Note: OMG, people! Go find Skeeleto on Tumblr and look at the awesome fanart s/he drew for DAV! I wanted to wait until I was done writing chapter 31 to post this, but I kind of need something happy, and the one happy I get a lot is sharing this fic with you wonderful people. So, here it is! Chapter 28. Please don't hate me, lol.
Beta-reader: None.
Chapter summary: On the run.
Chapter 28
Kurapica went around their suite quickly, making sure they were leaving nothing behind. They had a few minutes until the authorities came up, at least, but they still had to leave as quickly as possible. He joined Kuroro at the patio door leading out onto the balcony. He peered out, but it was clear they wouldn't be able to leave that way. The parking lot below their porch was crawling with uniforms and cruisers. "We've got everything," Kurapica said, handing Kuroro the books he had collected from both their rooms. The taller man nodded and put them away in the Fun Fun Cloth.
Kuroro turned and made his way to the door and peered out of the door scope. The hallway must have been cleared, because he opened the door and motioned Kurapica out. As soon as they let the door fall shut behind them, however, they heard booted feet coming their way. "Room 214," a female voice said, right around the corner. Kuroro grabbed Kurapica and summoned his book. A moment later, they were in the room across the hall from theirs, thanks to his teleportation skill. The Kuruta would probably never get used to the queasy feeling the spell made him feel. He followed the older man to the patio door and peered out. There were cars here too, but there was also a flat rooftop across the street where Kuroro could teleport them. The blond poked the man's arm and pointed. Kuroro nodded. Kurapica felt the man's arm wrap around the back of his waist. A twist-pull in his stomach, and they were standing on the roof of the other building. "Come on," Kuroro said, "We'll need a new car." The blond nodded, knowing that meant they would be stealing one. He thought he should feel more upset at the thought than he did. They made their way to the stair well. From then on, they went down into the basement and Kuroro found a car to force his way into. A few minutes later, they were driving out of the basement parking lot. Kuroro put the radio onto a news station.
" – ng man with blond hair and blue eyes, around one hundred and seventy centimetres tall. He is in his late teens and is considered violent and dangerous," the reporter was saying. Kuroro and Kurapica eyed each other. How had they gotten this information? The reporter continued, "He is wanted in connection with two robberies, in Quedlin and here in Merenke. The president of Erestor himself is offering five million zennies for his capture."
"They knew our room number too," Kuroro said and Kurapica nodded, frowning lightly.
"Who could have know this informa –" He caught the look on Kuroro's face and fell silent. It didn't take him too long to figure out what had caused the older man to look so cold and angry. The fact that the anger wasn't directed at him didn't help much. The news cast went on describing Kurapica in details. They even knew his name. Kurapica rubbed at his forehead. Okay, this could get awkward. He half expected his phone to ring with one of his friends or coworkers demanding to know what this was about, but the only sound in the car came from the announcer on the radio repeating Kurapica's information. Kuroro drove carefully, no doubt to avoid getting the attention of police cruisers. They made it to the outskirts of the city before new information was released in connection to the car thought to have been stolen by the criminal the police and national guards were after. There was an APB on the car Kuroro was driving, down to the plate number. Kurapica frowned. Suddenly, lights flashed red and blue and the cruiser behind them started its siren. Things were just going from bad to worse.
Kuroro stepped on the accelerator and the car bounded forward. They led an increasing number of police cars in a mad chase out of the city and onto the highway. Kuroro slalomed between the cars on the road. A frown, and he swore softly under his breath. "Shit. We're not going to last much longer without some petrol, and I doubt the police would let us calmly fill up the gas tank before continuing the chase." He eyed past Kurapica and out the passenger window. "We're so ill prepared for the mountains, but there's no other choice." He kept driving until it was clear the car was on the last of its petrol. "Okay, Kurapica," he said, "this is it. As soon as you feel ready, jump. Head for that hill." He pointed. "I'll join up with you. Go!" He slowed down a fractions and Kurapica opened the door, jumped, went into a roll, then took off running as fast as he could, off of the road and into the woods to the right, and then he aimed for the hill Kuroro had pointed to.
