Pixie Says: Peek-a-boo! I know it's been a few months and I'm sorry for the delay. This story's definitely not dead, but I've been super busy. I'm moving countries next week and had a lot to deal with since the last chapter. But I got some super sweet reviews and felt guilty, so I wanted to squeeze out a decent chapter as quickly as possible.
So to those who reviewed, thank you so much! Here's an almost 5k worded chapter as a thank you for sticking around and for 40+ reviews! It might take a while before I update again and you may hate me for the way I ended things this chapter but... I guess it's better than nothing? Right? *shot*
Enjoy!
She could hear the sound of men screaming. Someone was cursing loudly. A hand wrapped itself around her wrist. More panicked shouts. Everything went white, and then red.
She was staring at bloodied bandages. A heart monitor was beeping in the background. She could hear her father's laboured breathing, and she found herself matching it. It got harder and harder to breathe, and she suddenly realized that something was around her neck, choking her. Her vision was dotted with black and slowly, the edges began to blur and fade like a vignette. The screams continued.
She blinked and the pressure was gone. Gasping for breath, she saw something glint in the corner of her vision. Looking down, she saw her hand- a wide slash across it. Blood was pooling around it on the filthy street she was lying on. Their tortured cries had become a sort of background noise. She thought she could block it out, but occasionally a few dying shrieks pushed their way to the forefront.
She heard a rumbling noise and looked up just in time to see a timber truck through the windshield. The radio that was blasting a loud pop song suddenly went quiet. A final heartbreaking wail and then-
Nikita opened her eyes and sat up. The motion had been a little too fast, because she felt the blood rushing away from her head and lightheadedness kicked in. She swayed and her vision was stained with white dots. Slowly, she tried to lie down again and turned her head so that her cheek rested against her pillow. It was only then she realized it was wet.
Gingerly, she reached a hand to her cheek and felt the tearstains. She had been crying.
Stupid… it was just a dream…
But it hadn't been just a dream. They had all been flashbacks. She knew that pressing down the memories wasn't an ideal way of dealing with the turmoil inside her, but she had honestly never gotten a chance to just sit down and allow her thoughts to catch up with her. Life had been too busy throwing more shit after the other.
Her eyes scanned the room. It was empty, but the curtains had been spread, allowing light to shine into the middle of the room. She couldn't hear anything from outside her room either, and she briefly wondered if the boys had left her on her own.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep any more, but the thought of getting out of bed seemed daunting to her. I need to clear my head. I can't let them see me like this.
She thought about the flashbacks she'd just had. The most troublesome thing about them was the screams she kept hearing in the background. Her fists clenched as she recalled talking to Leorio on the phone when Kurapika had found her at the auction. If only he had allowed her to talk a few more seconds, this wouldn't have been so severe then. But she knew that her life had been on the line, and Leorio had been trying to stop her nen from flowing out of her so uncontrollably.
She still hadn't talked about that incident with anyone. She had so many suppressed feelings and experiences within her that even her psyche had started to warn her of her unstable condition. And the screams… that was the worst part. She knew where they came from, and she knew she had caused them. It had been a reflex, and instinctual part of her that came to life when she had been threatened. Killua's safety had also been looming in the back of her mind then.
She covered her eyes with her forearm, willing the tears back into her eyes. It took a few minutes and she went through several different breathing exercises before she was calm enough to start the day. Checking her phone, she was able to make out that it was almost noon.
After a quick bathroom visit to clean herself up, she changed out of her pajamas and made her way to the living room. No one was there, but the door to the boys' room was wide open, and she could feel someone's presence in there before she saw them.
With heavy footsteps, she trudged to the doorway and looked in.
She saw a flash of blond hair before his face. Kurapika had set up his base within the boys' room, and Nikita almost cringed at the state the space was in. The desk had been turned into some sort of computer lab, with two monitors and a laptop taking up most of the furniture's surface area. An array of various other technological instruments could be seen, but Nikita had no names for whatever it was Kurapika was trying to construct.
The inner curtains were drawn, and fragile rays of sunlight escaped through the translucent material. Kurapika, who had an expression of extreme pensiveness on his features, still managed to look haunting under the blue lights of several screens beaming at him.
"You slept in," he spoke to her, not even turning to face her as he typed furiously on the keyboard of one monitor. Nikita took a step closer and saw that he had an earpiece.
"Yeah…" Nikita replied, her response coming out like a sigh. "Where did the boys go?"
"Out… I didn't bother asking where to," he said before checking his phone. When he was satisfied, he turned to look at her, and Nikita's breath hitched in her throat.
