A/N: Enjoy this regular updating while it lasts. I will die somewhere during NaNoWriMo. Thank you for sticking with me up until now. When you're done PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review and tell me what you think, it's the best 'good luck' gift you can give me because an author always, always feeds on their reviews. xD
FMA reference? Yes, yes, yes.
Filipino foods? I'm so sorry. That's the only one I'm familiar with. HAHA. K.
(by the way, I edited the start slightly so that it implies with... some events. Read it if you want to know stuff. xD)
OWC: 3,528 words~
DISCLAIMER: Hunter x Hunter is Yoshihiro Togashi's. [[FMA is Hiromu Arakawa's.]]
INSOMNIA
(and a bit of sacrifice and nostalgia)
It was probably somewhere before or after midnight when Akane awoke. Her eyes peeled open, letting the moonlight be filtered through her dark irises. She knew she should be asleep. She had, after all, spent a long day going adventuring with Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika. She should be tired—they had hiked a small hill, swam in the river, built sandcastles by the bay, helped Gon's Aunt Mito at the house to do chores, and entertained Gon because Killua had to find a way to go to sleep ahead of him.
But, for a reason she couldn't comprehend, she couldn't do anything besides toss and turn around in her bed. It was crystal clear to her that she would not fall into a state of sleeping any time soon. With a sigh, she pulled the thick blanket over her head, imagining that it smelled of sleep and dreams, and that it was warm like rest. But it was just cold. Ice-cold like the breeze that had started to blow through the open windows five minutes earlier.
But why were they in Whale Island?
Right before they came off the train, Gon had announced to the trio (that was composed of Kurapika, Leorio and Akane) that he and Killua had already pre-planned their off-route trip to Whale Island, Gon's hometown. Typical of them to start planning ahead of the others. And as they expected, they got a few reject responses—I need to start with Med School soon; I need to start training as quickly as possible—but Gon just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. And Killua just stood behind him, grinning. Thus, the trio was forced—required—to just agree and go with the flow and let Gon have his way.
And that's exactly what he did. Gon got them on the earliest boat to Whale Island—that was 4 in the morning, a bare half hour from the time they arrived to the station. The group got into the ship and dove right to the covers, aiming to get a good sleep this time. Gon, meanwhile, didn't even wink; he just stood there by the side of the boat, waiting for hours on end that they were there, to finally see the long-missed island home.
Gon stood there, pondering, his senses bathing in the freshness. The mighty sun peeped over and around the horizon, hiding from under the blanket of the sea that reflected the blue of the sky. The breeze brought the scent of sea, sunshine, and bright spring mornings at the same time. Gon couldn't help but smile. He missed that feeling of the morning washing over him so calmly and so brightly. How long had he been out of that house?
"GUYS GUYS WAKE UP! WE'RE NEARING PORT!" Gon screamed, rushing across the hallway to the room where his four other friends had decided to catch up on some sleep to get over the jet-lag of some sort with the hours of non-stop traveling. He went over each one of them and shook them by their shoulders until they were awake; for Killua, Gon had to pull his silver hair just to get him to stand up and open his eyes.
(Of course that seemed perfectly okay for the former assassin; they were close friends at that moment, after all.)
Akane sat up, rubbing her blue eyes that were obviously still cloudy with sleep. "Are we near Whale Island now?" Her voice was groggy and almost sounded drunk. She tidied her rosy-pink shirt, blinking as she went, trying to shrug off the mist of sleep.
"Yes we are!" Gon said, and giggled. There was this impenetrable layer of excitement in his tone that he could not take off.
"Then we should get ready," answered Kurapika as he stood up, moving on to fold and tidy the borrowed blanket and mattress. His hair was still bedhead, uncombed as, just like the others, he himself just woke up.
Killua's eyes were still droopy. He grabbed at his blanket—still warm and slightly wet (with drool and things) with his dreams—trying to buy more time for sleep, but Gon only did him a favor of grabbing the blanket and throwing it in the opposite direction. "No more sleeping," Gon said with a playful grin. "It's time to wake up, wake up, Killuuuuuu."
"In your dreams!" Killua barked back, and curled himself into a ball. Gon, who wasn't going to back down on arguments, lifted the mattress up from the floor, causing Killua to slide and land on his butt to the wooden floors. "Oww!" the latter shrieked. "Fine, fine, I'll wake up, fine," Killua said half-heartedly. He shook his head, trying to fix his ruffled hair, stood up and stretched his long pale arms.