It turned out to be much further than he thought. Maybe he should have waited longer before jumping. Suddenly, in the distance, he heard an explosion. He figured Kuroro had jumped as well, and the car had crashed somewhere. He kept running. Once he finally reached the rounded top of the hill, he found a tree that would hide him well and allow him a clear view of all sides. He climbed. He observed his surrounding, making no noise whatsoever. At some point, three uniforms walked by, then left. An hour passed in silence, broken only by the hooting of owls and the cries of wolves. Then, he spotted a bit of white fur. He waited until Kuroro was right under his tree, then he let himself fall to the ground next to the Spider head. Kuroro grinned at him. "Well," he said, "this was an adventure."
Kurapica frowned. "They said I was a criminal," he said unhappily and sighed. "What now?"
"Now?" Kuroro said. "Now we head east over the Sakagi mountains. It'll get cold and food will be scarce I'm afraid."
"I can manage," Kurapica assured him. He started walking and Kuroro fell in step next to him. They walked in silence for the rest of the night, then paused for a nap around sunrise. They slept for about three hours, then they were off again. The way was steep and arduous so they didn't waste energy talking. They stopped once to eat, then again when the sun went down. They slept. The next morning they were off again, climbing steadily higher as the day went on. They stopped to eat in the early afternoon, then on again until the air started getting too cold. They paused for a moment. Kuroro summoned their luggage and handed Kurapica a warmer hoodie to wear under his jacket. He also put on a long-sleeved shirt under his coat. Then, they were off again. They climbed higher. A few hours later, they had to add more layers of clothing. From then on, the temperature dropped steadily the higher they went. Soon, their steps crushed layers of frozen snow. The wind started howling all around of them. The slope was very steep and the rocks cold and sharp against their hands when they had to pull themselves up.
Sometime around midday, Kuroro turned to face Kurapica. "I see a path," he called out over the wind. "Over here!"
He leaned back and grabbed Kurapica's hand, pulling him up. The blond was too tired to protest at the touch. He pulled himself up with the hand that was in Kuroro's. Once he was up on the path, he looked left and right, trying to bring his breathing back down to normal. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Okay," he said. "This is really narrow, but the way seems easier."
They were standing on a path, about half a metre in width, relatively flat. As they headed eastwards again, there was a tall rock cliff face to their left while to their right, the incline got steeper and steeper. What started as a valley progressively turned to a deep ravine. The wind was strong and icy, threatening to push them off of the path and into the gorge at any instant. They walked on through the day and into the early night. But with the sun below the horizon, the temperature dropped even further.
"Hey," Kurapica called out after they had been walking in the dark for some time. Kuroro didn't seem to have heard him so he grabbed his sleeve and tugged. The taller man turned around. "We just walked by a rock that could offer relative shelter," he said. "Who knows when we'll find another one like this?"
He saw more than heard Kuroro ask, "What?" Rather than try and be heard over the howling wind, Kurapica pointed back to the rock. There was a narrow space between it and the cliff face, which would shelter them on two sides, at least. The Ryodan leader nodded and followed him back. Once they reached the area, he motioned for Kurapica to wait and he unzipped the boy's coat. Kurapica frowned confusedly at him. Kuroro took it off of him quickly, then put it back on him with the opening at the back. Then he stepped around him, pulled him back against his chest and pulled him gently down.
It was a tight fit, but they had relative shelter from the wind. Kuroro sat with Kurapica on his lap. He unfastened his coat and opened it wide enough to pull the Kuruta in. "I'm not sure about this," Kurapica protested, loud enough to be heard over the wind, and he tried to wriggle away.
"I know it's not entirely comfortable," Kuroro replied and slid his arms around Kurapica's waist, holding him close. His mouth was right next to Kurapica's ear, so he didn't need to raise his voice too much. The blond shivered lightly. "We just have to make the best of our situation. You cannot deny that we are ill equipped for this trek, and we should do our best to keep warm."
"I just don't get why it had to involve your arms around my waist," Kurapica protested. "And must I really sit on your lap like this? This position is more than just undignified, it is mortifying."
"That's just because I want to," Kuroro said and tightened his hold on the Kuruta, as if to illustrate his point. "Anyway, I have to put my hands somewhere, and between the cold rocks and your warm body, there's just no competition." He let one hand wander up gently, caressing Kurapica's side through the many layers of clothes. "Am I making uncomfortable?"
Kurapica thought briefly about claiming indifference, but what he said was, "A little."
