooden floor of the inn cross-legged; showing his immovable resolute.
Shalnark felt like fainting there and then. Fino was not helping either; she herself was elated beyond calming down when she heard that the whole Genei Ryodan would gather there, complete with Kurapika and Meta. And another kid.
Well, perhaps Danchou would not think much of it. Perhaps he would merely blink and look at them with his impassive face, and he would go on as if life was normal. In fact, perhaps he would be quite pleased to see them again. Perhaps, because sometimes their Danchou could be rather unpredictable.
For Kurapika, however, Shalnark knew that it was no perhaps. It was absolute.
She would be absolutely mortified to see the inn swarmed and occupied by Spiders. She would absolutely be pissed off to know that Fino had to close the inn to the public for several days especially because the Spiders were staying there. She would absolutely go into another grand verbal fight with Nobunaga about each other's annoying presence.
Oh, the same could apply to Meta and Bia. He would be absolutely delighted to see that there were more people for him to play with. Bia would absolutely remain expressionless even after seeing a group of strange people.
Shalnark felt like tearing his hair. He could only wait in despair until Danchou and his entourage came back to Prancing Pony Inn.
And then all hell would break lose.
Author's Note: Yeeeah, finally holiday! I'm SO going to finish this sequel this time round and that's it! XD I am NOT going to make yet another sequel X I think some are already bored with this whole thingamagic.
Thank you MARYLOVER for the idea of the Genei Ryodan as the 'people of the world/everywhere/nowhere'. Yep, I took it right from your review ^o^
I know that some of you don't like the Pakunoda's ghost concept, but she has made her appearance and so I must make her disappearance as well, otherwise it'll be a big plothole -_-
As some reviewers said, these few chapters are dedicated for settling everything down (and hence this title now =P)
Ps: Imagine if it's only Kuroro who'll be raising Meta alone without Kurapika. What kind of a monster-kid will Meta become? O.o LOL
Next: Finally, they were going to reach the town which was Kurapika's home; where the Prancing Pony Inn was and where the entire Genei Ryodan gang was waiting for them. With everyone present, what kind of merriment (and chaos) would ensue there?