Pixie says: Here's the next installment in the Friendly Fire story. Kurapika finally makes an appearance. Warning: There's some violence/blood here. Enjoy! (And please review!?)
The darkly lit hall was packed with people and the stench of sweat and smoke was abundant. It was another day on the job, but this night was really getting on Kurapika's nerve.
Many underground networks were holding auctions for black market items, with the earliest beginning two weeks before and slowly building up to the big one- the very reason why he was in York Shin city to begin with.
As his employers were avid flesh collectors, a number of the newly recruited body guards were sent off to these back alley auctions in the hopes of attaining something of interest for Neon Nostrade. So far, however, all items had been of no such interest- ancient artifacts from long lost civilizations, weapons and jewellery that had been stolen from the greatest smiths and tombs around the world, and the like. Neon was not interested in any of this. No, she wanted something organic.
Senritsu, Kurapika's partner, stared at his pocket in quiet interest as the auction proceeded. While he had his phone on silent mode, she could still hear the vibrations it emitted.
"Someone seems desperate to get in touch with you," she noted quietly, nodding in the direction of his phone. "That was the seventeenth phone call."
"I'm working. I'm making an effort not to take personal calls on the job," Kurapika replied coldly, taking a step back in disgust from the large, sweaty man that swayed in front of him.
"If you are worried about me tattling, know that I have no such interest," Senritsu informed him, and Kurapika glanced at her sideways, before focusing back to the stage where a hand-made 12th century blade was being auctioned off.
Only moments later, his phone buzzed briefly, signaling a message. Sighing in irritation, Kurapika took out his phone and flipped it open. To his surprise, it was a message from Leorio. And yes, Senritsu had been right. He, Gon, and Killua had called him a total of seventeen times.
Sighing once again, Kurapika opened his inbox.
'Please pick up. Someone's life is in danger.' read the brief message. Kurapika wondered whose life it could possibly be since the three of them seemed well enough to call him.
Before he could put his phone back in his pocket, it started buzzing again and Kurapika saw that it was an incoming call from Killua.
Anger swelled up inside him, mostly since he was about to break his own rule of not answering the phone on the job, but in the end, he relented and accepted the call.
He didn't have a chance to put the phone to his ear when Killua's voice blared through it.
"FINALLY!"
"Killua," Kurapika acknowledged bluntly. "I'm working. Make this quick." From the corner of his eyes, he saw Senritsu smile knowingly. He did not like that.
"We heard you're working for an underground avid collector, right?" Killua asked, and Kurapika was surprised to hear the urgency in his voice.
"That's correct," Kurapika confirmed.
"Are you in York Shin now?"
"I am."
"Good. Are there any auctions going on over the next few days?" Killua asked, and Kurapika sighed.
"Yes. There are two happening right now. I'm at one of them and some colleagues are at another. May I ask what this is about?" Kurapika asked, getting impatient.
"A friend got kidnapped," Killua said, making Kurapika's eyebrows shoot up. "We tracked the van's license plate to man named Jens Miller. He's into human trafficking, especially auctions," Killua explained.
"The auctions being held today will probably not be of interest to him, then," Kurapika replied bluntly. "I can keep an eye out and contact you if I hear anything."
"Kurapika-" Killua was about to start, but his phone got snatched away and Leorio spoke instead.
"Listen, Kurapika. She's probably really vulnerable right now. This guy is into Relays, so he'll probably make some quick cash before getting her back," Leorio explained, and Kurapika had to massage his temples to ease the headache coming on.
Having spent a while with the Nostrades, he was familiar with Relays- where goods were sold at preliminary auctions before being stolen back and sold elsewhere for higher prices. It was not a risk-free approach to auctions, which was why not many people used it, but if this guy did then Kurapika could understand why they were interested in today's auctions.
"Fine. I'll keep an eye out and inform my colleagues. How will I know it's her?" Kurapika asked, and he heard Leorio sigh in relief.
"Her nen will probably be activated. You'll probably recognize her by it. It's something abnormal," Leorio told him, which made Kurapika furrow his eyebrows in confusion. Was that all he could say?
"Her name?" Kurapika asked, not really sure how to take in this new information.
"Nikita. Please keep us informed. Good luck. And thank you so, so much," Leorio said, and Kurapika nodded to himself.
"I will," and with that he hung up, placing the phone back in his pocket with a huff. He looked to his side and saw Senritsu looking at him with wide, concerned eyes. Silently, she took out her own cellular device. "I'll inform Basho," she told him and he nodded in thanks, knowing very well that her sensitive ears had picked up everything.
Kurapika sighed once more, before crossing his arms and staring straight ahead at the monotonous auction taking place before him.
Two hours crawled by and the few lights that were on were being dimmed, signaling the end of the auction.
Nothing of interest had appeared for the two Nostrade employees, nor had they heard or seen anything about this girl that Kurapika's friends had called about.
Just as he was about to call Leorio and inform of the lack of progress, the stage lights turned back on and a man with graying hair stepped up. Much to Kurapika's surprise, a few people began clapping and cheering, and the few that had managed to file out made their way back into the hall.
"Hello, York Shin!" The man said, laughing at his own joke. "We have one more item for you, tonight- a last minute addition, if you will," he began, and Kurapika felt a knot form in his stomach. Senritsu heard his heartbeat quicken, but she didn't need to ask why. She was thinking the same thing.
