~7 years ago~

"You're lying!"

A small boy angrily shouted this at his companion, a tall and slender young woman. She merely smiled at the boy, a cold grin that exposed the pointed fangs in her mouth.

"Am I?" She took a step toward the boy, intent clear in her dark eyes. "Pairo. This is for your own good. Your injuries won't get any worse as a vampire. Now come here."

The boy, Pairo, continued to back away. Betrayal and hurt shone in his innocent face. "Sheila... how could you keep this from me? I trusted you..." The Kurta clan had passed down horror stories about vampires for generations, but Pairo would never have suspected that energetic Sheila was one of them. His eyes widened in fear as Sheila gained on him.

"H-help!" Pairo cried out, although no one was near enough to hear him. The smile on Sheila's face grew; her prey was right where she wanted him. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Pairo." she called out in a sing-song voice. The boy's eyes widened as he accidentally backed up into a tree. Sheila quickly approached him. "This won't hurt a bit~" were her last words to him as she leaned down and latched on to Pairo's neck.

The sun had nearly set as Sheila walked, the limp body of Pairo slung onto her back. She was surprised, as he had not only survived the transformation, but also appeared to be recovering quickly. He would wake up soon. She looked around, before lying the boy down onto the ground. She tilted her head, seemingly contemplating something. Suddenly, she laughed. Abruptly she spun on her heel and walked away, just as the boy on the ground began to stir...

~Present Day~

"Are you sure you can handle this?" a kindly and feminine voice asked. Kurapika, previously absorbed in his thoughts, flinched and turned to his companion Melody.

"Ah- of course." came his steady reply. He sure hoped he could handle it, anyway. Or else all his training would have been for nothing... Kurapika closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was it. He had received information regarding the current location of the Phantom Troupe's base.

On an impulse, he had decided to pursue this lead and travel to the specified location. The blonde boy clenched his fist, chains appearing subconsciously on his hand.

Seven long years of yearning for nothing but revenge for his massacred clan had led to this. Kurapika intended for this to be the final confrontation with the gang responsible for his family's untimely demise. There would be no hostages, Kurapika meant to finish what he had started with the deaths of Pakunoda and Uvogin. He would kill the leader of the Spiders, or he would die trying. The car Melody was driving slowed to a stop, and she put her hand on Kurapika's arm. "You don't have to do this..."

Kurapika exhaled softly before a bitter smile graced his face. "I do." He reached for the door handle, but paused before opening it. After a moment of silence, he finally murmured, "...thank you. For everything." Melody's eyes widened slightly at Kurapika's words. She had been a constant source of support for the boy since their initial meeting, always willing to help him if needed. She knew he trusted her, but hearing him admit that he was grateful caught her off guard, as Kurapika was one to isolate himself even at his own peril. Her surprise didn't last long though, and she gave him a soft smile in return.

"Of course. Just... be careful, alright? Don't do anything rash." Even as she said the words, she knew her warning wouldn't be heeded, since Kurapika tended to act on his first impulse, especially when the matter was something personal and his emotions were high. Kurapika nodded at her, then wordlessly opened the door and stepped outside. Melody sighed as she watched him make his way up the street.

He'd asked her to drop him off a few blocks away from the address he'd found, to "keep her out of danger," as he'd put it. She'd complied of course, but it sill pained her to know that her friend was heading into a den of powerful criminals with no one to back him up. She knew he was strong and could take care of himself, but still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen...

Kurapika let out a breath of relief as he watched the car drive away. Now that Melody was out of danger, he could focus solely on the task at hand. He looked at the paper in his grasp, reading and rereading the supposed address of the Phantom Troupe's base. His hand began to shake as a result of the anger and tension he now felt. 'Calm down, Kurapika,' he silently told himself as he traveled through the run-down neighborhood filled with abandoned buildings.

Allowing his emotions to overtake him would only hinder him in this mission. He briefly stopped walking and forced himself to breathe before continuing. Finally, he came to a particularly decrepit structure. Kurapika raised an eyebrow. Was this really the correct place? He tilted his head as he checked the numbers yet again. Well, the addresses matched... Kurapika balled up the paper and placed it in his pocket. He quietly composed himself, summoning his chains once again. Eyes filling with determination, he prepared to step toward the building, when suddenly-

"Well, well. I didn't think you'd actually listen to him." Kurapika immediately tensed up at hearing the voice, and quickly glanced around to see where it was coming from. His gaze swept over the door directly in front of him, where he noticed a dark figure slowly approaching him. Chrollo! Kurapika gritted his teeth as his eyes began to glow a brilliant scarlet.

