Maybe I should explain why about my description of the Kuruta clan from the last chapter.

If you noticed, I did not consider Pairo in my description. That is because I made most of my chapters before the movie was introduced (or before i learned of its existence).

So basically, the movie 'Phantom rouge' did not happened here.

Scarlet Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own HxH

Reminiscence 09 – Kuroro's new companion

As the strong wind was blowing wildly the trees on that lush forest and taking with it the dry leaves, as if they are dancing with the wind along with the light, golden hair of a lone little girl standing in front of a stream, the said little girl was looking intently at something peculiar on the sky: the moon; a red moon.

'Something bad is happening,' she thought and turned to look at a distance with a worried expression plastered on her small face. Then, she closed her eyes to feel her surroundings.

Screams! Can she hear screams? She hastily opened her eyes again, horrified at the sounds that she herd. 'What is happening?' she asked herself and immediately ran to various directions. And when she arrived at her destination, what greeted her made her eyes widened in full horror. A huge fire is blazing in front of her; the village is on fire.

"Mama! Papa! Everyone!" she shouted, anxious at what might had happened to her family. Then suddenly, the fire blaze to her direction.

"Ahhh!"

000

Kuroro abruptly opened his eyes. 'A dream' he thought, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. The book on his lap slipped out from its place as Kuroro tried to regain his posture. He was seating with his back against the wall beside the bed where Kurapika is sleeping.

Right, he decided to stay in Kurapika's room instead of using other room, feeling that something might happen to Kurapika while he was away from her.

Standing up from his position, he took the book on his lap, placing it aside and looked at the sleeping figure on the bed. As if on cue, he saw the girl breathing hardly and her face was reddish. He put his hand over Kurapika's forehead to feel her temperature. It's burning hot.

'Fever,' he thought, sighing.

Kuroro looked at Kurapika for a while then turned to his side and walked toward the wardrobe to look for a small towel. After getting what he need from the wardrobe, he immediately went outside the room and headed to the storage room to get some water which he collected yesterday.

Since the houses in the village do not have faucet, people who used to live in the place collect their water from the nearby river located at the back of the village. Then, the water they collected would be stored in a large jar.

Going back to the room, Kuroro put the basin on the top of the table, dipped the small towel, squeezed it to remove the extra water and placed it on top of Kurapika's forehead.

After that, he seated himself at the edge of the bed. And as he watched the still sleeping Kurapika he reached his hand to the girl's head and started caressing her soft hair as if to calm the turmoil inside her mind.

He was sure of it. The dream that he had a while ago was not his own but of Kurapika. Nevertheless, he knew that dream is not just a dream. It was a memory; a painful memory.

000

"Ahhh!"

The little girl was almost gotten by the blazing fire if not for the hand that suddenly grabbed her right arm, pulling her away from the said fire.

Breathing hardly as she was shocked by the sudden incident, she looked at her side to see the person who saved her life.

'Onii-san!?' she asked herself on seeing a familiar dark-haired man beside her. The man was looking intensely at the burning village with an obvious anger on his face. Then suddenly, the man started to walk toward the fire.

"Huh? O-onii-san! Where are you going?" The little girl asked. "Wait! Please, don't go!" she pleaded as she grabbed on the man's left arm, doing the same thing he did to her a while ago; only that, she cannot full him as she doesn't have the strength to do so.

Upon the little girl's action, the man stopped from his track and looked at the little girl who is still clinging on his arm.

"Don't worry," he said, raising his free hand to place it over little girl's head and started to caress her hair, "I'll be back, ok?"

The little girl nodded, hesitantly letting go of the man's arm. "I'll wait for you then," she said in a small voice and the man nodded back to her.

00000

As Kurapika fluttered open her eyes, she felt the heaviness that hung on her eyelids as well as around her body, added with pain all over. It's like she did some kind of heavy work for unknown reason. And then she remembered the happenings yesterday and she cannot help but smile upon the memory.

