Ah, thanks for reading! I'm actually focusing more on this now because I'm getting excited~ You'll see why~ XD Can't wait for this arc to be done~
Four quotes this time! XD
Zeladious - Aw, thanks! ^^
BizzyLizy - It's fine! Thanks! ^^
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." - Leo Tolstoy
"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." - Winston Churchill
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." - Maya Angelou
Re-cap:
"What I'm about to tell you will increase my risk further," Kurapika stated.
"Okay," Leorio said, standing and going to leave. He paused, looking back at Killua, then to me. "Hey Killua... Basil..." Killua looked at Gon, who nodded, then stood to leave as well, clearly slightly perterbed to be having to go. I hesitated however. I was curious, but... I mean I didn't want Kurapika to be in anymore risk than he was in...
Kurapika glanced at me. I knew I could keep his secret. It didn't matter what kind of torture I went through, I could keep his secret. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was the woman Pakunoda. She could read minds, so even if- No, I trusted myself. She wouldn't get anything from me. No matter how much probing and torture she did, I'd already conditioned myself. I was the perfect secret machine. So the issue wasn't Pakunoda, it was the fact of Kurapika himself. The fact that he was telling Gon, and even telling me would increase his risk. But how would the knowledge of how he can fight and defend risk him? No, it wouldn't risk him as much as it'd give away more secrets to his ability, which he wanted to keep secret. For the knowledge of how one's ability works is the way some can defeat their opponent. So in actuality, me leaving was more a sign of respect.
"Good luck Nii-san," I said, starting to stand. "I trust your decisions." However Kurapika stopped me.
"You should hear this too." I stared at him a minute. "Since I'll be using your barriers for protection, it'd be a good idea for us to stay informed of each other's limitations so we can work well together. In return I'd like to further talk about your ability later." I nodded, sitting down next to Gon's right so Kurapika didn't have to move his head too much. Leorio and Killua left around the corner.
It made sense. In return I'd tell him my secrets. Honestly my barriers were the only real protection and support I had, so telling how they worked to someone would further increase my risk as well. But it was a risk I was willing to take.
End Re-cap
"I'll start with the conclusion. It is indeed possible," Kurapika started as he looked at the two of us. He held up his hands as the chains were summoned. I stared at them in wonder. It was so cool! I could have some up with a cool ability like that! "The five chains have different abilities. Two of the chains are for attacking Spiders." Kurapika moved his middle finger in indication. "The first is Chain Jail. The binded target is forced into a state of Zetsu. This power is for capturing the spiders." He paused, pointing his pinkey out and displaying the chain. "And this is my Judgement Chain. I point a blade at the target's heart, then state rules that must follow. If a rule is broken, the target dies. As you've figured out, I pointed a blade at my own heart. At first, I devised the rule that I would die if I attacked anyone besides a spider with my chains, and I set a blade pointed at myself. But that was when I realized something. Would using them on myself be a violation of that rule?" Kurapika paused, both in thought and to let the words sink into Gon and my heads. As lightning flashed outside and thunder roared I flinched. Kurapika looked so foreboding... "It was possible I would be an exception, but I didn't know for sure," he finally continued. "That's why I adjusted the rule. I can only use Chain Jail against the spiders. Meaning that I can use my Judgement Chain on those who aren't spiders. But first a condition must be met."
"A condition?" Gon asked. I made sure to soak in all this information. It was minor in the case of helping me with my Nen, but it was enough that I might be able to get stronger... Plus... To help Kurapika...
"This chain can only be used when my eyes are scarlet." Kurapika replied, his eyes in turn turning scarlet. I stared at him in awe. I'd never seen anything- I quickly shook my head. Stay focused!
"You can make your eyes scarlet now?" Gon asked.
"I had to work at it," Kurapika replied. "It took a while before I could deliberately turn them scarlet. I mastered the power in my middle finger by vowing to never release this chain, and to always risk death. The power in my pinky was resolved by my unique nature. When my eyes are scarlet, I become a specialist. And I can use any ability I've learned at full strength." I blinked. His words gave me an idea. A way to improve my Hatsu, my barriers. I blinked again as I'd noticed Leorio and Killua had snuck in. What the hell were they doing?
"I'm not sure what that means, but you should be able to use your Nen blade on me, right?" Gon asked.
"Yes," Kurapika replied.
"Me as well," I said, looking back at Kurapika. "I know I can keep your secret but... In this world I don't know what'll happen so it's better safe than sorry." I nodded. I wanted to help Kurapika as much as I could.