"But, I suppose your 'mission' is important to you, is it not?" Chrollo stepped fully out of the shadows as he approached Kurapika. "You shouldn't have come here." Kurapika stopped moving, glaring furiously at the dark-haired male in front of him. "How did you know I had your location?" he hissed. Chrollo smiled. "We've been keeping tabs on him for a while. He admitted to everything once he was... questioned." A glint of sadism gleamed within his pale face. Kurapika's eyes widened slightly. "What did you-" But he knew. He knew exactly what had happened to his informant. "...Bastard!" the blonde yelled. "You're not going to get away with anything else."

His volume had dropped significantly with his last comment. Chrollo's expression darkened slightly, but for the most part he still appeared amused. "I believe I will." He spread his arms slightly, Nen book appearing in his hand. "I assume you intend to fight me?" Kurapika didn't humor him with an answer, instead opting to suddenly rush Chrollo, chains at the ready.

Chrollo, to his credit, had been expecting this reaction from the blonde and easily dodged. "You insist on doing this the hard way, then." He quickly spun and managed to hit Kurapika in the side, cracking the blonde's ribs which made him wince in pain. "Are you ready to listen to what I have to say?" Chrollo asked. Kurapika merely grunted and stood up, preparing his holy chain to diminish the injury.

Chrollo tilted his head inquisitively, then nodded in understanding. "I see. You want to heal yourself. Unfortunately, I don't intend to humor you all day~" The ravenette flipped his book to a certain page, looking up with a smirk. Kurapika noticed Chrollo's confident expression and briefly wondered what the other could be planning, when all of a sudden he found himself falling through the air, several meters away from where he had been standing moments before. "What the hell?" He hit the ground and rolled, attempting to get back on his feet. "What did you do?!" Chrollo chuckled lightly at Kurapika's stunned reaction. "One of my Nen abiities allows me to teleport others." he replied coyly. He then turned his attention to the boy's current condition. "Hm. I would have expected more from the infamous Chain User~"

Kurapika was, indeed, already losing. He hadn't been able to touch Chrollo once, and yet the other had him on the ground now. With a soft groan he pushed himself up, desperately trying to form a plan to attack the leader of the Phantom Troupe. Chrollo's expression softened slightly at Kurapika's determination to continue fighting. "This doesn't have to go on. Come with me." he offered. Kurapika laughed darkly at the other's words, red eyes brimming with pure hatred.

"I'll never surrender to you!" he shouted and sprang up from the ground, his renewed desire for vengeance giving him a burst of adrenaline. The blonde dashed at Chrollo, who pulled a curious-looking blade seemingly out of nowhere and slashed at Kurapika as he passed. The Kurta grimaced as he felt the blade cut his skin. He whipped around to face Chrollo again, when he noticed a new look in the other male's eyes. Was that... bloodlust?

Chrollo closed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead, almost as if he was trying to steady himself. "You need to run." he told Kurapika. The blonde recovered from his surprise quickly, answering with a defiant, "No! I'm gonna kill you!" He ran at Chrollo yet again, only for the dark-haired male to use his Nen again to teleport him somewhere else. When Kurapika landed again, he stood up ready to attack again, only to notice Chrollo approaching him menacingly.

The aura radiating off the Spider was different now, almost hungry. Kurapika gasped softly as a terrible feeling settled in his stomach, quickly figuring out what was happening. He backed up slowly, back eventually hitting the outer wall of the building. He hopelessly glanced around, looking for an alternate escape route, but it was too late. Chrollo was upon him, small yet sharp fangs glinting in the light. The ravenette quickly grabbed Kurapika's arms and pinned him against the wall.

"Let me go, bastard!" the blonde yelled, struggling against his captor. Chrollo met Kurapika's scarlet gaze with his own dark one before leaning down slightly and sinking his fangs into the other's neck, causing Kurapika to yell in agony. But eventually, his resistance grew less violent as he succumbed to Chrollo's hypnotic energy.

"Let go of me..." he murmured weakly, before going completely limp in the other's grasp. A vacant expression came across his face as his eyes faded from fiery red back to a softer hazel. His mind had gone blank; as much as he tried, he couldn't seem to hold on to any thoughts. All he could focus on was the burning pain in his neck and the feeling of blood being drained all too quickly from it. And even his grasp on that was fleeting.

A few minutes later, Chrollo pulled away, and the trance over Kurapika broke. He blinked once, remembering with a jolt what had just occurred. "...You!" he growled as he glared at the ravenette. He tried to step forward, but instead began swaying on his feet. He abrubtly felt very dizzy, and he suddenly had some trouble breathing. He clenched his jaw and tried again, but stumbled and began falling to the ground. The last thing he saw was Chrollo approaching him as his vision faded to black...