Scarlet Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own HxH

Reminiscence 16 – Behind those words

"That samurai," Kurapika suddenly brought out while they are walking on an empty street from the Ryodan's hideout in York Shin City.

"Hm?" Kuroro hummed to indicate that he is listening.

"Why was he the only one acted like that?"she asked, mentioning Nobunaga's outburst.

"Because Uvo was his best friend," Kuroro answered with a smirk on his lips as he looked at the girl's impending reaction.

"Eh!" As expected, Kurapika halted as she grabbed Kuroro by the arm and looked at him in surprise. It was as if it is not normal for criminals like them to have a best friend. "Then, I should bring him there," she said and suddenly ran back to the spider's headquarter, leaving Kuroro to wander on his own.

Looking at the girl's retreating back Kuroro fought the urge to follow her and see how she would deal with Nobunaga alone. 'I should bring him there,' Kurapika's voice echoed in his mind. With a smiled on his face, Kuroro turned his back to the abandoned part of York Shin and continued walking toward the metropolitan city.

000

Back to the old dilapidated building, two of the members of the Ryodan remained. Even thought they were ordered to disperse, the two decided to stay for a while. Not that it really concerns anyone where they want to spend their free time. That is entirely up to them.

"I never thought you would easily accept Danchou's decision like that," the small man clad in black said mockingly at his companion who was sitting on the open window.

"Tch. As if there is something I can do about it," Nobunaga answered, annoyed.

"Right, but you are Uvo's best-."

"Samurai san!" Kurapika suddenly barge in from the door-less entrance and walked briskly toward the said samurai not knowing that she cut someone's sentence.

Shocked by the girl's sudden appearance, Nobunaga lost his balance and nearly fall if he did not act accordingly to prevent his fall. Feitan on the other, hand looked at her with a frown on his face.

"Come with me," Kurapika continued as she grabbed Nobunaga's wrist and jumped out from the window.

"Gha! What the-!" Nobunaga shouted in shock as he braced himself for the anticipated bone crashing landing. But that never happened. It was as if the gravity suddenly gone and instead of falling to the hard ground, his body floated toward the sky. He looked at the girl whose hand is gripping his wrist beside him with a frown on his face and about to ask something, but it seems that the girl felt the incoming question as she suddenly spoke.

"Manipulation," Kurapika said, looking straight ahead (and without using her scarlet eyes this time). "I am using manipulation on your body as well as on my wings. They are conjured after all."

"Oh!" Nobunaga raised his eyebrow. "So you don't really have the chains anymore?"

"That's right," she answered. "We're here," she said after a few minutes of flying in the sky.

They landed slowly on the ground in a deserted place in the very outskirt of the city. It was a place that bears unpleasant memory for her; nevertheless, she decided to bring the man in this place.

"This is where I buried your friend."

'Buried your friend. Your friend. Your friend.' The words of Kurapika echoed inside Nobunaga's mind as he stared wide eyes at the girl. Taking an immediate understanding of the girl's worlds, he returned his gaze over the place, looking all over again at the surroundings. This place… It was where Uvogin fought with the chain user and also where he had his last breath.

"I see," he said as he stood before a mound of soil, bowing his head and closed his eyes.

Kurapika waited for the samurai to finish his own tribute. She was about to leave her place beside the man to give him more privacy when she suddenly felt a presence somewhere that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A flash of something coming toward their direction didn't escape her keen eyes.

In response, Kurapika swayed her body side-ward as she grabbed Nobunaga's arm to drag him out of his place which sent him to lose his balance and fall to the ground with his butt first. The objects then went straight to the ground and were revealed to be daggers aimed to both of them.

"What the?" Nobunaga can only ask as Kurapika looked at the daggers then at the direction where the daggers came from. Nobunaga also looked at the same direction and upon seeing who the person standing there, Nobunaga did not take a second thought to bellow an angry accusation.

"YOU?! How dare you throw those daggers on Uvo's grave!" with his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to attach, but was stopped by Kurapika with her hand to block his way. There, standing at the top of a small cliff is a young woman with brown wavy hair and green eyes, wearing a black, knee-length dress, a pair of black stockings and black shoes.

"What a 'warm' welcome," the young woman commented with a mocking tone and a matching creepy smile on her face. "It's been a long time. How is Lucifer doing?" she asked, addressing her question to the samurai as she looked at him contemptuously.

"That is none of your business," Nobunaga answered angrily, still on his attacking position.

"Who is she?" Kurapika asked this time, her eyes not leaving the new comer with her mask of indifference.

"As much as I hate it, I could never forget her name," Nobunaga said as he straightened up, "she is the girl who led us, along with her male companion, to massacre your tribe. Chairo."

