As I Descend
Chapter Seven: First Draw
"Contrary to Chrollo's belief, I was not cast out from heaven—thrown form paradise. I like to think I fell much like a star: bright, burning, furious…and with no regrets. I can't see why I would have any when all I've ever wanted was to join him in his darkness."
Airships. It seemed to Azyel that she was spending more and more of her life aboard one. At least this time, she was running towards something and not away from it. If that is what she was doing, it was difficult to tell most times.
The corridors were mostly deserted. Applicants idled here and there, chatting or carefully minding their belongings. She'd left Leorio and Kurapika to their dreaming. She'd come back to them soon. However, she needed some space. Solitude was a gift even if it was also a curse.
She blew a curl from her eyes, digging her heel into the floor. Azyel felt herself being pulled in several different directions. She wanted to stay put, but another part, the dangerous part, wanted company. A particular kind of company. Alone, travelling from place to place, she'd hardly had the time for it. Moreover, she'd always had eyes on her back. Every city, every stop.
Eyes. Claws. Fists. Needles. Blades. Guns.
Every pretty thing she'd captured was struck out of existence. Every shiny jewel taken, used, and crushed. She only partly blamed herself. Only partly. She'd apparently started confusing pyrite with gold because she'd been so removed from the real thing. She also blamed the cities she'd flown to. Why count yourself among the strongest when you fall so easily? Why make promises you cannot keep? Why call yourself a diamond when you shatter at the slightest collision?
Her lips pressed into a line. There was no point thinking on those things now. They were past.
Hisoka was near. If she kept going, he'd sniff her out. The other, Gitterarcture or Glitter as she was wont to call him, was nearer. She had no reason to seek either of them out. It would hardly do her any good.
Still.
Azyel idled, her veins burning. An excitement was building in her throat, tension and ease tightening and pulling inside her.
Chrollo detested her tastes every bit as she detested his conniving. Somehow, it only made them intensify. Even this far away from him, she wanted him to suffer her habits. It was only fair. And her habits had such amazing outcomes…at least for a while. In any case, they were instrumental in assuaging the ego he had so casually bruised. Publicly, bruised. Left her out to dry in front of everyone. He probably thought himself clever refusing her. It probably made him feel more of the god he believed himself to be.
I'm being unkind again.
She smiled to herself. Slowly, but surely, she was remembering herself.
It had to be that excitement. If she chased it, would it erase the rest of her troubles? Would it expunge them?
Click-click. What to do?
"Azyel?"
Azyel spun towards Kurapika, her brows shooting up toward the ceiling, "I thought you were sleeping?"
He stood with his feet apart, braced as if for a fight. His voice was even, but there was a barely shaded sense of urgency in his voice. "I have a few questions for you."
She snorted, "You know how I feel about questions, Kurapika." She motioned toward the walls surrounding them, "they're hardly safe."
"I know." He said, and gestured back the way he'd come. "I'll keep it brief. We'll be alone."
Thump-thump. Her heart sped. Excitement, but for a different reason. I knew it would come to this eventually. Azyel thought, glancing back over her shoulder. Should've went straight to Hisoka.
He walked ahead of her, not glancing back once. She believed he thought that if he did, she might decide not to follow. It wasn't an unreasonable assumption. She'd take any excuse to escape him. It wasn't the same game she'd played for most of her life. She was not to be bait and him the prize.
Despite being her age, he felt younger. Sure, he was fun to tease—as most boys are, but there was something innocent about him. She liked to play with those who could play. Not those who've never had the chance. The way he moved forward, a chip on his shoulder, told her that he had skipped past the sweet mundane tasks of teenage angst and interaction. He was just like her in that way. Only…she doubted he had asked for it.
"In here." Kurapika gestured toward a door with a silver handle. No window inside. "We'll have privacy."
Her fingers trailed over the cold metal, "You're not planning anything nefarious, are you?"
"You don't believe that." He said, gesturing to the door, "But here, if it'll make you feel better, I'll go first."
She stepped aside with a smile, and he flicked a light on. It was larger than she thought it would be. Two white benches sat across from each other. a cabinet was across from the door. He took the seat on the right and she took the left. The door shut behind her.