He was very easy on the eyes, but that wasn't what made her freeze. He was staring at her so intently, she worried he noticed she had been crying. Time seemed to come to a full stop before he finally shifted, and the moment was broken.
"There's breakfast in the fridge," he told her and went back to work.
"Isn't it lunchtime soon?" she asked. She had the brief recollection that her phone stated it was past 11 when she woke up.
"It is," he affirmed. It was then she noticed he appeared tense. His hands were balled into fists, and he had a scowl on his face. Taking a look around the room he was in, she could almost understand why. Kurapika seemed to strike her as a slight neat-freak. His bed was always made when she woke up, and the books he was currently reading were stacked in an orderly pile on the bedside table.
It seemed none of the other boys shared his mindset, because this room looked like chaos in the flesh. What Nikita assumed to be Killua's bed was littered with candy wrappers and empty chips bags. Leorio had his medical textbooks scattered across his bed and his notebooks happened to take up what was left of the space Kurapika had left on the desk. Used plates and half-filled stale cups of coffee were placed wherever he could find space.
Not even Gon's bed was safe. While he had at least attempted to make his bed, the cover still had clothes tossed onto it, and Nikita suspected most of them belonged to the white-haired ex-assassin. Gon never seemed to wear anything other than his trademark green clothes anyway.
Nikita ran a hand through her long, dark locks, gathering them into a bunch at the back of her head. She removed the hair band that had been restricting blood flow at her wrist and tied her hair in place, staring at the thin red line that remained on her skin. She needed a good distraction today, so this would have to do, she decided silently.
"I'll go eat, then. Want me to bring anything?" she asked, as she fumbled around the room. She tried to cradle as many coffee mugs and empty plates as she could in her arms, and Kurapika watched her curiously from the side.
"No, I'm fine as it is," he told her, before pausing as he watched her struggle not to spill days-old coffee. "What are you doing?"
"Might as well dish these when I'm in the kitchen," she responded with a shrug. There were still a few stray crockeries lying around, but she would get to them later. Kurapika looked like he was about to object, but she made her way to the kitchen before he had a chance to open his mouth.
Once in the kitchen, she placed everything in the sink as gently as she could before heading to the fridge. There was a plate of omelette, hash browns, and sausages, which she took out to heat. She grabbed a drink of water as the thrum of the microwave filled the kitchen. She felt heavy, like her head was filled with cotton. She couldn't think straight and every time she let her thoughts wonder, she would hear the piercing screams reverberate in her skull. It was unpleasant enough that she almost dropped the empty glass in her hand a few times.
She had to keep herself pre-occupied. She didn't know when the boys would be back, but they always managed to distract her. She just had to last that long.
She ate quickly, restlessness creeping up on her. When she was done, she spent a good half an hour on the dishes, humming along to radio hits she used to listen to back home in her mind. She didn't know much about pop culture in this world, and would have to ask Leorio later for a playlist. She never went a day without her trusted iPod back on Earth, and was surprised she had been able to survive so long without music to drown out the dullness of every-day life.
But that was probably because she had very few dull moments here. Everything else had been an intense, adrenaline-filled ride.
Redoing her ponytail, she entered the room Kurapika was working in again and set to work tidying the place up. She started with throwing away the trash and folding the clothes, slowly transforming the room into an acceptable state. It took a while, and she managed to work to the rhythm of Kurapika's furious typing and frequent phone calls.
"Where's Senritsu?" she asked casually as she set about making Killua and Leorio's beds.
"Out in the field," he responded without missing a beat in his typing. "The boss is coming in a few days, so we have to keep everything under surveillance till then. We'll be leaving this hotel once she gets here," he explained.
"Ah…" Nikita responded, her eyebrows furrowing. She felt strange all of a sudden. She hadn't taken the time to get to know the bodyguards very well, and her time with them was about to be cut short.
"You didn't have to do this, you know," he continued. "You'll spoil them."
"I don't have much else to do. And it's a good way to kill time," she argued. "Besides, they've been taking care of me. This is the least I can do."
"I don't think you should feel indebted to them. Leorio in particular wouldn't like that very much. He likes to help for the sake of helping," Kurapika pointed out, and Nikita smiled.
"Yeah, so he's told me…" she said, finishing up by fluffing the pillows. The room wasn't in a perfect state, but she hadn't been sure what was off limits. She decided not to move their belongings around too much so that they would know where to find everything later. "I figured cleaning the room might help you, as well. You seemed a bit tense earlier," she mentioned, cringing when she realized she might have overstepped her boundaries a bit.
