Mask
Chapter 4
"Kurapika!"
Gon turned around on his seat to glance behind him at the sound of Killua's surprised shout, spotting his older friend almost instantly. A grin broke into his face at the sight of the flaxen-haired youth, walking across their hotel's small café towards their table with a certain music hunter beside him. Senritsu, though, didn't look all that pleased as she kept him from stumbling forward, a rare feat for the usually graceful Kuruta.
"You shouldn't be up yet, you still need rest," Killua scolded him, speaking both his and the girl's minds, as he pulled out chairs for the two. Arching a silver brow as Kurapika dropped heavily into his seat, already looking exhausted after the short trip from his room upstairs, he turned to Senritsu and tilted his head questioningly. She just shrugged back.
"I'm fine," he replied, taking the menu from the waitress who, in any angle you might look at it from, was blatantly flirting with him. He hardly noticed. Allowing his eyes to travel down the list, he realized that he might just be emptying the contents of his stomach some time soon as another wave of nausea washed over him. Deciding on a cup of coffee to at least get rid of the taste of bile from his mouth, he gave her his order without anything so much as a glance, the starry-eyed redhead stomped off with her lips in a pout.
"Is that all you're going to have for breakfast, Kurapika?" Gon asked anxiously, staring at him with an upset look on his face. He tried to appease his dark-haired friend with a rare smile from him, but what came instead resembled more of a grimace, and the dark-haired lad, being stubborn as always, shook his head in protest.
"I'll just throw up anything I dare try to hold, Gon," he explained rather dryly, taking in a deep breath and promptly had a coughing fit after it. Killua moved his chair a little to be able to help his friend, rubbing his back as he exchanged a worried look with Senritsu – 'Is he sick?', she just gave a slight shake of her head – 'You know he is', whilst Gon focused all his attention on the blonde who was still having a hard time to breathe.
"Thank you, Killua," Kurapika said after awhile and he has managed to stop, a bit embarrassed. Just then the same waitress from before came with his coffee, not doing anything to stop her annoyance from showing as she frowned down at him. He blinked, then flashed a smile at her, polite and meaningless but charming nonetheless. The poor girl blushed furiously and did a quick little bow, retreating quickly to the backroom with her small metal tray in hand. Moments later, the sound of two young female adolescents giggling reached their sharp ears. He sighed with a small amount of irritation, it was far better than being mistaken as one of their gender though.
"Ne, I think Killua was right, you still need rest, Kurapika," Gon told him with a scolding undertone to his words which was rather amusing to hear, eyes wide and still fixed on him. The cerulean-eyed youth calmly drank his coffee in response. Truly the obstinate youngster he is, Gon refused to quit even if his words were met only by indifference.
Kurapika sighed again, but this time with exasperation. Before he could even open his mouth to speak though, he was out of his seat and running towards the elevators in a flash. Exchanging brief glances, Killua took out some change from his pocket and left it on top of the table, joining Senritsu and Gon as they followed the Kuruta, to his room, the child assassin supposed.
***
Unknown to all four of them, they were being spied not only by one, but two entities. People they knew and were not exactly who they would call friends. These two observed them separately, possessing different motives for doing so, both oblivious of the presence of the other as well, too absorbed were they in the events on the small table they watched and listened to.
A few tables away from them sat the first one, the keenest of senses allowed him to know too clearly what happened among the four. A small frown appeared on his lips as he raised his cup of coffee towards them, his eyes glinting concern as he slowly drank the scalding dark liquid. His best friend, no, former best friend was already up and around but obviously too sick to be doing so. He should know better and rest his body more but, being the suicidal freak he is, a direct quote from one of his subordinates but used in an entirely different perspective do note, and another stubborn one, he not surprisingly refuses to do so, as it is his character. He sighed indistinctly as the cup parted with his lips, still looking at the table where his friends had been sitting around awhile ago.
