Happy New Year Everyone! Thank you for all the encouragement and reviews that you graciously gave me throughout the year. I hope to write more this year. I'm also glad that you like this continuation. To be honest, I'm not really sure where this story is going. But, what happens happens. Let's see where the wind takes us.

As always, Happy Readings!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Let's all welcome the brand new year with a smile.

Previously:

"One more time, back off," Emina said with authority in her voice. Kurapika almost forgot who Emina was. Maybe the cute uniform made him think she was vulnerable, which she was not.

"Back off? Or what?" taunted the main guy.

"Or this," she smirked.

When Kurapika arrived at the scene, the assumed main instigator was pinned on the ground with his right hand pulled painfully behind him. He was yelling hellish profanities at Emina who was grinning maniacally on top of him.

A group was starting to form around the scene and the buzz of voices seemed to get louder. The boy on the floor continued shouting. Then his profanities turned into pleas of help from his comrades who stood safely away from the "crazy bitch".

The group of teens congregating around the fight seemed distress. It's not every day you see a guy pinned on the floor by a girl. On the other hand, Neon was jumping and clapping, cheering on Emina with a gleeful smile.

Kurapika sighed. So much for staying on the down low and keeping away from trouble. It seems like trouble has a way of finding them. Finally, he was able to push his way through the crowd and reached the girls.

He heard Emina swearing at the guy underneath her. Kurapika forgot how harsh this girl could be. He shook his head and proceeded to touch the white haired girl's shoulder.

"Emina, that's enough."

But before he could break Emina away from the boy, a loud voice penetrated the murmuring of the group surrounding them.

"Alright, that's it!" shouted the voice. "Break it up! Go back to class!"

Kurapika cursed silently. This is such a perfect way to start the first day of school. He sighed yet again and pulled Emina rather forcefully away from the boy. The boy immediately stood up and made a lunge for Emina. However, the owner of the loud voice caught the boy's arm and yanked him away.

"Now you," said the man. "Don't pretend like you're innocent. You harass girls. Damn time someone beat you up."

The boy scoffed, pulled his arm away and ran off. "Screw you, you stupid male nurse!" yelled the boy as he scampered through the hallway.

"That dumb punk," the said male nurse grumbled. "I'm a doctor! If only I could pummel him in the ground."

Kurapika was awestricken by the entire situation. The "male nurse" wore a white lab coat instead of the blue suit that he remembered him wearing since the last time they saw. He had the same scruffy face, spiky hair, and his signature sunglasses.

"L-Leorio?" asked Kurapika out loud.

Leorio turned towards Kurapika and grinned. "Yo, long time no see."

"What the heck are you doing here?" it was Emina. Kurapika turned to her and saw her folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, I'll tell you guys later," Leorio adjusted his glasses and turned towards the principal's office. "Right now you're all late. I'll explain to the principal what happened here. This way."

He led the way to the office and that's where he left them. The principal, Mr. Seto, oriented them with their class schedules, handed them their locker combination, and said a brief welcome. He was a concise man. Kurapika didn't dislike him. After a few minutes, the school's secretary came for them and ushered them to their classes.

Kurapika's classroom came first. Checking his schedule, lunch time would be at 12. That means he wouldn't see the girls till then. He was a bit disappointed but he knew he couldn't do anything. He tried to hide his frown before looking at the girls.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" he said.

Emina merely nodded and Neon just giggled.

That wasn't much of a reassurance to him.

The secretary went in the classroom first to introduce him. When she beckoned to him, Kurapika sucked in a deep breath and walked inside the classroom.

The same scenario played with Emina and Neon. The secretary went inside the classroom first, leaving the girls in the hallway.

"Neon-sama," Emina looked at the pink haired girl. "Tell me what our cover story is one more time."

Neon huffed but Emina didn't falter. "Tell me again, please."