"Go ahead. You can choose the rule to set," Gon said, pointing to his heart. I was hesitant, but I nodded again.
"I accept your resolve." Kurapika said, raising his hands. However whatever he was about to do was stopped by Leorio and Killua raising up from behind him, startling him. I chuckled at the surprised look on Kurapika's face.
"Can you make four of those blades?" Killua asked.
"You can rescind the rule once our mission is over, right?" Leorio added.
"Killua! Leorio!" Gon exclaimed. I just smiled.
"We had a little talk. And since we're working together…" Leorio started.
"We should share the same fate." Killua continued.
"What do you say?" The two said at once.
"The answer to both questions is yes," Kurapika responded after a second, shutting his eyes in thought. When he opened them they were no longer red. I pouted. They were so pretty though... But wait, didn't he say his eyes had to be red for him to use his Judgement Chain? "But you four are wholly mistaken. I never had any intention of using my blade on you guys." I blinked at his statement. But... Wouldn't it be safer? No. No it wouldn't be. I understood now. He trusted us already, and because we were friends he didn't want any of us to die. It was easier for us to not have the chains in our bodies.
"Then why endanger yourself by telling us your secret?" Gon asked.
"Gon, I wanted… No I wanted to thank all of you for your resolve," Kurapika responded. "Even if one of you ends up revealing my secret, I will have no regrets. I have good friends…" I smiled. I understood completely. Good friends...
I never thought in all my years I'd be saying that. That I had good friends such as these. People who I could share with and trust. People who I wanted to help just as much as they wanted to help me. Yes. Kurapika, you were right.
"That's not fair, Kurapika. You're actually putting more pressure on us this way," Gon said unhappily with a frown that turned into a nervous smile.
"That was my goal," Kurapika replied, straight faced.
No Kurapika, I don't think it was...
"Oh, I get it now!" Gon replied, letting out a laugh. Kurapika chuckled as well.
"Well, I'll head out, then. Can't waste any time," Killua said, starting on his way.
"Oh wait, Killua!" I quickly said, grabbing his arm so he didn't go too far. "I kept forgetting to tell you... The money I earned from my world..." Killua waved his hand, signalling it was fine.
"Tell me later," He said with a slight smirk. I watched him start to leave again. That idiot.
"I will!"
"Good!" He called back.
"Be careful Killua!"
"You two Basil!" He waved slightly, opening the door to leave, though paused as someone was there and let him in before leaving completely.
"Yo, what'd I miss?" Crisei said with a wave.
"Fucking cheap ass whore!" I paused as a body was landed in front of me, not having fallen, but having been pushed. The girl stumbled in the mud a moment as the men backed off and I went to help her up.
"Leave me alone, I'm fine," she snapped at me. I stared at her a second as she started to wipe the mud off her skimpy clothes. I helped, using my Nen to successfully get the mud off.
"Bitch, I said leave me alone! Go bother someone else! You don't belong here." I stared at her a moment. I knew she wasn't really mean. I could see it. It was something I'd seen before. Retaliation. People are mean to you and you are mean to others. Maybe that's what I would have become too if I'd never been able to find a place?
"You're right, I don't belong here," I responded. The woman stared at me. "But it's not like I have a choice." The two of us stood there for a moment, staring at each other.
"Where are you from?" The lady asked. I thought a moment.
"Not here. I'm just crashing in the city for now since I'm stuck in this world..." I paused, realizing what I said. I chuckled at myself. Who would have thought? This was the world I was born to, yet this was not my home. I no longer belonged here. This was just a reality I had to accept, that I was forced to be here whenever I slept, that I was forced to be tied to this world.
"Crazy..." I watched the lady hurry away from me with a scoff. I sighed. Whatever.
I continued along the road looking back and forth. It was light out here, the sun just having risen. I wasn't supposed to be here long, just long enough my body on the other side could rest a bit. Kurapika had suggested 15 minutes, so that was 30 here until I had to go to sleep. I was currently just exploring, there wasn't anything to do here anyways.
I got some water from a fountain with a sigh, eyes glancing around suspiciously. That guy was still following me, I could sense him. Derek was it? He'd made no move yet, all I'd seen was glimpses of him here and there. He was just watching... Watching wasn't bad except it made me uncomfortable. Maybe I should confront him...