This person was, of course, Leorio. No matter what he tried he couldn't get them out of his head so that he could properly think of what to say to the Spiders in the meeting that is going to take place that evening. Theorizing seeing them one more time might give him peace of mind, he went to the place he knew he would find them, only to discover a troubling development and get disturbed more than he already is.
He took another sip of his coffee, letting his thoughts wander off and relaxing a bit as he reasoned out to the uptight side of him that Kurapika and the others have left already and there is but little chance of them suddenly reappearing to find him there. It took a few more minutes of convincing and self-debates before the cautious part of him finally gave in and allowed his body to unwind a bit.
The other one who had been watching was more serious about this and had but a more questionable cause than Leorio. His dark eyes glinted different emotions through the whole affair, depending on which person among the four he fixed his gaze on. He walked away once sure that they were not coming back, planning what moves he is to make to gain his targets and achieve his objectives.
***
Maybe opting not to eat anything for breakfast isn't so clever after all, Kurapika thought miserably as another shake shot violently through his whole body, and with a pathetic sound that almost seemed like a young child's whine, he bent once again over the toilet bowl, feeling pain as he tried to empty his already empty stomach. He knew that Killua and Gon sat side by side on his bed looking at him, and he wanted nothing more than to shut the bathroom door to keep them from seeing his current state, but he couldn't find the enough strength to move over there and do so. Senritsu was on his side the moment he relaxed and sat back down on the tiled floor, holding a damp towel to clean his face and mouth, though nothing was there but sweat, as well as another one to keep him cool. After about five minutes, his body was once again attempting to throw up what has been never there in the first place.
Suddenly, Gon hopped down from the bed and darted for the door to the outside of the hotel room, Killua right on his heels. A few yards down the corridor and the latter managed to catch up, grabbing hold one of the other's arms.
"Hey, Gon. Wait up, will you? Where's the hurry?" he asked, pulling both of them to a stop.
"Leorio's room. He's a doctor, right? He'll know what to do with Kurapika," Gon explained animatedly, completely forgetting that his older friend has been missing since yesterday morning. Slowly and quietly Killua reminds him, diverting his gaze away from his friend's face once done to avoid seeing the unmasked pain he knew will take over his best friend's features.
"Demo…" Gon whimpered.
"Let's go back," he said, turning around to walk back to Kurapika's room, hearing the other's reluctant footsteps following him. He sighed, raking a hand through his now disheveled hair, and fished out his cell phone from the inside pocket of his light blue jacket. Hitting a few keys, he returned it and faced Gon, flashing him a reassuring smile.
"Killua, what was…?" Gon started to ask.
"I just text-ed (?) Leorio Kurapika's condition," Killua answered him even before he got the whole question out, shrugging his shoulders. "You know how he is. He'll be here in a jiff if he finds out Kurapika's ill." He grinned.
Gon grinned back, nodding his head. "Yeah."
***
**** Leorio, where the hell are you? Kurapika's sick and Gon's worried sick over the two of you. Get back here. Killua. ***
Leorio sighed deeply as he pocketed the mobile phone without replying, pressing one of his hands against his right temple in an attempt to soothe his nerves. Seconds later, he removed it with a jerk, pulling out his cell again to erase the message for practical reasons, looking around him to see if anyone has decided to come early.
"Shizuku?" he asked silently, recognizing the dark silhouette amidst the shadows. The young girl gave a small yelp of surprise when she heard her name called. "What are you doing there?"
She stepped into the light of the moon sheepishly, staring back at Leorio with her usual innocent countenance. With wide dark eyes framed by spectacles, she murmured something rather incomprehensible with its softness, then cleared her throat and tried again.
"I was looking for Machi. She's not here, is she?"
"Ah, no, she's not. At least, not at the moment," Leorio replied. Leaning forward, he fixed on her a serious gaze and asked, "Shizuku, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Leorio-sama."
"What do you think of me as you're new leader?"