He felt rather than saw Kuroro nodding against his shoulder. "Close your eyes," the older man said softly, and Kurapica realized that the soft voice whispering by his ear was... soothing. Relaxing. Exciting. Everything it shouldn't have ever been. He closed his eyes. "Just rest, now," Kuroro added. "Try to sleep if you can. We'll both need our strength tomorrow."
Kurapica sighed and tried to relax, letting his head fall back against Kuroro's shoulder. This... was such a complicated situation. He just didn't know what to think anymore. He shouldn't be able to rest in this position. He had his enemy at his back, holding him and keeping him warm and he was somehow okay with this? He should have been fidgety, nervous, annoyed. Maybe he was just too tired anymore. He let sleep claim him.
When he awoke, he was still sitting on Kuroro's lap. His head was angled back and a little to the side, and the older man had his forehead leaning forward against the blond's shoulder. Of all the ridiculous things to happen to Kurapica in his short life so far, this definitely had to count as the most bizarre. He straightened slightly, and felt Kuroro tense and tighten his hold on him. He still had his arms wrapped around the blond's waist. Kurapica froze. He was fairly certain that the man had just woken up, but here he was, nuzzling the side of his neck gently, and Kurapica had to repress a shudder that wasn't entirely due to disgust.
He pulled at Kuroro's hands, trying to get him to release his hold on him. "We should go, if you're awake," he said.
"I'm awake, Kuroro assured him. "Good morning. Sleep well?"
Kurapica hesitated, unsure of how to answer the question. "Better than I would have thought possible," he finally said. He extirpated himself from the taller man's hold and stood, stretching his neck left and right. Kuroro got to his feet as well. They fixed their coats back on properly and started walking. The terrain was arduous and extremely hazardous. The higher they went, the colder the wind blew. They walked on through the day, and walked through a narrow gorge where the wind howled and battered them, picking up drifts of icy snow to blow in their faces. Kurapica wasn't sure he could still feel his ears. They stopped for lunch, then pressed on. They started climbing again, avoiding the tallest peaks and setting for lower terrain. Sometimes, there would be a noise like thunder and giant boulders tumbled down the slope towards them.
Finally, as night fell around them, Kuroro turned to him and studied his face silently for a moment. Then he stopped walking and looked around. "We should stop for the night," he said. "I hope we can find relative shelter. This path is too narrow and the fall is steep." He eyed the gorge to his right and shook his head. "I'm not sure even I could survive." Kurapica glanced at the edge, but didn't dare get a closer look. The wind was threatening to bowl him over at any moment as it was. Kuroro turned back to him. "I'd feel safer finding a cave or something like that, but just an overhang would be nice, too." Kurapica nodded. Kuroro nearly had to speak particularly loud to make himself heard, and Kurapica had nothing to say that warranted this kind of effort. He motioned for Kuroro to precede him. Kuroro searched his face for another quiet moment. Then, finally, he turned and started walking. Kurapica tightened his jacket around himself and followed. They walked for another hour, maybe, when suddenly there was a noise like guns firing or thunder. Kuroro turned his head up towards the top of the cliff face to their left. "Watch out!" he yelled, and pushed Kurapica back.
Just like that, he was gone. A giant boulder smashed on the path where he had stood and careened down into the gorge. Kurapica hugged the cliff face, trying to bring his breathing back to normal. He didn't realize when he had closed his eyes, but he waited a moment before he opened them again. Then his eyes went wide as he stared at the empty space where Kuroro had stood only a moment before. He opened his mouth to call out, found he couldn't and closed it again. He was alone. There was absolutely no sign of the older man. He took a step towards where he had last seen him.
He's gone! his mind was screaming at him and he found himself shaking his head against the idea. He's gone and now I'm free of him.
He shook his head more vehemently, right hand clutching at his coat over his chest. He couldn't be just... gone. He couldn't!
It took a moment before Kurapica realized that, although he should be feeling elated by the fact that his mortal enemy was no longer living, he could only feel numb. Numb and empty. And confused. So confused. His time spent with the Spider head had raised more questions than had provided answers. And now, he might never know. He stepped cautiously forward, peering over the edge, down towards the dark abyss of the gorge. There was a small ledge right below him and Kurapica found his eyes desperatly scouring the small platform, as if somehow, the Ryodan leader could have hidden from his sight in some small crevasse. But it was empty.
His heart sank.
Kuroro Lucifer, leader, criminal and enigma, was gone.