She crossed a leg over the other, and she removed her cloak, allowing her hair to tumble down her shoulders. That was also something that was vaguely irritating about Kurapika. He didn't seem the least be swayed by her looks or attitude for him. Kurapika was all business.
He wore a determined look as he spoke, "The Phantom Troupe. You know a lot about them, don't you?"
"I know what most people do," she said, which was true. The Troupe's exploits were no secret. "Why do you want to know?" she didn't want to ask that question, but it was what most people would ask. If she didn't, she'd come across as suspicious.
The energy in the room rose. It was as if a live wire was starting to spit. "Have you heard of the Kurta Massacre?"
An emptiness sailed up from her stomach and into her mouth, shooting it with novocaine.
"I am the last of the Kurta." He said, stiffly. "And I need to find my brethren's eyes that were taken from them."
Pain was etched into his voice. A vile, sporadic anger slept just below the surface. Revenge hung around him like the arms of the grim reaper. She could see a great silver scythe positioned at Kurapika's neck.
She'd missed most of what he'd been saying. Not that she needed to know to realize where the path led. She only just caught him finish with, "….I can tell…you understand."
And she did, but not for the reason he thought. "I do. But…" what could she say? You don't have the power to reach even the weakest among them? No. That would reveal an intimate knowledge, wouldn't it? And she wasn't afraid of Kurapika's anger exactly. The way he was now, it would take little effort to hurt him. No. She had finally found companions she didn't have to share with anyone else. They were hers. She didn't want to lose their budding friendship. Where else would she find people like them? People with no connection to the others? "You don't just want that, do you? You seek revenge."
"Don't you?" his words were accusatory. If they were more alike, his words would have stung. But, as things stood…
"Not from them." Azyel held his stormy gaze. Her face was relaxed where his was tight. "I blame them for a great deal of my…habits, but not my loss. Sometimes, I wish I could, but I don't."
"That's good for you, but I cannot say the same. My clan was secluded. It meant no harm to the outside world. Still, that didn't matter to a bunch of cold-blooded murderers."
"It wouldn't." She said, softly, because she was talking to a different person now.
Tearing his eyes away from her, his breathing increased. This was not going the way he'd planned. She supposed he thought he'd find a like mind in her, but she was very good at disappointing.
"The Troupe is…unrepentant. They exist for themselves and the things they solely care for. They move because their leader dictates it so. If the leader wants death, there will be death. If the leader wants someone to live…"she found herself pausing there, "they will live uninhibited. They are monstrous. All the same, they are also people. People who can continue to exist because they are strong."
He looked like he was about to speak, but she cut him off.
"Kurapika, listen to me. I was young when I met them. So young, I can barely remember my age, but even then I could feel it. Even then, their power was…incredible. Now, I am sure they are even stronger." Azyel leaned forward, her hand cupping his own. His narrowed eyes found her. She squeezed his hand because if she didn't, he wouldn't listen. He would die. He was still a baby. He had so much more to live for. Moreover, it would be such a waste. In five years, he would be so handsome. "as you are, you cannot hope to defeat even one of them. And they are never alone. If you managed to corner one, the other would strike you down."
His eyes were hard, but the severity had lessened, "So you did know more." A statement. You have such a one track mind, ignoring whatever you don't like. Azyel thought. I can relate.
Sheepishly, she smiled. "I'm curious by nature, drawn to things I shouldn't be, but…I have a healthy love for life and all that it entails. That's where we differ, I think."
"Are you calling me suicidal?"
I thought that was obvious. Pulling back, she sighed into her hands. When she straightened, she spoke. "After I met them, I courted darkness the way people court lovers. Spontaneous and reactionary. You are courting a darkness that will swallow you so deeply, there will be no room for air. It will suffocate you. It will sequester you within your own mind. You will be alone. And you will die by yourself at the hands of your enemies—"
"Thank you, Azyel." Kurapika abruptly stood to his feet, turning toward the door. "I appreciate your concern. You're clearly trying to help me, and I appreciate it—"
"But you don't care?" she asked.
"No." He said, "I don't."
Out of some weird urge, she grabbed his arm.
As if he suddenly remembered something, Kurapika turned to meet her, "I just have one final question. Why Gittarackur? Why Hisoka? They're obviously the strongest applicants. But what does that mean to you?"