Flashback

When they got back inside Kurapika's house, the two immediately dried themselves up from the rain that soaked them from head to toe and drunk a cup of warm tea that Kurapika made to warm their shivering body.

As they seated themselves before the circular dining table with their cups of tea and some forest fruits atop, Kurapika suddenly called the man's attention and Kuroro answered by looking at her curiously.

"About your family," she started.

"You don't have to worry about that, it's not that important," Kuroro said in a tone as if he doesn't really care.

"You cannot lie to me, Kuroro," Kurapika stated.

Kuroro sighed. "What's about it?" he gave in.

Kurapika looked at her tea as she caressed the edge of her cup. "I just want to tell you," she paused, looking back at Kuroro as she observed him for a while, "I just want to tell you that you can always treat me as your own family."

Kuroro blink, registering the girl's words in his mind, but upon realizing something, he suddenly laughed.

Kurapika stared at him with wide eyes, not understanding the man's sudden burst.

"W-why are you laughing?" she asked in stuttered voice, but she also realized that it was her first time to see him laugh which is a very nice view for her.

"It's just that," Kuroro started as he stopped himself from laughing, "I didn't expect that coming from you, of all people."

"So?" she frowned, still unable to understand what is in Kuroro's mind.

"You supposedly hate me more than anything, but now –," he stopped as he saw Kurapika looked downward, hiding her eyes with her bangs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that," he said softly.

"It's alright," she said, standing up from her seat, pushing the chair away and turned toward the door. "It was the truth anyway... You can forget what I said," she told him, making her way out of the dining room, but she was stopped by a hand on her wrist. As she looked at the hand's owner, she saw Kuroro by her side with a soft expression.

"Be my companion, Kurapika," Kuroro said, looking straight at the girl. But then he saw tears started to flow on her eyes. That is when he realized, that the girl has such a fragile heart: strong, yet easy to break. That must be one reason why Gale had changed her character, but he cannot be sure of it.

Shrugging the thought away, Kuroro faced the girl with determination. "Will you stay by my side?" he asked this time.

"Why are you asking me that question?" Kurapika asked back, wiping her tears away with her free hand.

"Because I want you to," he answered.

Kurapika stared at him for a while, looking at his dark eyes, trying to read what is inside his mind.

As the girl looked at him intently, another thing came in Kuroro's mind. "And about Gale, aren't you going to look for him? Don't you think it would be better if we look for him together?"

Kurapika widened her eyes upon hearing those words and realized the truth on them. Yes, she is planning to look for that person and Kuroro's suggestions is a great advantage, but. "What about the Ryodan?" she asked.

"The Ryodan?" he asked back, but on seeing the look that Kurapika is giving him made him sigh. "Look, Kurapika," he started, "being my companion doesn't mean you have to be a member of the brigade. Moreover, the Ryodan has nothing to do with Gale. I will just have to explain them our circumstances."

Kurapika bowed her head for a while as she closed her eyes to contemplate on the matter. After a few seconds, she looked back at Kuroro. "Okay, I am fine with that."

End of flashback

Rolling her eyes to her left, she saw Kuroro sitting on the chair with his head down, sleeping silently beside her bed. As she shifted her head to get a better look of the man's face, she felt the wet towel on her forehead slip to the pillow. She raised her right hand heavily to take it, but before she reached the towel, Kuroro's voice suddenly distracted her.

"Good morning!" Kuroro greeted, which made Kurapika shift her attention from the wet towel to him.

"Good morning," Kurapika greeted back weakly, ignoring the wet towel on her pillow and letting her hand rest over her stomach.

"How are you feeling?" Kuroro asked, taking the wet towel as he saw it beside Kurapika's head.

Kurapika was silent for a moment, thinking if she would answer or not. "My whole body is heavy, but I'll be fine," she finally said. "You don't have to worry," she added.

So, what do you think?

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Please review! Many thanks!

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