She saw Kurapika pause again, before he shifted to look at her.
"You're doing this for my sake?" he asked her, disbelief obvious on his features. Nikita released a breath she didn't know she was holding. That reaction was better than she was expecting.
"Partially," she shrugged, dusting her hands and letting her hair loose again. She needed a new hair tie. Her hair was way too thick and her current band had loosened from holding it up. "Why didn't you set up camp in our room instead?" she asked lightly.
"You were sleeping," he told her honestly, and she froze. "The living room is often too lively for me to focus on work, and Leorio and the others were going to be busy for the next few days, so I figured this was the best option. And I might have to keep the machines running at night, so the fans would disturb Senritsu," Kurapika explained easily, and Nikita scratched the back of her head, not sure what to say.
"A-ah… well, thanks. That's considerate of you," she told him appreciatively, and he just smiled. It was a rare expression on him, so she tried to drink it in while she could. She didn't get a lot of time though, because he was back to work in a moment.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he paused his typing once more, but did not look at her. "Seif called and asked about you. He said he stopped by earlier, but no one answered the door," he added and Nikita grimaced with guilt.
"Ah, shit. I almost forgot about him, too…" she admitted, rubbing her upper left arm with her right hand.
"He asked me to let you know he'd try again later. He didn't want to bother you since you were asleep," he continued, and Nikita briefly wondered if Kurapika meant he himself hadn't wanted to disturb her.
"Okay, that's good," she said, feeling a bit more at ease. "Seif mentioned going on vacation soon, so it would be nice to see him before he leaves."
"Is this a common occurrence?" Kurapika asked, resuming his typing.
"Meeting up with Seif?" she asked and saw him nod. "Yeah, he comes by on his breaks. I think he got worried about me after seeing my less than okay state a few times," she responded with a laugh, and Kurapika nodded again.
"So the others let you leave the room when you're with him?" Kurapika asked and Nikita narrowed her eyes briefly. "That sounds almost dangerous."
"Security here seems to be top notch," she shrugged, remembering the multitude of cameras everywhere and the few security guards that were hidden on standby in the lobby. She wouldn't have noticed them if Seif hadn't pointed them out to her one time.
"Well, they asked me to keep an eye on you, but if this is something even they allow you to do, then I guess I have no right to question it," Kurapika concluded and Nikita sighed with a bit more force than she intended. She didn't like his implications, like the boys were commanding her to do things.
"I think they understand that Seif is the only normal friend I have here. He isn't a hunter, hasn't the slightest clue what Nen is, and I can have relatively mindless conversations with him that don't include other worlds or crazy stalkers that are out to get me," she told him pointedly and Kurapika slowly shifted his eyes to look at her.
"Fair enough," he answered with shrug, only to notice her scowl. She had just reminded herself about her restlessness again.
"I'll go make lunch," she blurted out suddenly, and Kurapika's eyebrows lifted in surprise at her sudden change in volume. "Anything you want?"
"I'm not too picky," he told her gently, still studying her. She squirmed under his intense gaze and worried he would pick up on her vibrations. She was trying hard not to tap her foot. "You don't have to do that though. I'm sure I could scour the kitchen for something myself," he finally said politely and she sighed in relief.
"No, I don't have anything else to do. Might as well be helpful," she said, feeling repetitive. She gave the room a quick glance-over and decided that it was satisfactorily tidy. "I'll leave you to it then," she told him, a bit rushed, before she exited and made her way to the kitchen. Kurapika continued to watch her until she was out of sight, and then turned to get back to work.
In the kitchen, Nikita scavenged the multitude of cabinets for utensils and cooking equipment, and was pleasantly surprised when she found a small CD player on the top shelf of a cupboard. She brought it down with the help of a chair and plugged it into an empty socket some distance from the stove. Greatful for her language lessons, she was able to read which knob was the FM one and her earlier wish was realized. She tuned in to the first radio station she could find, and put the volume on low so as not to disturb her neighbour.
The music wasn't anything spectacular, though some pop hits with catchy tunes had her bouncing on the balls of her feet for a while. But it was a change from the quiet, static ambiance earlier and she was grateful for that.
She dried the dishes on the rack and put them away before going through the cupboard and fridge once again for an inventory check. She decided on lasagna, since the ingredients were there and it would take her a sufficiently long time to make- meaning more distraction. She decided to be extra generous and even took out one of the sausage packs in the fridge to add a little something to the dish.