Azyel had half a mind to point out that he'd asked more than one question, but he was not in the state of mind to respond well to that delay.
So he noticed her short words with Hisoka? So that meant he was always watching. If he managed to become strong, he would be formidable. But, to have a power to overwhelm the Troupe would take years to hone. Years he was not willing to wait.
"I already answered that." She said.
He blinked, "Your calculations. Your secrets. Your refusal to draw attention or to show strength. It all adds up. You're drawn to their power. They give you a sense of safety or protection."
He's half right. "For every action there is always a reaction, Kurapika." She gestured to herself. She's the exact product of that.
"Precisely." He said, and Azyel knew he was referring to himself. "Still," his eyes softened, "thank you."
"You're welcome." She let go of him, standing to her feet. She had tried and failed. There was no turning him from his goal. The least she could do was run interference, prevent the paths from meeting. If she came to Chrollo, perhaps he'd choose to ignore Kurapika as a gift to her? Perhaps if she promised not to leave?
Perhaps not.
Chrollo would kill him the moment she made her association clear. What's worse, he'd have Uvo or Phinks do it, knowing she'd be more likely to forgive those two while she'd hold it over his head until the day she died.
They knew each other too well.
In addition to finding her sister, she'd found a new goal: keeping Kurapika from his.
"We should get some rest." She said, her voice chipper, eyes bright. He didn't know her well enough to notice the wheels turning behind her eyes.
"Agreed."
When they found Leorio again, he was swiftly asleep. Drool slipped from his mouth. She closed his mouth, taking a tissue to the drool at once.
Kurapika chuckled.
"What?" she asked, settling beside him.
"You're secretive, but you're kinder than you give yourself credit for."
"For someone choosing the darkness," she returned, "you have every potential to live in the light."
In his eyes, she found warmth, acceptance even. "I guess we're both stubborn then."
In that moment, she knew they were friends.
The air ship had deposited them all atop a towering cylindrical tower. Beyond it, you could see great beasts flapping through the air. A cool breeze rifled through their clothes. Azyel wandered to the furthest edge of the tower. Hisoka trailed a finger against his pale throat as he leered at her. She surmised he thought he was being seductive. His tongued peeked out of his mouth, and she could feel his intensity chill her bones.
She really needed to find a way down.
People milled about, looking for a way to escape. The wind blew sharply past her and she heard a scream pierce the air. Sounds like someone died. She continued on, eyes down at the stone squares beneath her. She began walking over them, heels clicking hard.
Another gaze nailed to her back. Before she could turn, she stepped forward and fell.
Her boots hit the ground with a click, echoing in the darkness. Once her eyes adjusted, she found a pair of beady eyes looking up at her from the tiled floor.
"You really shouldn't stare like that," she told him, squatting down to his level. She prodded a pin with her pointer finger. His beady gaze followed her hand. "I may start thinking you have a crush on me."
"You'd think that anyway." Gittarackur said, there was a strangeness to his voice, an extra layer.
Smiling, she rose to her feet, "Only if given reason. Do you really think I'm so conceited?"
"Sometimes. You show only what you want me to see." Alone like this, he was talkative.
"Oh?" she stepped toward him, unable to help it and not wanting to. "And what do you see?"
"The person you are, instead of what you want people to think you are." He said.
Ooo, how deep.
"I could say the same for you." She said, stepping closer to prod a pin on his chin, there were three total all in a column. This was not his true face. It couldn't be. She ached to unravel him, this shadow puppet. Was the real him buried beneath it, somehow? Softly, she asked, "What do you actually look like?"
Deeper still, his voice came back to her. "Why do you want to know?"
"Personal reasons." Her thumb rolled against the pin, slipping between two fingers. She moved to pull, but he pressed her against the wall. She didn't give a sound of alarm. Lazily, she looked from one wrist to the other, both were pressed against the brick along with her back. Her heels were back against it. His hands were inescapable cuffs, not that she was trying.
Glancing back to his eyes, she said, "A little unreasonable, don't you think?"
"You shouldn't touch what doesn't belong to you."
What a strange way to live, she mused, I hardly know anyone who would agree.