Leorio—taking Kurapika's lead—had already also finished tidying his mattress and blanket. He shoved his set into the corner above Kurapika's. Looking into Gon, he asked, "After reaching shore, do we still need another ride to get to your house?"
"No," Gon said, shaking his head. "It's just a short walk, maybe five to ten minutes. Depends on how sleepy you are, really," Gon added, scratching the back of his nape. And then, just as the others thought he was having doubts about bringing them to Whale Island, a Cheshire-cat grin spread across Gon's face. "I bet Aunt Mito cooked really delicious food!"
And that's exactly what she did. The table that greeted them back in Whale Island was filled with food that they hadn't really met before in their lifetime. The original meal that Aunt Mito had prepared for the house was something they called Adobo—chicken that was stewed in a delicious broth of vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, and peppercorns. But the minute they entered the house and had finished the greetings ("Aunt Mito!" "Gon? Is that you? Oh! Gon! I missed you! Are you okay?" "Aunt Mito! These are my friends Akane, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika!" "There's so many of you! Wait. I'll have to prepare more food!" "No need, ma'am. We'll be fine on our own." "No, no. You kids must be tired from all your adventuring…"), she had rushed to the kitchen and prepared even more food, like what Gon had called the Kare-kare which was a stew made from peanut sauce with a number of vegetables, beef, stewed oxtail, and tripe, and was also served with shrimp paste.
But what amused Gon the most was Killua's random fond taste for the one of the blandest meals in Whale Island, and that was the goto, nothing but a simple rice porridge and a few 'secret ingredients' that Aunt Mito did not name to make it slightly tastier. When Gon asked Killua why, of all the kinds of amazing food that he could try and succeed to smother in his mouth that came from Whale Island, did he have a sweet spot for the almost tasteless dish, Killua could only answer Gon with a shrug. "I don't know. I guess it's just because the name sounds like my butler."
Akane turned around in her bed, looking for something else to focus her attention on that would somehow—maybe—get her to fall into sleep. Gon's face—that screamed a big epic fail to Killua's—when he knew that 'stupid' reason why Killua loved the dish, was just something that Akane couldn't erase in her head—and if she didn't, maybe she wouldn't even be able to fall asleep that night.
She turned her moist yet awake blue, blue, eyes to the ceiling, wondering why she couldn't sleep. It was only that night, of all nights, that she couldn't sleep. It was as if there was something that got in between her and the unconscious world. Turning to the window, she looked at saw the full moon, bright and white, undisturbed and not out-staged by the city lights like most of the time she saw it shine in the nighttime sky.
Maybe it was because the night was far too distracting to even fall asleep.
She wondered what it would be like if she went to the room adjacent to where she slept. In that room was Killua and Gon. Kurapika and Leorio took another room in the far back of the house. She wondered if the four other boys were fast asleep like the dead, or maybe one of them was having a hard time sleeping as well.
Staring back at the ceiling, she sorted her thoughts. She thought about her four companions and what they had done together all the time. She thought about Killua and whatever pain he must've had to go through his childhood—if she still had whatever to consider such past as a childhood. She wondered, how would it have felt to grow up not knowing about anything about your parents, as she remembered Gon's spiky black hair and his liquid-y brown eyes. She thought about Leorio and his dreams, that ambition that kept pushing him onward, his determination from which Akane took inspiration from. She thought about Kurapika, and just thought and thought and thought.
Another sigh, another flip.
Akane just couldn't seem to figure out why she couldn't sleep. The trees outside made shadows on the walls, and Akane watched as the leaves' silhouettes fluttered around dancing, singing a song with the wind that blew silently. The stars outside were shining merrily as well, twinkling as they assisted the moon in lighting the path for whoever else might be awake.
Oh. That's just a grand idea.
Akane looked at the door, wondering if a little walk would help her fall asleep, would cure her momentary 'insomnia.' She closed her eyes for a minute, trying to remember her map of the house so that she wouldn't get lost in the dark. She remembered where she had put her jacket, somewhere hung in a nail tacked by the door of the house. And although she couldn't exactly remember where she had put her slippers, she decided it would be fine.