Once she cooked the meat sauce and had the water for the pasta heating up, she used the waiting time to turn on the oven and work on some nen exercises Gon and Killua recommended. She tried to isolate different body parts and relocating her aura to them. She checked on the sauce and water every five repetitions.
Her stamina was increasingly exponentially. While holding Gyo for more than a few seconds at a time yesterday had been taxing, she was able to do so much more efficiently this time. She tried to control the amount of aura that she let out too, covering the body parts with a thin film or pushing harder depending on her whim. It felt like meditation, and she was able to forget her troubles briefly.
Once she grew sufficiently tired, an hour and a half had past. The meat sauce was ready and the pasta was cooked and drained. She worked on the cheese mixture next and then began building her lasagna. It took her a while, as she spent a long time working on the aesthetics of the dish, trying to make the meal look like something out of a culinary magazine. It was almost too pretty to eat.
Once that was done, she covered the dish in foil and put it into the oven, before reverting to her exercises for just under half an hour. She tried to pick up speed this time, and she got the hang of it. However, she wondered if she would be able to attain the same speed if someone else had been choosing body parts for her to focus on. The idea of asking Kurapika for help crossed her mind, but she didn't want to bother him more than usual.
By the time the lasagna was done, her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and she decided a shower should be in order soon. She placed the dish on the counter to cool down for a bit, and was about to head to the boys' room to ask Kurapika if he would like to eat now, when the phone rang.
The shrill ringing noise made her jump, and she was happy the lasagna hadn't been in her hands at that moment. Sighing, she made her way to the living room where the complimentary hotel phone was located.
"Should I get it?" Kurapika called, not seeing or hearing her from his workspace.
"It's fine. I'm on my way," she told him, before picking up. "Hello?"
"Nikita! You're awake!" came Seif's overly enthusiastic voice. "How're you doing?"
"I'm fine, Seif. Sorry, I overslept," she apologized and she could practically hear him shrug. "How about you?"
"No worries, no worries. Happens to the best of us. I'm a bit swamped right now, but I need my daily Nikita dose so I was wondering if you wanted to come out on my evening break later?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, of course. Just call me five minutes before and I'll head down," she told him.
"Perfect," he responded, rolling the 'r'. "Then I will do so. Need to get back now, but hope you have a continued fine day!"
She couldn't help but laugh. He sounded like he had a few too many cups of coffee. "Will do, Seif. Just lay off the caffeine and wish you the same." It was his turn to chuckle, and with a quick 'later', the line was dead.
Putting the phone back in its holder, Nikita's eyes were drawn towards the couch, with the throwrugs neatly placed on one side (Must've been one of the bodyguards, she figured), and decided to lie down for a moment. It was only two in the afternoon. The lasagna that she had cooked would last them today, and maybe even lunch tomorrow. She didn't want to push her body too hard with the Nen practices, or she would end up oversleeping tomorrow as well. So she stayed there for a few minutes, hearing the faint clicking sounds coming from Kurapika in the other room, as she tried to formulate a schedule of distractions in her head.
A bath would be nice. She could take some of those children's books into the tub with her and read to pass the time. She could also make a face mask out of some kitchen ingredients and pretend to have a spa day. And when she was done and washed, she could work on putting as many tiny braids as possible into her hair until Seif calls. That would fill up a few hours.
With a huff, she got up and made her way to the doorway. Kurapika was so focused, she wasn't sure he heard her approach.
"Seif?" he asked, and she jumped. Right. He was a Hunter- very sensitive to other people's presence and all.
"Yeah. Lunch is ready, should I bring you a plate?" she asked, and he shook his head, finally glancing up at her.
"No, it's fine. I'll get one myself. Just have to finish this first," he told her, and she nodded. "Are you okay?" he asked suddenly, and she blinked.
"Hm?" she asked.
"You seem… fidgety," he pointed out, and she exhaled through her nose. He really was observant.
"I'll be fine. A lot on my mind," she responded vaguely.
"Anything you want to talk about?" he offered, and it took a moment for the gears in her head to work. Why was he being so nice to her all of a sudden? Was it guilt over what happened days ago?
"Not really," she said apologetically. "I was thinking of taking a bath," she continued quickly, not giving him an opening to press her. "Hope that's okay."
He nodded. "Sure. I'll be here if there's anything you want to talk about," he proffered and she smiled at him.
"Thanks." With that, she set off to the kitchen in search of some sugar and olive oil to use as a scrub.
Several hours passed before a freezing Nikita exited the bathroom. She'd gotten so engrossed in reading the children's books in the tub, that the water turned cold before she realized it. It had been a good distraction, but the books had been quite morbid. Not really something you would have given a 12 year old back on Earth in this day and age.