A spark buzzed around in her stomach, filling her eyes with eagerness. He really shouldn't have said that. "Is that a challenge?" she asked, inching her head up, toward his towering figure. She longed to see through this mask. "Because you should tread lightly with me. You may not wish you didn't."
"Why do you say that?"
Him with the questions! "Because I have a habit of ruining peoples' lives. It's…more of a talent really. I barely have to try."
"Why do you sound like you're flirting with me?"
Because I am, you troll!
She refrained from scowling. This guy. It was like talking to a wall. Just when she thought they were on a roll. Azyel wasn't exactly being subtle, but, shoot, maybe she was to him. Either way, it dampened her mood. Her fire flickered out. She sighed, "Well, if you're not going to play right, we can't play at all." She kicked her feet, "You want to start the exam now? Or do you want to keep me prisoner until it ends?"
"There. Now, you sound more like I remember." With that he gently let her go, stepping away from the wall.
Her hands immediately flew to massage her wrists, but he hadn't hurt her. "What do you mean? You've alluded to knowing me twice now. I'd remember that face, but I don't."
"We've only met once." He said, "And I didn't have this face."
Disturbing. Enticing. Two of her favorite ingredients. "The face I saw before…did I like it?" Perhaps that was also disturbing?
He almost seemed to smile as he looked over his shoulder, "No."
This was exciting, wasn't it? She automatically, beamed. Her hand coming to his back, tugging the material of his green vest. "Will you show me?"
A strange, idle curiosity crawled from his gaze. He nodded, her smile brightening. "Let's go. Stay behind me." Gittarackur suggested.
He knew her. And whatever it is about their past relationship had made him soft to her. Why?
And she did, her hand pressed closer to his back, the muscles beneath it tightening with tension. Softly, she asked, "Is this okay?"
She knew it would be, but she needed to ask these things.
He sighed, looking over his shoulder like an exasperated parent, "Well, you certainly know what you're doing."
Finally, she would have her fun. She grinned again, giving herself a firmer grip on his clothing. "I try."
They walked down a short flight of steps into a small square room. Like the previous hall, it was lit with recessed lighting. Smooth brick walls sandwiched by white stone tile. Around the room's edges, there were four dark squares. Against the furthest of the four walls, a screen sat pressed into the brick.
Gittarackur read, "Welcome to the Trick Tower."
Azyel's eyes travelled up to the ceiling. In a corner, a rod passed through the ceiling and down to the floor.
"'You have the route of escape. Those who enter here must leave with their lives to pass.'" He said, "Well, that's obvious." He walked toward the screen while Azyel tried to recall how they entered. I fell straight down…we walked about 91 meters in a straight line…I faced the edge when I fell and found Glitter to my right.
Azyel wandered over to the right wall, and stuck her hand into the square hole. It was wide enough to allow for Gittarackur's shoulders. The temperature was almost the same if not slightly warmer…but heat rises.
"Here." He gave her a watch she snapped onto her wrist with a click.
His soon followed. An unlatching sound reverberated against the walls. The ceiling fell.
"You first." She said. He dived into the hole without hesitation and she ducked after him without a second thought. Moments later, a resounding boom screamed in her ears, but she was free flying.
Her cloak whipped around her as she fell feet first. Glass squares running past her so fast she had only half-seconds to recognize them. All the same, she fell for minutes. She could see them ticking by on her very convenient watch.
Thankfully, I picked the fastest route. The others, would have taken much more time. Not all of them though, she thought. The one behind them would have sent them out of the tower and to their deaths.
The ground ran to meet her, lights now built into the walls gave her view of a circular ring, surrounded by water.
Gittarackur's large hands cupped her thighs as he arrested her fall. Her hands flew to his shoulders. Across from her, a steel door marked with a circle stood pushed into the wall, centimeters off the floor. Her head whipped behind her, and she matched gazes with a tall burly man dressed in distressed brown fabric. His pants hung from his tan hips and cupped his bare scarred feet. His prominent brow immediately reminded her of Phinks, only this man lacked the charm to pull it off.
She sighed, missing him as well as everyone else.
"Thank you," she finally said to Gittarackur who hadn't put her down. There was a slight gleam to his beady little eyes. She decided to ask, "What would you have done had I not been there?"
Nonchalantly, he said, "I would have caught the ceiling and taken the closest path."