"I, well, I…" She stammered, looking unsure of what to say. She was looking down on the abandoned building's floor as if searching it for answers when she suddenly looked up, looked at him for a second then blinked, flinching momentarily before saying, "Leorio-sama, you were the one we saw at the hotel's lobby the other day, weren't you? The pissed-off guy with the cell phone and reading newspaper?"
"The one you asked permission from Kuroro to beat up?" Leorio inquired with a hint of amusement in his voice, watching as the girl wince again.
"Go-gomen nasai, Leorio-sama," she stuttered.
"Daijobu, Shizuku. You didn't know," Leorio reassured her, raising a hand to calm her down. "Though it impresses me that you remember. I recall someone mentioning you have a sort of forgetfulness to most things?" Shizuku remained silent, a blush making itself appear across her cheeks. "I think it was Shalnark who told me that." And she turned even more scarlet.
Interesting, Leorio thought, momentarily forgetting his personal worries.
"I think many things have changed with the Spiders in the few years I've been gone. Would you mind keeping me company and refresh my knowledge, Shizuku?" he asked politely.
"Iie."
***
Standard disclaimers applied. The prologue and idea of this story is by pixie-atme and is purely a fan's work - a few 'certain' elements not true in the real series.
Okay, sorry. I've been spacing out a LOT. I've worked on a couple of chapters of Mask (as my guess you have seen) but have idiotically uploaded none of them. I'm really, really sorry, minna-san. I've just checked our mail today and, well, I guess you can make out what I saw in it: tons of reviews asking for updates. I feel like I've been hit in the head with a rock (go figure). I'm halfway in the next chap. but school's taking up my time.
~x-tra note: I'm halfway as well with Chapter 2 of Only You, but I've uploaded the first chapter. Where is it? *wears her asbestos fire-proof armor* It's rated R. I'm not sure if leopika fans are *that* much into leopika fics to actually risk loosing their innocence (though I'm sure they have very little left) in reading that fic...
Chapter 4
"Kurapika!"
Gon turned around on his seat to glance behind him at the sound of Killua's surprised shout, spotting his older friend almost instantly. A grin broke into his face at the sight of the flaxen-haired youth, walking across their hotel's small café towards their table with a certain music hunter beside him. Senritsu, though, didn't look all that pleased as she kept him from stumbling forward, a rare feat for the usually graceful Kuruta.
"You shouldn't be up yet, you still need rest," Killua scolded him, speaking both his and the girl's minds, as he pulled out chairs for the two. Arching a silver brow as Kurapika dropped heavily into his seat, already looking exhausted after the short trip from his room upstairs, he turned to Senritsu and tilted his head questioningly. She just shrugged back.
"I'm fine," he replied, taking the menu from the waitress who, in any angle you might look at it from, was blatantly flirting with him. He hardly noticed. Allowing his eyes to travel down the list, he realized that he might just be emptying the contents of his stomach some time soon as another wave of nausea washed over him. Deciding on a cup of coffee to at least get rid of the taste of bile from his mouth, he gave her his order without anything so much as a glance, the starry-eyed redhead stomped off with her lips in a pout.
"Is that all you're going to have for breakfast, Kurapika?" Gon asked anxiously, staring at him with an upset look on his face. He tried to appease his dark-haired friend with a rare smile from him, but what came instead resembled more of a grimace, and the dark-haired lad, being stubborn as always, shook his head in protest.
"I'll just throw up anything I dare try to hold, Gon," he explained rather dryly, taking in a deep breath and promptly had a coughing fit after it. Killua moved his chair a little to be able to help his friend, rubbing his back as he exchanged a worried look with Senritsu – 'Is he sick?', she just gave a slight shake of her head – 'You know he is', whilst Gon focused all his attention on the blonde who was still having a hard time to breathe.