"Fine," Neon straightened up in a mocking way. "It's not so hard to remember, you know? You, Kurapika, and I are cousins who moved from the other side of the world. While you and Kurapika live together," she playfully winked at Emina. "I still live with my parents."

Emina ignored the wink and proceeded to look at the closed door. "Good. That's what the principal and the secretary knows. If kids ask that's what you're answer is. Don't, and I stress that, Neon-sama, don't tell anyone who you really are. Or else Nostrade-sama will pull us all out of school."

"But, Emi-chan, wouldn't my last name be a dead giveaway?"

"Well, there are tons of other Nostrades. Who's to say that you're the daughter of The Nostrade clan? So just act like a normal girl or however you want to. Kurapika and I will protect you, alright?"

For once, Neon smiled gratefully and held Emina's hand. "Thank you, Emi-chan."

Emina looked at their hands and smiled as well. "Let's put on a good show, shall we?" it was her turn to wink and grin at Neon.

The secretary beckoned to them and the two girls followed suit. It was a bit overwhelming. The class was big and all eyes were on the new girls. The secretary bid her goodbye and the homeroom teacher started the introduction.

She wrote both Emina's and Neon's names on the chalkboard and proceeded to talk. "This is Emina-san and Neon-san. As you've heard they're cousins who recently moved around the area. I am Maya-sensei. I'm looking forward in having you two in my class." She turned to the class and continued, "Please give them your warmest welcome."

The two girls bowed slightly and said the traditional greeting, or so they were taught, "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!" A series of mumbled replies were heard through the room.

"Now, let's see where we could place you two. Ah!"

Emina observed the room while Maya-sensei made two students near the window move. There were at least twenty to twenty-five students. Emina made sure to look at each and every one of them straight in the eyes. She also made sure to memorize their faces. She chuckled silently as she came across a very similar face.

The face of the boy from this morning went red and turned immediately away with a scowl. Other than him, no one else stood out. "You may take a seat, girls," Maya-sensei said.

Sure enough, Emina sat next to the scowling boy while Neon sat in front of her. What an interesting morning, Emina thought. She never did go to high school in her home town. School was different. She didn't know what to expect at all. All she could do is rely on her survival instincts that kept her alive throughout the Hunter Exam and all through life.

The teacher started her lesson and Emina half listened. She looked around the room and took note of the viable exists. There are two doors, one in the front and one in the back. That was all. She looked at the windows and decided that they were big enough to fit humans if need be. The problem was that they were on the third floor. In all honesty, height was not really the problem. She has scaled buildings five times this school's size. It's the attention that they'll get if she decided to jump out of the said windows.

"Let's hope nothing comes up that'll make me have to jump out of them…" she thought to herself. She let her eyes wander outside and looked at the view. The sky was clear and the sun was bright. It was a cheery day. Down on the ground, the school's athletic field could be seen. Students who have P.E. as their first class peppered the ground. Some were running and some were merely standing and talking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a red blur and instinctively smiled to herself. A red blur only meant one thing. Kiara was around. She's probably patrolling the vicinity already.

Emina loved her pet bird.

If anything should happened to her, Emina would kill anyone who hurt her.

She was lost in her musings when she heard the whisperings.

"What is with her hair?"

"…so white…"

"Vampire wannabe?"

"…the other girl's cute…"

"…still… her cousin's pale as fu…"

Emina looked at the source of the voices and sure enough, the boy from this morning gave her a sickening grin. She knew it was him who's starting it. She shrugged and looked forward at the teacher who carried on her lesson. Emina was right, Maya-sensei was as clueless as she looked. Maybe even more.

First day of school and she already had enemies. How is that even fair? Well it didn't matter. At least Neon was being liked by the other kids. It's actually good on her part because then, people would stay away from her. This will make guarding Neon easier if Emina is not surrounded by teenagers.

For the first time in a long time, her insecurities were confirmed by people other than herself. She wasn't just pale. She was white. Devoid of color. Nothing. And that's how she's going to remain. Even to the person she loved. She was white; a blank space.