I soon found myself leaning against a wall in an alleyway mouth, staring out at the streets as they became busier. What was I even doing? Was I trying to talk to him? I honestly didn't want o but my body said differently. I just stood there, waiting. Hopefully the boy'd get the hint.
"Oy! Kid! This ain't no leisure zone! Beat it!" I glanced at the man who stood near me, staring at me with a scowl as he was putting out a sign for his shop. When I didn't reply he pulled out his phone. "Or I'll call the authorities!" I really didn't want that to happen, so I started to go but stopped as a voice called from the alleyway.
"Derek see you girly. Girly want to talk? Girly follow Derek." I stared into the alleyway. I could track him with En easy, but I walked deeper into the alleyway and broke out to the other side, looking around in slight confusion. What was I even doing? "Come girly!" I flinched as a hand grabbed my wrist and immediately pushed the perpetrator back, sending the poor boy flying. However he grinned as he sat there, in the garbage, as I looked back at him.
"I'm so sorry, you startled me..."
"Derek like you a lot. Derek offer help." Help?
"Help? What do you mean?"
"You help Derek Derek help you." I stared at him for a second.
"I don't need help." Just time. And maybe... A wish. To stay in the Nen world.
"Girly lie."
"Stop calling me girly." The boy thought a second as he stared at me, then grinned again.
"Girly on run from cops, right? Derek help hide you. Derek want strength too, like you." I stared at him.
"What-" He held up a flyer. I hurried over and looked at it. Shit.
The 'have you seen me?' post was big, hard to miss. People in this town wouldn't easily pass over something like that. And if I was recognized... That'd be the end for me here and I'd have to run again.
"Deal."
"What?" Derek seemed taken aback a second, frowning in surprise, then smiled. "Deal! Yay! Derek learn magic!" He started to dance around.
"It's not magic..." I said, however my comment went ignored. I sighed. "Please... Don't make me regret this..." I was honestly desperate.
It was time I relied on someone in this world besides myself.
I woke up in the car, leaning against Gon. I yawned, then drowsily looked around. 15 minutes sleep was not enough for this body, but it was all I was going to get. At least some of the lack of fatigue from my other body seemed to carry over.
That grinding sensation was back. It was starting to annoy me, because I felt like I should be worried, but it was starting to become normal I was able to convince myself it was nothing. I looked forward, yawning again.
"Hey Leorio, where's Nii-" I cut myself off when the girl in the passenger's seat turned to look at me. Wait. It took me a moment to realize that that was Kurapika.
"Basil, I wanted to talk to you more about your abilities and your role," he said. I nodded. "Leorio can stop by a place to get a snack if you want and-"
"Oh no, I'm good, but thanks. I trust Gon and Leorio." I smiled. Kurapika sat in silence for a moment before nodding.
"Then let me ask you-" He paused as his phone went off, then answered and clicked a button. Killua's voice popped on, on speaker, explaining the situation. Apparently there were multiple buildings, all identical.
"That is most likely a Conjurer's work." Kurapika said after Killua's explanation. I wondered if I'd ever be able to create huge barriers... I inwardly shook my head. My barriers were based on En. My En wasn't that big, and so far my biggest barrier was the size of a hotel room. And that was when I wasn't exhausted.
"Yeah, that's gotta be it," Killua responded through the phone. "These building weren't here yesterday. This has to be Nen."
"Man, these guys are really crazy… They have someone who can conjure entire buildings!" Leorio exclaimed, grip tightening on the wheel. Leorio was right, but it'd make sence. People like the troupe, they wouldn't want just anyone to join. They'd have a small group of really insanely experienced Nen users.
"It's safe to assume that they're rigged somehow," Kurapika said. I nodded.
"I learned that from Kai-san, the things conjurers conjure can act like En. Don't go near then," I said. Kurapika looked at me, then nodded.
"Really?" Gon asked.
"Yeah."
"That tells us they're still using this place as their base too," Killua said. "The problem is that these buildings create too many blind spots. I can only watch twenty percent of the area at a time."
"However, if you move around too much, you could run into them," Kurapika stated.
"I'd like to avoid that. I mean, I have no idea what I'd do if I heard their voices behind me… My heart is pounding." Killua responded.
"Voices?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, never mind. I read you. For now, return to your original position. I'll call you back in five minutes." With that Kurapika hung up. He then dialed another number and put the phone to his ear. "Hello? Melody? How's it going on your side?" Melody? Who was Melody? Did I miss something? I glanced at Gon but he was just watching Kurapika. When he caught my gaze he smiled and put up a thumbs up. I couldn't help but smile back.