"Thank you, Killua," Kurapika said after awhile and he has managed to stop, a bit embarrassed. Just then the same waitress from before came with his coffee, not doing anything to stop her annoyance from showing as she frowned down at him. He blinked, then flashed a smile at her, polite and meaningless but charming nonetheless. The poor girl blushed furiously and did a quick little bow, retreating quickly to the backroom with her small metal tray in hand. Moments later, the sound of two young female adolescents giggling reached their sharp ears. He sighed with a small amount of irritation, it was far better than being mistaken as one of their gender though.
"Ne, I think Killua was right, you still need rest, Kurapika," Gon told him with a scolding undertone to his words which was rather amusing to hear, eyes wide and still fixed on him. The cerulean-eyed youth calmly drank his coffee in response. Truly the obstinate youngster he is, Gon refused to quit even if his words were met only by indifference.
Kurapika sighed again, but this time with exasperation. Before he could even open his mouth to speak though, he was out of his seat and running towards the elevators in a flash. Exchanging brief glances, Killua took out some change from his pocket and left it on top of the table, joining Senritsu and Gon as they followed the Kuruta, to his room, the child assassin supposed.
***
Unknown to all four of them, they were being spied not only by one, but two entities. People they knew and were not exactly who they would call friends. These two observed them separately, possessing different motives for doing so, both oblivious of the presence of the other as well, too absorbed were they in the events on the small table they watched and listened to.
A few tables away from them sat the first one, the keenest of senses allowed him to know too clearly what happened among the four. A small frown appeared on his lips as he raised his cup of coffee towards them, his eyes glinting concern as he slowly drank the scalding dark liquid. His best friend, no, former best friend was already up and around but obviously too sick to be doing so. He should know better and rest his body more but, being the suicidal freak he is, a direct quote from one of his subordinates but used in an entirely different perspective do note, and another stubborn one, he not surprisingly refuses to do so, as it is his character. He sighed indistinctly as the cup parted with his lips, still looking at the table where his friends had been sitting around awhile ago.
This person was, of course, Leorio. No matter what he tried he couldn't get them out of his head so that he could properly think of what to say to the Spiders in the meeting that is going to take place that evening. Theorizing seeing them one more time might give him peace of mind, he went to the place he knew he would find them, only to discover a troubling development and get disturbed more than he already is.
He took another sip of his coffee, letting his thoughts wander off and relaxing a bit as he reasoned out to the uptight side of him that Kurapika and the others have left already and there is but little chance of them suddenly reappearing to find him there. It took a few more minutes of convincing and self-debates before the cautious part of him finally gave in and allowed his body to unwind a bit.
The other one who had been watching was more serious about this and had but a more questionable cause than Leorio. His dark eyes glinted different emotions through the whole affair, depending on which person among the four he fixed his gaze on. He walked away once sure that they were not coming back, planning what moves he is to make to gain his targets and achieve his objectives.
***
Maybe opting not to eat anything for breakfast isn't so clever after all, Kurapika thought miserably as another shake shot violently through his whole body, and with a pathetic sound that almost seemed like a young child's whine, he bent once again over the toilet bowl, feeling pain as he tried to empty his already empty stomach. He knew that Killua and Gon sat side by side on his bed looking at him, and he wanted nothing more than to shut the bathroom door to keep them from seeing his current state, but he couldn't find the enough strength to move over there and do so. Senritsu was on his side the moment he relaxed and sat back down on the tiled floor, holding a damp towel to clean his face and mouth, though nothing was there but sweat, as well as another one to keep him cool. After about five minutes, his body was once again attempting to throw up what has been never there in the first place.
Suddenly, Gon hopped down from the bed and darted for the door to the outside of the hotel room, Killua right on his heels. A few yards down the corridor and the latter managed to catch up, grabbing hold one of the other's arms.
"Hey, Gon. Wait up, will you? Where's the hurry?" he asked, pulling both of them to a stop.
