Vowed Vengence

by GW

After retrieving Gon and Killua from the Genei Ryodan, Kurapika fainted after telling Leorio and the others that the battle between him and the Spider had just begun.

--

GW: Watch out! There's a cliff!

--

Chapter 4: The Incident

"So that's why you don't want us to come?" came Leorio's guilty voice.

Kurapika answered him with silence, as if he hadn't heard the question.

Leorio fell silent, mentally arguing if he'd come with Kurapika or forget his promise to Gon and Killua. And at last, he ended up in a decision. Leorio stood. "I'll be going down on the next station" he informed the Kuruta without even looking.

Kurapika eyed him. "Leorio, wait!" he caught his friend's wrist, just when he's starting to move away. Leorio glanced at him. Kurapika changed to the utterly cheerful alter ego of his which emerges only when Gon is around. "I want you to stay…", he smiled, "I need company…"

Leorio seated himself beside Kurapika for the second time and started to read the newspaper he brought with him. Silence fell between them. Kurapika took the chance of luring himself with the open terrain he rarely sees. It's mid-autumn. The tree's leaves ranged from orange to brown, falling from their branches, cascading gently with the wind – an utterly melancholic scene. It didn't help Kurapika that much, in fact, he felt down in the dumps.

The Kuruta was starting to doze when the train slowed. He winked to clear his vision. "This isn't a train station…" he murmured as he peered outside the window. Leorio stood and bent over Kurapika to take a look. The place was barren, though there's a nearby village, the place still seems deserted.

"I'll go see what happened…" Leorio said before leaving their cabin. He still continued though he already overheard that the train's out of order.

The engineer confirmed that. "We got problems, we're sure to fix it but it'll take time."

"How long will it take you to fix this?" a conscious passenger asked.

"About an hour or two, you can take a walk if you get bored." The train mechanic answered while carrying his things towards the engine room.

Leorio turned to go back to Kurapika when he noticed that his companion also got himself out of the train.

"What happened?" Kurapika addressed his companion.

"We've got mechanical disorders… It'll take a while…" Leorio answered. "Care for breakfast?" Leorio asked while pointing to a 24 hour diner at the town not far ahead of them.

It's past nine and both of them hadn't eaten breakfast. "Sure" Kurapika smiled.

The duo headed for diner. They were eating silently in the far end of the café when they heard a faint cry followed by a series of crashes and thuds. The scene caught both the hunters' attention. A girl of about 12, ghost white and skinny with gold hair and purple eyes, was being bullied by three matured-looking men.

Kurapika don't want to interfere but there is something in the girl that reminds him of something, he just can't explain or rather can't remember. The Kuruta stood up, pushing the chair so that it would tumble and make noise. Silence lingered, when Kurapika headed towards the tyrant persons.

Leorio stood. He knew that the girl needs medical attention for she's heavily wounded, and his friend wasn't wrong to interfere.

"Look, a bigheaded bastard eh?" a tall red-haired, brown guy annoyed with a smirk. He's a little taller than Leorio, having tight muscles and a drunken smell and acts like the leader of the gang. "I bet she doesn't know who we are…"

"Boss, I guess she just wants our attention… heheh… heheh…" one of the boys said. He was slightly smaller than the other, paler and skinnier too. His face is flushed and eyes blotted.

Unknown to them, the Kuruta's eyes had already turned to its bright red hue. "How dare you intimidate my masculinity?" As the Kuruta thumped hard on the leader's face, an outburst for being called a SHE that brought the muscle-brained bully down with the wrecked table.

Seeing their boss defeated, the two scrammed their way out of the café. "Cowards…" as Kurapika managed a leer of victory and being called SHE again after a few years.

Flashback

"Hey! Stop that! You're hurtin' her!" A slim, tall girl with gold, shoulder-length hair shouted while kicking and pouncing on the oppressor. "Huh, that'll teach them!" she exclaimed proudly after sending the whole 10-man gang to kingdom come.

"Are you OK? I haven't seen you around. New here?" came her unparalleled interview. Followed by, "What's your name? How old are you? Where did you come from? How did those jerks…", and finally gave up cause none of her question's been answered. "Never mind, you need to be cured! Come!" she gave him her hand and he reached up for them.

The maize-blond boy, who was mistaken for a girl, was exhausted to the extent that he can't defend himself from those tormentors. He had no strength left after traveling for days, looking for a safe place. When the kid woke up he was in a room.

He wandered the room with his wide blue eyes. The room was filled with the smell of animal fur. On the walls were bows, crossbows, axes and other rare haunting materials which are out of his knowledge. And a fox hanging on the wall, snarling at him was the last thing he saw before he lost his consciousness.

/Flashback

As soon as Kurapika handled the guys, Leorio headed for the girl. She's a bit in trauma and doesn't want anyone to come near. Her body was shaking violently.

Kurapika inched toward the girl and finally he noticed… why he had helped her…

----

GW: O.o told you there's a cliff.
The story's not going anywhere… It's just going EVERYWHERE!