"I see," she said nonchalantly as if the words 'to massacre your tribe' that came out from the samurai's mouth did not affect her at all. "Are you one of the Ravens Wings?" she asked the woman.

"Yes, I am one of them," Chairo answered. "Formerly."

'Formerly?' Kurapika asked to herself. "What is your purpose of showing here? Surely, you did not come to have a chat with the samurai here," she said.

Chairo smirked at the remark. "I just want to confirm something," she said as she jumped off of the cliff to the ground in front of the two.

"One wrong move and your dead," Nobunaga warned as he resumed his attacking position and this time Kurapika did not bother to put her hand in front of him.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to have a fight with you," she said and looked back at Kurapika. "Since you are with that spider," Chairo gestured at Nobunaga, "I assume you are traveling with Lucifer," she paused to see Kurapika's expression, but didn't see any. Kurapika stayed indifferent as she waited for the woman to continue.

"Tch," Chairo exclaimed silently at the Kuruta's lack of reaction and decided to continue her sentence. "Then, you must be the last pure blooded Kuruta."

"How can you say that I am?" Kurapika asked instead of confirming the woman's presumption, noting her use of words for calling her the last pure blooded.

Putting that creepy smirk again on her face, Chairo answered her question. "Because that is the only reason I can think, why would Lucifer travel with anyone, especially a girl."

"You point?" 'What is she getting at?'

"Didn't he tell you what he really is?"

"What do you mean by that?" Kurapika frowned.

"He didn't tell you, then," at last, she got an expression. "How did you come to trust that person in that case?" she asked, tilting her head sideways.

"What are you talking about?" Kurapika is starting to dislike the flow of their conversation. Is Kuroro hiding something from her?

"Did he even tell you about Master Gale?"

"Get to the point!" She doesn't like it, the feeling that she is missing something important.

"Did he tell you about the thing he is trying to get from my Master?" she asked, "I don't think he did."

"It belongs to his mother!" Kurapika retorted.

"So he told you that. But did he tell you what it is?"

Kurapika narrowed her eyes. Kuroro didn't tell her what he is exactly wanted to get from Gale. She tried to ask him once, but he did not answer. Instead, he told her that he will tell her everything when the right time comes just like when he asked him of why did he said that he deserved the punishment that she gave, the punishment of her judgment chain. Why did Kuroro say those words anyway? Kurapika is getting more curious.

Chairo's smirk became wider, noticing that the Kuruta girl has become silent. "I will tell you. It was her mother's," she paused to add the drama, "Scarlet eyes."

'Scarlet eyes.' Kurapika's eyes widened upon hearing those words. Her eyes wavered from blue to red and red to blue. She cannot believe it. No, it can't be. Kuroro… Kuroro is… But… But the woman doesn't seem to be lying to her.

"Kisama!" Nobunaga bellowed. "Do you think we would just believe you?"

"That is entirely up to you. Well, that was what Master Gale told us. I don't know if they really belong to Lucifer's mother or not," Chairo said. "Anyway, that is all I can say. Until next time, Kuruta." And she disappeared like a bubble.

Nobunaga gritted his teeth at the woman's attitude. She just showed herself to play frank with them. He looked at the girl beside him and saw her unmoving on her place. Her head was slightly down cast, making her bangs cover her eyes.

"Don't tell me, you believe her banter?" He asked mockingly.

Kurapika did not answer, instead she walked out slowly. "Let's go," she said silently and monotonously.

"Tch." Nobunaga watched the Kuruta's retreating back before following her, thinking of the exchange of world between her and that woman. It is true that his Danchou is chasing Gale Altair for an unfinished business, but he doesn't know what exactly that unfinished business is. He cannot just believe his Danchou has a blood of a Kuruta. No, it can't just be true. Because if he indeed has a blood of a Kuruta, then….. he, they, the spiders … killed their Danchou's family.

000

Inside a certain building in York Shin City, a dark haired man clad in black was sitting on a chair in front of a massive desk where a laptop and some papers lying silently on the side. His elbows are on the top of the table while his chin was rested on the top of his clasped hands.

Not far away from the table, two young people equally dressed in pure black are standing in front of him. The long curtain that was hanging over the large, open window billowed lightly with cool wind of September.

The man in black then smiled as he removed his chin on his hands and leaned on the chair while he rested his elbows on the armrest.

"You did a good job, Chairo," he complimented the young woman.

"It is my pleasure to be of use to you, master," Chairo said with all the respect that a Ryusei Gai citizen can give as she nodded her head lightly.

"Now the plan is complete," the man continued, "It's time to take the action," he said, standing up from his chair.

To be continued...

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