"Leorio's room. He's a doctor, right? He'll know what to do with Kurapika," Gon explained animatedly, completely forgetting that his older friend has been missing since yesterday morning. Slowly and quietly Killua reminds him, diverting his gaze away from his friend's face once done to avoid seeing the unmasked pain he knew will take over his best friend's features.
"Demo…" Gon whimpered.
"Let's go back," he said, turning around to walk back to Kurapika's room, hearing the other's reluctant footsteps following him. He sighed, raking a hand through his now disheveled hair, and fished out his cell phone from the inside pocket of his light blue jacket. Hitting a few keys, he returned it and faced Gon, flashing him a reassuring smile.
"Killua, what was…?" Gon started to ask.
"I just text-ed (?) Leorio Kurapika's condition," Killua answered him even before he got the whole question out, shrugging his shoulders. "You know how he is. He'll be here in a jiff if he finds out Kurapika's ill." He grinned.
Gon grinned back, nodding his head. "Yeah."
***
**** Leorio, where the hell are you? Kurapika's sick and Gon's worried sick over the two of you. Get back here. Killua. ***
Leorio sighed deeply as he pocketed the mobile phone without replying, pressing one of his hands against his right temple in an attempt to soothe his nerves. Seconds later, he removed it with a jerk, pulling out his cell again to erase the message for practical reasons, looking around him to see if anyone has decided to come early.
"Shizuku?" he asked silently, recognizing the dark silhouette amidst the shadows. The young girl gave a small yelp of surprise when she heard her name called. "What are you doing there?"
She stepped into the light of the moon sheepishly, staring back at Leorio with her usual innocent countenance. With wide dark eyes framed by spectacles, she murmured something rather incomprehensible with its softness, then cleared her throat and tried again.
"I was looking for Machi. She's not here, is she?"
"Ah, no, she's not. At least, not at the moment," Leorio replied. Leaning forward, he fixed on her a serious gaze and asked, "Shizuku, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Leorio-sama."
"What do you think of me as you're new leader?"
"I, well, I…" She stammered, looking unsure of what to say. She was looking down on the abandoned building's floor as if searching it for answers when she suddenly looked up, looked at him for a second then blinked, flinching momentarily before saying, "Leorio-sama, you were the one we saw at the hotel's lobby the other day, weren't you? The pissed-off guy with the cell phone and reading newspaper?"
"The one you asked permission from Kuroro to beat up?" Leorio inquired with a hint of amusement in his voice, watching as the girl wince again.
"Go-gomen nasai, Leorio-sama," she stuttered.
"Daijobu, Shizuku. You didn't know," Leorio reassured her, raising a hand to calm her down. "Though it impresses me that you remember. I recall someone mentioning you have a sort of forgetfulness to most things?" Shizuku remained silent, a blush making itself appear across her cheeks. "I think it was Shalnark who told me that." And she turned even more scarlet.
Interesting, Leorio thought, momentarily forgetting his personal worries.
"I think many things have changed with the Spiders in the few years I've been gone. Would you mind keeping me company and refresh my knowledge, Shizuku?" he asked politely.
"Iie."
***
Standard disclaimers applied. The prologue and idea of this story is by pixie-atme and is purely a fan's work - a few 'certain' elements not true in the real series.
Okay, sorry. I've been spacing out a LOT. I've worked on a couple of chapters of Mask (as my guess you have seen) but have idiotically uploaded none of them. I'm really, really sorry, minna-san. I've just checked our mail today and, well, I guess you can make out what I saw in it: tons of reviews asking for updates. I feel like I've been hit in the head with a rock (go figure). I'm halfway in the next chap. but school's taking up my time.
~x-tra note: I'm halfway as well with Chapter 2 of Only You, but I've uploaded the first chapter. Where is it? *wears her asbestos fire-proof armor* It's rated R. I'm not sure if leopika fans are *that* much into leopika fics to actually risk loosing their innocence (though I'm sure they have very little left) in reading that fic...