She put on some fresh clothes- her old ones hanging in the bathroom to dry after being handwashed- and set about brushing and towel-drying her hair. She felt refreshed, and her skin was glowing after the scrub. That meant points to her self-esteem.
There was no commotion next door, so she knew the boys weren't back yet. Just as her mind had begun to wonder to Seif, she heard the familiar shrill tone of the phone in the living room. Her hair still in a towel, Nikita made a beeline towards the phone, happy for more distractions. Kurapika stared at her from the doorway, having gotten up to answer, but then almost smiled and went back to work.
"Hello," she answered, hoping she didn't sound as desperate for company as she felt.
"That was fast," came Seif's voice. "Didn't even get three rings through."
"Was nearby," Nikita lied. "How's it going?"
"I have a break in five. Do you wanna come down?" he asked. "Becka bought whipped cream today, so I can offer you a hot chocolate deluxe à la Seif," he added, resorting to bribery for no reason.
"Ooh. Sounds dangerous," she said, laughing lightly. "But sure, I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Awesome! See you!" came his response before he hung up. Nikita took in a deep breath of air, before making her way to Kurapika.
"I'll go down to meet Seif. Should be back in 20 minutes," she told him, wringing the towel with her hair in it, and he looked up at her while taking a sip of steaming coffee from the cup he'd just gotten himself.
"Alright…" he began hesitantly. This didn't really sit well with him, but it seemed like a regular thing for her. "Give me your number though, just in case," he told her after a pause, taking his own phone out. Nikita blinked, before rushing to her room to get her phone. She hadn't gotten used to having that giant thing on her body at all times yet. It seemed quite bulky compared to the smartphones she was used to back home. She left her towel behind to dry, and put her wet hair up in a bun with her hair tie.
She didn't have her number memorized quite yet, so she asked for his number when she returned, and as she pressed the call button, she realized something.
"Are you sure this is okay? It's your work number, isn't it?" she asked, and he blinked at her.
"Leorio and the others have it, too," he replied with a shrug. "And despite my first impression of you, I think I can trust you with this much information, at least," he added lightly, the tiniest hint of an apologetic smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She felt relieved then, for some reason, and nodded just as her call got through.
"Alright, got it," he informed. "Let me know if something comes up," he requested.
"Will do," she promised. "See you in a bit." She waved and made her way to the door. She typed in his contact information as she shut the door behind her, walking towards the elevator down the corridor.
Her spirits were lifted somewhat now that she had something distracting to look forward to, but she worried in the back of her mind of what she'd do after Seif went back to work. As she pressed the button to call the elevator, she thought of texting Leorio or Killua and asking them when they'd be back.
It was when the elevator dinged that she realized something. Seif had mentioned helping people on the floor above her recently, but this was supposed to be the topmost floor. There should only be maintenance rooms and the roof above. Frowning, she looked up as the doors opened.
To her chagrin, there was someone else in the elevator. And while she liked to think of herself as a person who doesn't judge the outward appearance of others, she couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the person before her.
The first thing she noticed was the overwhelming air of confidence around him. He was dressed in strange clothes- reminding her of joker illustrations in card decks. His bright neon pink hair was slicked back, and his face was heavily caked with make up that was almost clown-like, sans the red nose. Against her better judgement, she took a step inside the elevator in a moment of panic as the doors began to close. It only unnerved her more when the man smirked at her obvious discomfort.
Her hand closed tightly around her phone as she noticed the button to the ground floor had already been pressed. She stood in the corner opposite the man, trying to hide how tense she felt by appearing nonchalant. She could feel him watching her, and though she tried to ignore it at first, she slowly felt the air around her get heavier.
It was when they got to the 17th floor that the man stepped forward and pressed a button. She couldn't see which as his body blocked her view, but her stomach lurched when she realized the elevator had stopped.
Nikita groaned internally as she thought about calling Kurapika. However, her train of thought was halted when the stranger turned to look at her, his smirk widening to a Cheshire-like grin. The temperature in the elevator seemed to drop several degrees and a shiver ran up her spine under his intense gaze.
"This must be my lucky day. Hello, Nikita-chan. "
Pixie: ...Sorry if this chapter was a bit on the slow/boring side, but Kurapika got some screen-time, and things will pick up again in the next chapter! I wanted to give Nikita a bit of a break to let things sink in before throwing her back out there again. Wee! Please review and let me know what you thought. Feedback is always welcome and really motivates me to write faster, so I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say! Big hugs and see you next time!