Scarlet Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own HxH

Reminiscence 10 – True Value

"Not here, not here, not here," Kuroro heard when he was about to open the door of Kurapika's room. He also heard sounds like Bag! Bag! Bag!

'That's weird.' Kuroro opened the door to see what is happening inside, but upon doing so, a pillow was already on its way toward his face. Fortunately, Kuroro has good reflexes as he immediately caught the pillow with his hands. Taking the pillow away from his view, a frown made its way on his face as he saw the state that the room has become. It was a total mess. Books and clothes are scattered on the wooden floor while Kurapika was still on the process of messing up the bed while mumbling: "not here, not here," throwing away everything that her hands got hold into.

"What are you doing, Kurapika?" he asked in curiosity.

"Looking for something," Kurapika answered, not bothering to look at the man.

"And what is that you are looking for?"

"An earring."

"The one with the diamond shaped crystal?"

That made the girl stops and looked at Kuroro. "Yes."

Kuroro sighed as he closed his eyes for a while then looked at the girl again. "It's gone."

"Eh?" Kurapika frowned.

"Do you remember when I attacked you with my nen ball?" Kurapika stayed silent.

"Back then," Kuroro continued, "I heard a cracking sound, and when I found you, lying on the ground, the earring was already gone."

An awkward silence fell on the room as Kurapika stared at him with an unbearable sad expression on her face and beads of tears on her eyes as if blaming him for everything.

'Now what?' Kuroro thought on seeing Kurapika's reaction. "Look, Kurapika. I didn't mean to do that. That is just -"

"It was a gift from my mother," Kurapika said, cutting Kuroro's statement.

His eyes widened slightly at her word and looked away as he hid his eyes with his bangs. "I'm sorry," he said in an audible whisper.

"Never mind," she said in a low voice, turning her back to him and started rearranging the mess that she made.

Kuroro looked at the girl's back with a visible regret on his eyes. He knows how something from a mother is worth. He himself wanted to regain something back that belongs to his mother, but in order to do that, he has to deal with Gale Altair first.

'What should I do now?' he mentally asked. What Kurapika wants is something she won't be able to regain anymore. Kuroro sighed at the thought, but then, something clicked in his mind. He looked at Kurapika for a while before exiting the room to go outside.

Upon exiting the house, he immediately took his phone out of his picket and dialed a certain number. After some few rings, the call was answered.

[Ah! Danchou!] comes the cheerful voice of his spider.

"Shalnark."

000

Finishing the room arrangement, Kurapika belatedly noticed that Kuroro was nowhere within the house.

'Where could he have gone into?' she wondered and decided to look for him outside. She looked all over the vicinity of the village to the nearby forest, but no sign of the man was found.

As she walked her way toward the same stream where she first met Kuroro, the thought of the previous happening entered her mind. Now she is regretting of ever acting in that way.

Anxiety begun to build up as Kurapika fell on her feet. Tears started falling out of her eyes while her hands clutched on her white training pants. What if Kuroro got mad at her because of her selfishness and decided to leave her alone and to never come back?

As much as she wants to deny it, Kurapika has grown a liking to the man since he was taking good care of her without deception of any kind. She and Kuroro have built a good companionship throughout the days they spent together.

It's been actually over a week, almost two weeks since the incident had occurred when a while ago, she suddenly mused about something that she always felt missing, and then a thought of her mother entered her mind as she unconsciously reached her ear and so she remembered the earring. Right, the earring which should have been attached on her left ear. Only then she realized it was the same earring that was missing. That was where all the mess came from.

It's getting dark on the forest and Kurapika felt very tired of all the things that had happened. She decided to go back to the house thinking that if Kuroro really left her, then so be it. She cannot do anything about his decision. For now, all she needs is rest and deal with everything tomorrow. What Kurapika didn't expect is what she saw inside her room, or rather, who she saw when she arrived.

"Ku-Kuroro!" Kurapika called in disbelief, eyes wide at the sight of the man in front of her.

Kuroro was facing the table when Kurapika arrived and immediately turned upon hearing his name.

"Ah! Kurapika," he acknowledged.

"I thought," Kurapika started, still unable to believe the man's presence and Kuroro continued what she was about to say.

"I left you and will never come back?" He asked.

"But"

"Do you think I would leave you because of that happening?" He paused. "No, that will never happen. You are just too precious more than anything else," Kuroro stated with an unreadable expression.

"Eh?" Kurapika was unsure of the meaning of what she heard, unable comprehend the weight of Kuroro's words.

"Anyway," Kuroro continued and turned to the table to get a box that was laid on the top and returned to approach the girl as he handed her the box.

Confused at what is happening, Kurapika took the box without even knowing what is inside. She looked at Kuroro then at the box, then to Kuroro again with a frown on her face.

"Just open it," was only Kuroro's answer.

"O-ok," Kurapika hesitantly said and opened the box. How shocked she was upon seeing what is inside the box. Kurapika's eyes widened at the sight of the preserved scarlet eyes before her, on her own hands. She tried to speak, but no word came out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry for the loss of your mother's earring," Kuroro said in an unusually soft voice, "I won't be able to return it to you."

"You don't have to, Kuroro," Kurapika finally spoke, looking directly at Kuroro's eyes. "You don't have to," she repeated. "These scarlet eyes," she paused as she hugged the double cylinder and closed her teary eyes, "means a life to me." So much happiness was overflowing as tears began to fall out. She is glad because of the scarlet eyes on her hands and also because of the presence Kuroro himself.

"Kurapika," Kuroro whispered her name as he wiped the tears on her eyes with his thumb.

Kurapika opened her eyes again and stared at Kuroro's eyes intently.

Unable to withstand the girl's uncanny stare, Kuroro looked away. 'What now?' he mentally asked. The next thing that happened surprised him greatly as a sudden kiss landed on his cheek. When he looked at Kurapika, the girl was already looking away, massaging the bridge of her nose with a tinge of red visible on her face. That made Kuroro chuckle and thought of the words that he said a while ago, the truth behind those words that Kurapika… is Kuroro's most important.

With regards to the scarlet eyes, that was actually the one that they got from the York Shin auction months ago. Thanks to his spiders for keeping the item and not selling it to the black market and thanks to Machi's excellent instinct as she told them not to sell the scarlet eyes, having a feeling that they have to keep it for the meantime; she just don't know for what reason.

With that, Kuroro was able to retrieve the item from Shalnark, who was actually assigned for selling the artifacts they stole. He thought of giving the scarlet eyes to Kurapika to at least let the girl forget about the earring for a while and to let her free a little of her sufferings. He just didn't know that one pair of scarlet eyes will change the mood just like that. He was actually shocked at the girl's sudden action and was a little confused about it, but upon seeing the girl looking away with a faint blush on her face, he thought that the kiss must be her way of saying thanks.

So, what do you think?

Please review! Many Thanks!

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