Yes. Maybe a walk around the seashore would help calm her senses.
She shuffled out the room's door, trying as best as she could to not wake up Aunt Mito, who decided to—instead of making Akane sleep in the same room with Gon or Kurapika—share her room with her. She hugged her bare arms, feeling fragile and vulnerable to the night wind. Oh, but what could she do but borrow what Aunt Mito had that fit her right? All that adventuring by the river only did her the favour of soiling her clothes when Killua had 'accidentally' knocked her into the mud. Sighing, she headed to the door, memories of that afternoon flooding her sleep-depriven mind.
The small river that flowed under the canopy, shining with the sunlight it had been lent to, glowed a dark green as it rushed across the moss-covered rocks. Killua had had quite a time splashing around the water with Gon. The river, as Gon said, was the last key point of their adventure around Whale Island for that day. He still had lots of plans for them the next day, and it was hard to miss that hidden message in his tone.
Akane could only sigh. She dipped her feet in the cool water, feeling it be run between her toes. There was something in that feeling of being calm and undisturbed that made her feel like she was somewhere in the border near heaven. She had never felt this good and well recently. Just looking at the kids play and the sun and the trees and the water made the coils of fear in Akane's stomach unravel one by one, and she felt better.
She wondered why.
"AKANE! You better go over here or else I'm going to drag you in the water!" Killua screamed from the distance, interrupting Akane's train of thoughts. She blinked and looked toward the direction of the two boys, only to catch them at the very right moment—Gon shoving a bundle of some kind of seaweed into Killua's face. Akane had to stifle her laughter.
Leaving Killua to busy himself with the sticky, slimy, odd-smelling weeds that had decided to stay in his face, Gon waded over to Akane. "Akaneeee~ don't you want to join us? Killua's having so much fun," Gon snickered as he looked over to Killua, freaking out and panicking, scratching at the goo on his face. Killua's silvery strands of hair had also smartly decided to stick into his face because of it being wet, and they only gave him a harder time because they tangled in with the weeds.
"Nahh. I'm fine over here," Akane said with a smile, telling Gon to move back to Killua with a nod of her head. She was content being the audience of this real-life reality show that was more hilarious than anything she'd ever seen.
"Haiiii~" Gon said, wading back to Killua with loud laughter escaping from his mouth. "HAHAHA! Killua wa bakadesuuuuu~" Gon cheered as Killua peeled the last bit of the icky weed off his face. With a menacing grin, Killua decided to storm toward Gon.
"Oh you little shrimp!" Killua screamed as he jumped over Gon to pin him, and they wrestled in the water, careful of the rocks that they may hit even as they fought. As they tackled each other around the river, Killua had also managed to drive them toward Akane. With that same playful grin he always had on whenever he had something in mind, he grabbed Akane by her ankle and pulled her down.
"Now you're coming down with us!"
Akane's hair that shined like gold under the sun was the last that Kurapika saw as she fell into the water. Killua's laughter pealed like bells across the river, echoing through the trees. When Akane got up to the surface, her white shirt had already stuck to her body like a second skin, and her hair was a messy vine that had no direction to go to. And as expected, she was glaring at Killua with a funny smile on her face.
"Oh, now you are so coming down with me too."
The first thing Akane had noticed when she stepped outside was that Whale Island was beautiful; really beautiful, especially at night. The moon—that chanced to be a full one that night—shone on the grass and the sand, making them shine like beads of silver. Her bare feet trod through the grainy sand, feeling their soft texture.
She sighed contentedly. It was so peaceful.
And beautiful. Especially the moon, smiling like a mother dear at her sleeping child. She had never seen a moon that beautiful in her entire life. It was different from the moon she saw in the city, different from the moon in Kukuru, different from the moon in Padokia. Just different. There were no city lights that covered its true grandiose, and the stars, the moon's children, shone with it.
Akane stood there, spellbound. It was like she'd been stopped by some kind of trance. Her breath stuck in her throat, she didn't know what to do. It was just so… breathtaking.
She took another step in the sand, wondering where she should walk. She pondered if it was a good choice to go around wandering by the shore by the beach at this time of the night. Deciding against it, she walked toward the direction of the trees, by the garden, thinking that she could just sit by the flowers and ponder about life's mysteries before sleep might finally take her in its tight embrace. She had expected all of that to just happen smoothly.