Lunch could not have come sooner. As soon as the bell rang, Kurapika got up and hurried out of his classroom. Emina had texted him their room number earlier so he's headed there as fast as he could.

Nothing in his entire life of training and survival ever prepared Kurapika for high school. Yes, he was smart and he liked learning new things. But learning it in a small room filled with rowdy teenagers that didn't want to learn was suffocating!

In addition to the claustrophobic setting, he was interrogated by the class's female population. It truly tested his memory of their cover story.

"Where do you live?"

"Who do you live with?"

"Who were those girls?"

"Are you taken?"

Now that last question was a bit confusing. What does the word "taken" even mean in that sentence? Kidnapped?

Shaking away the memory, Kurapika hurried down the hall and down the stairwell. He walked briskly towards the girls' classroom and was immediately greeted by a most familiar voice.

"Kurapika!" it was Leorio. "I need to see you in my office." He said it in such an authoritative voice that the blond haired young man raised his eyebrows.

Leorio lowered his voice to a whisper, "I'm the school's doctor so I have to sound like it." His eyes were laughing.

"Well, let me go get my friends first, Sensei," he answered.

"Okay, you know where my office is." Leorio turned and walked down the hall. Kurapika did not know where his office was.

Oh well, it didn't matter.

Kurapika proceeded to get the girls. He was planning to ask someone to get them for him but it wasn't needed. Once he reached the classroom door, Emina had Neon by the hands and was dragging her towards Kurapika.

"Hey, Kura-chan! Guess what!" Neon greeted him with a smile. "People like me!"

"Of course they like you," Emina answered. If Kurapika didn't know any better, he would say that Emina wasn't too happy.

"Anyway, Leorio wanted to talk to us. Do you wanna have lunch with him?" Kurapika asked.

Neon stuck her tongue out at Kurapika, "No! I wanna eat outside."

Kurapika knew it would be the case. Afterall, Neon wanted to experience everything about high school. "Alright. I don't know where his office is anyway. Did you pack some lunch, Neon-sama?"

"Um!" she nodded and lifted her other hand to show the lunchbox stack she brought with her. "Our cook made enough for the three of us."

They made their way outside. Neon continued chatting non-stop about how everything is cool and fun. She wanted to join clubs and participate in sports day and everything. Kurapika half listened. His attention was on Emina. She was particularly quiet while they were walking.

She really wasn't the talkative kind, but she wasn't the quiet kind either. He didn't know what was wrong, but then he heard the whispers as they walked by students.

"Hey look! New students…"

"The blond boy is hot!"

"… I heard the pink haired girl is Neon…"

"…so cute! …"

"…ew…she's white! …"

" … what's wrong with her…"

During their time together in the Hunter exam, there were people more bizarre looking than Emina. In fact, Emina wasn't at all weird looking. Neon didn't have a normal hair color either, so it was interesting how Emina was the one getting the unwanted attention. Maybe it's the difference in their personalities and people viewed Neon as a more approachable girl. However, Kurapika suspected some fowl play by a certain group but brushed it off.

He wished he could do something for his friend. But what could he do? They were supposed to be "cousins". Would it be weird? How do you confront bullies? Do you kill them? Of course not. Killing won't be the answer to anything as long as they're in this facility. He can't kill anyone at all!

"Hey, Kurapika," Emina spoke out of the blue. "Could you watch Neon-sama for a bit? I need to find Kiara."

"Alright," he answered but he knew otherwise.

"Thank you."

Then she was gone. He was now alone with his boss's daughter. She picked a place under a tree and unwrapped their bento boxes. He proceeded to eat the food, but his mind was elsewhere.

For the first time since they were assigned this mission, he finally admitted that this will be his hardest mission yet.

TBC!

A/N: There! I know it's a bit boring still. But I promise things will pick up soon. Again, please tell me what you think. Tell me if things need to be fixed or anything really.

Thank you!

Till next time.