That's why he was so unconcerned. She rolled her eyes, "Show off."
Without knowing its exact weight, trying to catch it would never have been an option for her. Must be nice. Gently, he allowed her to slip through his hands until she was on her feet.
She turned and his hand dropped down beside him.
"That took less time than I thought." The man finally said, "It doesn't matter. To pass through here, you'll have to kill—"
Gold flashed across the distance. The man—who's name they were not yet given—fell onto his back. Dead as stone.
Of course. Azyel groaned, and shoved Gittarackur's arm, "You didn't let him finish."
He didn't seem to mind the contact. "It was obvious, wasn't it? To pass, he'd have to die." He responded, "I saw no point in waiting. The sooner we finish, the better."
This, she was not used to. Well, Uvo could always be counted on to be reckless. But, she was almost always with Chrollo, and he was not. They moved as one mind in that way.
Moving toward the dead man, she argued, "What if he had said something else? Like, 'To pass through here, you'll have to kill my puppets without harming me.'"
"I didn't see a 'no killing' rule when we entered." He said, "Unless your eyes saw something mine didn't."
Snarky, ass. "Regardless, that's entirely too reckless." She said, "Just because you have the power to move as you will, doesn't mean you should. Caution never killed anyone. Nor did information." She jumped onto the small platform in line with the ring. Keeping her distance, she peered around his body, careful not to touch him.
"Now that's new."
He was of course referring to her thought processes, "Will you stop with the alluding already? You will either tell me or—"
She cut herself off, as she leaned closer, she noticed a tag sticking out from his collar. The white tag was attached to a metal band around his neck with a blinking red light. "Gittarackur?"
Head bobbing, he made his way over to her with quick strides. "You found something?"
Azyel cut her eyes at him, his unconcerned tone was starting to wear her patience, "We wouldn't need to be searching, if you hadn't acted so recklessly."
"Well, that's hypocritical of you. And contradictory," he stated pinching a pin between his fingers, "Did you not upon our first meeting walk up to a complete stranger and attempt to befriend him? At least…that's how I remember it."
Dismissively, she waved her hand, "Courting a fight and courting a friend—or whatever the hell you are—are very different. Besides, I knew exactly how that was going to go. Go on…call me a liar."
Head ticking to the side, his creepy grin spread, "You're a lot more conceited than I remember."
More alluding. Retched man. Still, he didn't say she was wrong. Azyel moved the conversation forward, "If you're done insulting me…take a look at this." She pointed to the tag.
Still somewhat behind her, he leaned over her shoulder, "What does it say?"
His breaths tickled her ear and she responded, "I didn't read it."
"Why not?"
"What if it's attached to a bomb?"
"And?"
Over her shoulder, she held his eyes, "You seem to think you're a lot sturdier than I am."
"I'm not bomb proof."
Silence. Still, she looked on at him.
He groaned, "Fine. Go back over there." He said, "For someone who's just berated me, you seem to enjoy exploiting my talents."
"You make it easy," she said. Triumphant, Azyel gave his shirtsleeve a playful tug before she jumped back the way they'd come. She moved to the farthest end, her heels back up against the edge. Looking into the water, dark shadows sat below its surface.
"Once you remove this tag," Gittarackur read, "You will have ten minutes to kill my subordinates, during which time, they will also have time to kill you."
As Azyel leaned toward it, she realized it wasn't just a shadow but a dark, water logged body. It's head was larger than its body, its eyes sewn shut, lips wrinkled from too much water.
"Find the one with the key and you shall escape."
Azyel moved toward the center of the ring, "Gittarackur—"
She heard a tearing of paper, an explosion of nen rippled throughout the room. The calm water began to bubble. "Oops."
On cue, the shadows began to crawl onto the platform, spilling water as they dragged themselves forward at awkward angles.
Gittarackur sighed, "Well, damn."
She glared at him, "You're not fooling anyone. I know you did that on purpose."
He did his creepy grin, as the monsters grabbled toward them, "Oh, well."
Author's note: I have such fun writing Illumi. Despite being stoic and overbearing and psychotic, he's actually pretty chill and fun (at least around Hisoka). I figured he'd be that way around Azyel as well.
What do you guys think? Anyway, quick update because I haven't updated in a while and I was in the mood.