What she did not expect to see was him. Bathed in the moonlight, staring at the empty space of the sea and the trees and the sand, was Kurapika. His blond hair swayed with the wind, dark blue eyes blank and almost staring at nothing in particular in the vast of the faraway shores of Whale Island.
Akane walked closer toward him, and he blinks as if woken from a trance. "Hey."
He turned to Akane. His eyes are still caught in that dream or illusion he was basking in. "Can't sleep?" he asked.
Akane shook her head. "No. I just… can't." Turning to the moon, she sighed. "The nights too distracting… they're just so beautiful here."
"Reminds me of someplace," Kurapika said with a nostalgic tone in his bitter voice. Akane looked at him warily. So that's why.
"Whale Island is amazing," Akane said as she sat on the same bench beside Kurapika. "It's different, but it's familiar. It's homey despite the fact that you're not from this place."
Kurapika only responded to her with an eerie silence, and Akane just stared on at him. His eyes were wandering to a past that he couldn't return to. Never, no matter how much he tried and tried and tried. His single earring, shining in the moonlight a shade of beautiful blood red, shivers in the breeze.
"How is it like in Rukuso?" Akane asked, deciding to take the risk in that question to break the thick layer of ice. She didn't look at Kurapika's eyes as she asked the question, trying to pretend that it really was a nonchalant one. Kurapika stared at her in slight shock while she looked up at the moon, as if the question didn't matter.
At first, she thought Kurapika wouldn't even bother to answer her. Maybe, she thought, it would be too painful to even think about. But when he did, there was a sense of relief and peace in her mind. He trusted her enough.
"The Rukuso moon looks more beautiful than this one," he stated, longing in his voice. "Usually there's a small celebration in the house of the prince during the full moon. It's because… they say humans are closest to the spirits during the full moon. It's for the dead, for the dying, for the newborn," he explained.
Akane looked up at the moon silently, wishing him to continue, secretly wondering, is that what you're trying to do?
"They say when you're at those states, you're safest spiritually, despite the fact you're vulnerable to what the material world can do. And they say when you 'grow' in the material world, you can lose yourself from true spirituality. You lose your way. You're gone." Kurapika released a sigh. Everything was getting a bit too painful for him, but he didn't want to be selfish. Akane was one of them, too, after all.
(It was all about sacrifice.)
"That's why they said life is something like alchemy, something practiced by the olden people. It's all about deconstruction and reconstruction. You're created complete, pure, eternal at start; the material world destroys you, takes away your immortality, and then whips you with all its might. But if you're strong enough, death will not serve as your end, but your reconstruction spiritually. You will be saved. And you'll be reincarnated one day…"
Kurapika's voice trailed off as he noticed Akane take a small yawn that she had so desperately tried to stifle, apparently. He realized—maybe she'd had enough. He had had enough. It was just too much. Just thinking of Rukuso and whatever remains in there.
His hands. His hands started to tremble, remembering the cool feeling of the wet mud and the bodies and the cool air that night when he had all buried them, one by one, every single familiar face, every single loved one. That afternoon he had lost all of them from the storm.
"I'm sorry. I must be boring you…" Kurapika whispered, trying his hardest to remove the shakiness of his voice. He was terrified, too.
Akane shook her head, desperately wanting to say, No, go on. I want to know more… please. But another yawn took over her and she realized maybe it wasn't the right time to fall asleep after all. The momentary 'insomnia' was wearing off at the wrong moment, and she didn't like it.
The orchestra of the night-time crickets serving as their background music for the end of the long night, Kurapika stood up, taking her hand with him as he aimed to return her to the house.
"You should go to sleep now."
Pain in her eyes, she grabbed hurriedly for his sleeve, wanting him to stay. To continue. There was just so much more he could tell her. There was just so much more she could learn. Because there aws just so much more blank spaces, so much more she wanted to know, but she just couldn't seem to.
Why, why was it so hard?
"But Kurapika…"
And when he replied to her, his voice was empty and it was dead. It was obvious. He'd had enough pain nibbling at the edges of his empty soul. He looked down and headed away from her, away from the house and the garden and whatever memories she had pulled up from the forgotten crevices of his past, wanting to hide from her the tears that had started to well in the corner of his blue, blue eyes that had almost—so closely—turned scarlet.
"I'll tell you when you're ready."
