Blood of Confusion
by Yukitsu
Disclaimers: Hunter X Hunter does not belong to me, but to Yoshihiro Togashi, and this fanfiction does not get me money.
Be properly warned, Kurapika tends to be angsty here. Kuroro also, perhaps? And also, I rarely – if I do at all – write in first person point of view, so some of this may seem strange to the both of us. Trust me, I tried. AND, this might – and will most likely – end up yaoi or shounen ai. It will depend on how it turns out, and how my plot decides to twist itself around like it usually does. Sometimes, I wonder at my capacity to churn out boysex.
As an attempt to increase my productivity level and give myself something to do apart from obsessing over the new original fiction, I am collaborating with Ravenel, I have decided, at long last, to rewrite this. This would be, however, the third rewrite. The first had been posted here, though as you can see, I just wiped nearly a dozen chapters of it out. The second had been lost when my KuraPC crashed. This is my third. I'm also hoping to contribute to the fandom, as well as resurrect some of my dead and dying braincells. I swear, everything just kills my brain.
Read and review, please. XD
Chapter One:
Inhuman.
Humans can be rather strange. They tell themselves to be careful, to not let themselves get hurt, and actually invent all these devices to ensure their safety... yet they do this.
They fall in love.
What IS love? How can it be powerful enough to make humans throw all rational thoughts out the window willingly? I myself cannot remember the feeling. Did I lose my mortality too soon? Somehow, I doubt that.
I snort as a teenage girl runs past me in a flurry of pink and lavender cloth, tears streaming down her face. A guy chases after her, obviously trying to apologize. Inanity. All that caution for nothing – why, humans even tend to look for love!
To show my repugnance at the humans' stupidity, I quickly chase after the girl, keeping to the shadows to remain undetected. It is easy, more so because the human girl is probably in too much emotional agony to actually care where she's going. I wonder why the male hasn't caught up yet. He must have been going after the girl with almost double her speed, yet the both of us have left him behind.
Then it dawns upon me. He doesn't want to reconcile with her. His cries were just a show, and he didn't have any intentions of actually catching up to her. I admit that I find it fascinating that this emotion can trigger in humans the best and the worst of actions. I have observed that the more sincere of the humans tend to work harder, or act kinder. The fickle ones, however, can be rather idiotic. This here, can be an example. There is this female who has decided to escape from the cause of her pain, while the male has decided to drop her like a hot potato. More's the pity for the girl. She'll die alone and in pain.
I catch up with her, seeing her finally stop near a small stream. She is sobbing, her cries wracking through her frail body. She's very pretty, I think, for a human, though the drama is a bit more than I can stomach.
Well... time to make my move. Maybe I'll make this fun, just for the sake of killing time. I do, after all, have all eternity.
"Miss... Are you alright?" I ask sweetly, slowly walking up towards her, making a show of hesitation.
"Who... who's there?" she asks fearfully. I think she finally realizes her great mistake in coming here. Everyone knows that a vampire has been roaming around the city, targeting teenagers who are left alone.
"The name's Kuroro, Miss. What's wrong? Why are you alone, crying in a place like this?" I ask, my voice laced with insincere concern. I'm such a good actor. Way to go, me. Then again, convincing her in her state of emotional imbalance is easy.
"My... my boyfriend broke up with me. He-he said that he doesn't love me anymore," she sobbed, and I inwardly bite back a comment of how his boyfriend must have been the smarter of them when they were still a couple. I approach her instead.
"I see. I'm guessing the relationship just died, then," I said tactlessly. It's very unusual of me to be blunt, I'm certain of that, but I don't share my compassion with idiots.
"Yes, Ku-kuroro. I-I loved him ve-very much," she nearly hysterically wails. I find myself fortunate that she manages to hold back the noise. As soon as I get near her, she immediately seeks solace in my waiting arms. I barely manage to contain my snort. Really now. She claims that she loves her former lover, but here she is now, embracing another man. A stranger, no less.
"That I don't doubt," A lie! What a harlot, using her misfortune to acquire another man to show off! Well, I'm deeply regretful, Miss, but I've gotten bored of you. Time to end the fun here.
"Wha-what..?" she stammers as she feels my lips against her neck, and a place a soft kiss over her pulse. She shivers as I nip at her jugular, my nip turning into a carnal bite, intending to injure and kill. She doesn't even get to scream as I drink her life, drop by delicious drop.
Oh well... Pity for her, life for me.
"Kurapika, are you there?" a voice called me, knocking at my door. I barely deign to look up from my book.
No, sir. Kurapika is not available at the moment, I think of answering with every ounce of sarcasm I had in my body. I think of doing a lot of things, actually, a great many things to make my life better Sometimes I'd call it wishful thinking, sometimes I'd think of it as being moronic, and usually, I label it as insanity. It all goes down to one sentence, anyway: Nothing happens.
"Come in," I mutter, vaguely hoping he doesn't hear it and he'll leave me alone. But then, the gods never did favor me. Without waiting for further invitations, my visitor enters.
It is Leorio, my guardian. There is a feeling roiling at the pit of my stomach, something in between resignation, dread, and great annoyance. It's an interesting mix – not quite like hunger, not quite like pain, but something I have developed a rather active aversion for nevertheless.
"Kurapika, I have a new case for you," he announces, in tune with my gut's prediction.
"I know," I reply dully, not bothering to hide my displeasure for the news. Leorio is a good man, really. A little loony, slightly overenthusiastic, more than bit of a martyr, and probably rolling around in some dark emotion like I often think I am. It's just that unfortunately, he's the bearer of bad news. I'm just a little sick and tired of hunting and slaying, that's all. All right, perhaps not a bit – to rephrase that, make it a hefty lot. All I get for my efforts are taunts and rejection, after all. Sometimes, I wonder if I should actually try to buy these people lives of their own.
"Don't be like that," Leorio reprimands me. I just nod. We've been through this so many times, I think get this feeling of nausea when it happens. I can't help it though, and neither can he. I think it's become tradition, or something.
There I go again. I think. I think too much. But really, what else is there for me to do? Between slaying jobs, investigating, hunting down unnatural murderers and sleeping, there's nothing for me waste time on. My social life is as active as a dead snail, and the city is wary of its resident slayer, anyway.
"Does it matter? What's the new case all about?" I snap, kicking back on my seat, placing the book I had been reading on the table, and crossing my arms over my chest. I know I shouldn't be rude, and there should probably be a hint of enthusiasm in my voice and attitude right about now, but I can't muster enough will to do so. I never had any enthusiasm for this job, not even when I was just starting.
He doesn't seem to notice my lack of happy energy, and just drones on about the vampire I'm supposed to hunt and slay.
"His name's Kuroro Lucifer, a vampire originally from the West side of Meteor City. It seems that he's grown tired of Meteor City, so he's here now at Yorkshin. He's already killed about a dozen or so people, mostly, if not all, in their teenage years--"
"A perverted vamp," I declare to interrupt him. Leorio blinks at me blankly, probably taken aback at my sudden conclusion.
"No, I don't think so," he contradicts. I scowl. "Anyway, this Kuroro character is strange. He hasn't converted anyone yet, and he doesn't have a pattern. It seems to me that he kills people randomly, only when he feels like it."
"That's not strange. In fact, I think that's normal," I voice out, rising from my seat. I don't let him finish anymore. Instead, I reach for my trench coat and leave the room. I have enough to go with and the sun has gone down. It's time for the thinking to stop, and the hunting to start.
"Be careful, Kurapika," Leorio calls after me. Hn. Like you care.
Edits: 1:37 AM 6/3/2005