"You promised to visit me last week!" A man from the audience shouted, causing much hearty laughter among the older men around him.
"I'm a busy man, Mr. Sherlot!" the guy informed, smiling at the audience member who had spoken. "And I have been even busier just to get this gem up here," he continued, winking.
"As most of you know, I don't only do house calls nowadays. I've started my own private practice at a hospital, and I got the most unusual guest visit me just days ago," the man began his story as he paced across the stage. Kurapika didn't feel like he was at an auction house anymore; it felt more like a stand-up comedy show than anything else, though none of the things others laughed at remotely amused him.
"Kurapika," Senritsu whispered, tugging at his sleeve in order for him to lean close to her. "I hear them talking. Apparently, that's Dr. Matts. He's well-known for being the family doctor of a number of mob groups," Senritsu explained. "I also hear a terrifying heartbeat backstage."
Kurapika nodded before resuming his attention back to the Doctor.
"I know that many of you are out there fighting your battles, or sending hired arms to do the dirty work for you," again, he sent a wink to a particular man who laughed heartily. "So, I think this will be a great benefit for one of you to have."
With that, a burly man with wide arms and an almost bursting neck brought in a girl on a wheel chair. The first thing that Kurapika noticed were her eyes. They were blank, devoid of any emotion. Though they were wide open and staring at the wooden floor in front of her, he knew she wasn't registering anything.
"Her heartbeat is calm. Frighteningly calm," Senritsu said in a hushed whisper. Remembering what Leorio said, Kurapika activated Gyo and was taken aback by what he saw.
The girl emitted rays of blinding light that reached several meters around her. He heard Senritsu gasp as she saw the same thing.
Kurapika snatched out his phone and took a picture before sending it to Leorio's number. "Is that her?" he asked in the accompanying message.
It didn't take more than two seconds before Leorio called him.
"That's her," Leorio told him, almost frantically. "Is she okay?"
"I can't say anything for sure," Kurapika told him bluntly. "How much money do you have?"
Leorio asked the boys and told him the sum- a number that amounted to a few dozen million Jenny.
"I can lend some of my funds if the bidding exceeds your limit," Kurapika told him, and Leorio was about to burst in thank-yous. "Don't thank me yet. I need to win, first."
"We'll leave you to it," Leorio told him, and Kurapika hung up again.
Dr. Matts was still making small talk, but he slowly began approaching the girl. "To prove this to you, I will demonstrate live- before your very own eyes." Kurapika had missed out the interlude that lead to this part because of the phone call, but he had a bad feeling about this demonstration.
The man who had wheeled her in placed a weird, box-like machine around one of the girl's lower legs. Instantly, one of the projectors that allowed the audience members in the back to see what was going on onstage turned black and was replaced with what looked like a radiograph of the girl's leg.
"This is something I made," he told the audience proudly. "Think of it like an X-ray video. Can you see the faint fracture on her tibia?" he asked, pointing at the thin line on the projector screen. Wordlessly, the large man beside the girl grabbed her knee with one hand foot with the other. The doctor, almost giddily, placed his microphone close to the girl's leg.
CRACK.
Senritsu's hands flew up to either side of her head as she heard the sickening sound of bones breaking. Kurapika's eyes widened as the screen showed the cleanly broken bone. On the wheelchair, the girl remained silent, her mouth merely opening slightly in surprise.
The room was silent, in shock and anticipation. Slowly, an audible sound of admiration waded through the room as the screen showed something impossible. As the seconds passed, the broken bone was repairing itself at an insanely fast pace.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Dr. Matts told the audience, reluctantly turning his gaze from the screen. "'But Rojai, how will this help me?" you may ask, and you're right. So I'll demonstrate something else."
Out of one pocket, the doctor pulled out a switchblade. Wordlessly, he pressed the blade to his open palm and sliced his flesh deep. Blood poured out on the stage floor, and he held up his hand to show the audience what he had done- like a stage magician trying to prove that no illusions were taking place.
He turned towards the dissociated girl and held his bloody hand out to her. He frowned when he realized that she was too far in shock to react to him, so he pressed his bleeding hand against her shoulder instead.
A few seconds later, he pulled it back, wiped away the smears of blood with a handkerchief from his breast-pocket, and held up his hand to the audience once again. The cut was completely healed.
"She's using too much of her life force," Senritsu whispered, concerned over the poor girl's well-being. Kurapika knew it was true. The light around her was flowing out endlessly with no restriction. Too much time passing in this state would mean her certain death.
"Now, she's been drained of most energy," the doctor told the audience, cleaning his blade before putting it and his handkerchief back in his pockets. "Like milking a snake from its poison," he laughed. "She won't need too much maintenance, but we suggest constantly breaking a bone or two to ensure that her energy is spent fixing herself and you, and not in recovering," he told the audience, smiling so genuinely that it made Kurapika sick with anger.
With a flourish, Dr. Matts took a bow and the regular auction host made his way on stage, but not before half the hall erupted in clapping and whistles.
"Now, then." The host began, looking at a piece of paper and holding up his gavel. "Bid starts at one million Jenny. Do I hear one million out there?"