After a tiny bit Kurapika put down the phone and looked back at me. "Alright, so about your barriers..." I looked at him, face turning serious.
"Yes?"
"Can you do multiple?" He asked.
"I haven't tried," I responded. "But if I could their durability would be divided by how many I made most likely."
"How do you currently compensate?"
"Huh?"
"If you have multiple targets to protect?"
"I either make the barrier bigger or a dome over us," I responded. Kurapika thought a second.
"How big can you make them?"
"When I'm not worn out the size of a hotel room I guess, I haven't tried bigger." Kurapika nodded.
"How effective are they?" I had to think of my answer.
"They can stop physical attacks, Nen attacks and abilities, and weapon attacks," I responded after a moment.
"How about mental?"
"Mental?" I thought again. "I haven't dealt with that yet, so I don't know. Oh! But if someone attacks my barrier I can feel their current emotions and basic drive. Also if they use a Nen ability I can feel the basic components of it." Kurapika flung around.
"Explain." I blinked at him, surprised at his interest.
"Well... Like if your chains touched my barrier I'd be able to tell they were conjured, and what they were used for. I mean, Probably not directly, and if you were using all I wouldn't know which one is which, only if they touched my barrier separately. Same with a gun, if a barrage of bullets hits it I can tell if they're real or fake and how hard and fast they're hitting, as well as the distance and direction."
"Whoa, really?" Gon said, awestruck.
"Ah, it's not that big, it's just taking on the role of En," I replied, shaking my hands in my face nervously.
"It is though," Kurapika responded. "An ability like that is very useful and would help greatly. How much damage can it withstand?"
"Depends," was my reply. "If it's just a weapon or punching I'm good, I can last, if not tired, for no longer than ten minutes. If they're strong and or smart about their attacks more like 5. However I've never lasted over a minute with Nen attacks from Kai-san, and he even punched right through it in one go with a Nen punch, so it only delayed him a second or two." Kurapika nodded.
"That's quite alright."
"I can feel it breaking against my skin when I use it..." I said, glancing at the floor of the car. "Sometimes it's scary."
"Basil, you're amazing. I'm sure you'll get stronger," Leorio said. I smiled.
"Yeah! You're smart too!" Gon added. I elbowed him playfully in response, sticking my tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue back, but then his phone rang.
"Killua?" Gon said, putting the phone to his ear.
"The woman's here," Killua said, loud enough Kurapika and I could hear his voice through the phone. "She's with her buddies. There are six, moving together. That topknot guy's here too." Gon made a face.
"Is he really that bad?" I asked. Gon nodded.
"One more thing," Killua added. "There's one person that wasn't there yesterday. He's probably the leader." I perked up.
"Can you describe him?" Gon asked.
"He's wearing a black coat, with St. Peter's cross on the back. He has combed-back clack hair. I can't see his face." Killua's tone changed. "And they're too alert! I'm too afraid to circle around in front."
"Let me speak to him," Kurapika said, holding his hand out. Gon handed him the phone and he put it to his ear. "Where are you now?" I couldn't hear Killua's voice clearly anymore. "There's a station nearby. Can you make it onto their train?" Oh, they were heading to a train station? I wondered where they were going... There must be some purpose... My brain started racking with options again. "Leorio, take us south." Kurapika kept the phone to his ear, on, for the time being.
I watched the cars and trees and buildings pass by. We were going to head into a battle soon. I didn't know what kind, but I knew a battle of some form would happen.
And it wouldn't come without casualties.
I looked back at Kurapika, staring forward, sunglasses hiding the emotion in his eyes.
Kurapika... What are you going to do now?
SO! Another apology here, but since I'm getting to the point where I stopped my previous fanfic it will 100% take me longer to do these chapters since I won't have things written out... I'm kinda borrowing others's fanfics for the quotes the other people say now instead of using my own. Also having to rewatch episodes here, very, very slowly as I write absolutely everything said down word for word... It really sucks, too many feels! T^T
But hey, we're getting close to the G.I. Arc here! XD
REMINDER! I have a poll on my profile about the Greed Island Arc, I wanted to know your all opinions. The poll be up until the GI Arc starts, and I'll be reminding people until I get a decent amount of votes. I really appreciate all the votes I've gotten so far and it's really a relief, and honestly I wish I didn't need to keep posting this reminder but the top three are so close, neck and neck, and I want one to be further than the others before I choose it. Thanks!
