Hey all, now at this point the series is focused on Gon and Killua, that means I have more leeway to create scenarios involving Kurapika, Avi, Hisoka, the Mafia, etc.!
Let me know how you feel about the romance, characters, etc.!
If there's a direction you want to see something move in, review or drop me a message.
The dark maroon surrounds the outer part of the iris which bleeds into a lighter shade of red.
"They're beautiful", I mutter, half to myself and half to Kurapika who is looking out the window of the public library in the tourist town surrounding the Zoldyck Estate.
A muscular arm presses up against mine as he leans over my shoulder to look at the picture. I try to suppress the goosebumps his proximity causes but fail. Why couldn't Kurapika be more feminine? Or unattractive, I wonder? Luckily for me, Kurapika is fixated on the scarlet eyes and he remains naïve and unaware, as per usual.
My eyes shift to his face, which suddenly shifts to a set, determined expression.
"I will find them", says Kurapika. Whoever knew the tawny brown color could look so cold?
I quickly slam the book shut and turn around to fully face Kurapika. Time to manipulate otherwise he'll go down his 'I'm obsessed with the scarlet eyes' path again!
"And I will help", I add as my eyes meet his.
Something burns in his eyes but it quickly fizzles out. Kurapika's shoulders drop in a rare show of tiredness. Mission complete.
"Where do we even start?", he mutters, brow furrowed in thought.
I begin to say,"We need to go to Sa-"
"A blacklist hunter agency!", Kurapika loudly exclaims as his body twitches with renewed energy. He looks at me with that dazzling, perfect smile on his face.
I frown and raise an eyebrow. Kurapika notices my irritated demeanor and realizes I am irritated because he had interrupted me.
Kurapika is so predictable, of course he will eventually want to go to Yorknew City. Too bad for him, because there is no way in hell we will go any closer to Yorknew City, which is where majority of the blacklist hunter agencies are based in.
The main reason why is because my family is in Yorknew, Brec is in Yorknew now. So I need to keep Kurapika away from there until I refine my nen techniques. Just in case I have to kill Kurapika. Because while I am improving, he is also improving too from out training sessions. I can handle him now, but if he learns nen... Something inside me shifts uneasily at the thought.
A warm hand gently shakes my shoulder and I look up. "Avi...what's wrong? Normally you have an opinion or something to contribute?" The longer I stare at him, the pinker Kurapika's cheeks turn. The idea that I can cause Kurapika discomfort amuses me. I'll have to mess with him more, I think to myself.
I scowl irritably at him. "Interrupting people is rude." It's about time I correct his rude behavior.
Kurapika blinks and stares at me for a couple of seconds. "I apologize", he says, "What were you saying before I rudely interrupted?"
My lips part slightly in shock. I had been expecting him to fight with me, to deny that he was ever rude. Kurapika pleasantly surprises me every day. Maybe he isn't as much of a manipulative, self-centered jackass as I thought... he can admit when he is in the wrong. "We should go to Samil. That's my hometown and where the trade for the scarlet eyes first began. The merchant families based there will have both the scarlet eyes themselves and information."
Kurapika blinks once more and tilts his head to the side in thought. "I didn't think of that", he says to me, eyes never leaving my face.
"You can go to the mafia, except it's better guarded and both of us will most likely be killed if we go storming in there to find the scarlet eye without a reason, disguises, lies, and a plan."
I give Kurapika a stern look. "I refuse to die because of your stupid obsession with the clan."
Kurapika freezes and looks down at me. Well fuck. A cold expression covers his face and his eyes quickly transform into that purplish-brown color they turn before the red will rise to the surface.
Strangely enough, I feel no fear...only...annoyance. Because I know that with one flick of my left wrist, I can control Kurapika. With one jab of my right hand, I can knock him off balance. He knows it too which is why he hadn't challenged me like he did to Leorio when they had first met.
It was frankly scary how badly I could hurt him. Illumi and Hisoka had done too good of a job training me.
Amusement courses through me as I lock eyes with Kurapika. When he saw me smirking his fury continued to build. "How dare you insult my goals...the clan...me", he hisses and he towers over me.
People around us begin to become aware of the tension between Kurapika and me, which will lead to them noticing those scarlet eyes. So I reach up and run a hand through his thick, blonde bangs and shake them so they fell in front of his eyes.
"That suits you better", I tell him with my hand still running through his bangs. I lean closer and whisper into his ear,"Your eyes you fucking moron!"
To an outsider we appear to be a couple, whispering sweet nothings to one another. But instead we are a mockery of love, fake.
Kurapika's hand shoots up and grabs mine. He roughly removes it from his hair and I permit him.
"You're welcome moron", I mutter, "Even when we are arguing I still look out for you. You don't even say thanks."
Kurapika simply grunts. He knows I'm right but he refuses to verbally acknowledge it.
This is how he is going to pay for flirting with me, leading me on, and not returning my feelings when I admitted them to him. I am going to make him crack.
"Am I insulting or telling the truth?", I innocently ask Kurapika as he continues to remain unresponsive, looking at the ground.
Kurapika raises his head, eyes still glowing a bright scarlet color.
I meet his gaze with my own burning gaze.
"You may identify with the clan but at the end of the day, when you die, you will die as Kurapika. But you will die for the Clan. You will waste the opportunities given to you, the life, and the culture the clan gave to you. Because you are an obsessed fool and I am certain the Clan would have never wished for you to waste everything given to you because of your rashness. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Kurapika, if you keep acting hot headed you will die and then what, who, will be left of the Kurta Clan?"
Kurapika stiffens in shock and the scarlet fades away, leaving behind a tawny brown color with a dazed expression. Kurapika is in shock. Maybe I was too harsh. No...I was too logical. Time to pretend I actually cared about Kurapika's stupid goal when in reality he was just a tool I need to eliminate my family's competition and rescue my sister.
I reach out and drew Kurapika into a hug. "I'm sorry", I mutter as I run my hand again through his thick bangs. His hair is nice, surprisingly soft, and I really like running my hand through it. "But I value you more than the clan. I would die for my friends, for you, but not for the dead."
Wait...why did I apologize? Whatever. It's only this one time.
Kurapika says nothing and his thick hair hides his expression from me. But I bet he is still in shock which is the only reason why he hasn't smacked my hand out of his hair again.
An old woman across the aisle sends me an obvious wink. "Men", she says,"Never knowing what's good for them and always jumping into things."
She reaches over and pokes Kurapika's shoulder. "Boy", she rasps,"You're lucky you have this one to ground you."
She turns to me and cocks her head to the side. "Now why are you two discussing the Kurta boy so loudly? Anybody on this train could have figured out what I deduced, that there is one Kurta alive."
Kurapika jerks up and glares at her, one hand behind his tabard, which I know is ready to pull out a katana to kill her.
"Tell anyone...", Kurapika begins, but I interrupt by laughing at him. Kurapika sends me an irritated glare.
So I stop giggling and shake my head in disappointment. "You are about to gut this woman simply because she pointed out our idiocy? She won't tell. If she wanted a pair of scarlet eyes, she would have turned us in by now. Do you have any idea how many Mafia men and merchant families there are in the surrounding towns? We'd already be dead and your eyes would be in a jar. Don't be illogical. By the time she does tell, we'll be long gone. She's elderly and people will dismiss it due to her age."
Kurapika blinks and nods, clearly my logic had gotten through to him. "That...makes sense", he quietly agrees, eyes never leaving me. He lowers them in shame. "I apologize for acting rashly", Kurapika says to the woman. He then turns to me. "You have been with me from the start, from training to improve physical combat skills to now. Thank you Avi."
The elderly woman huffs and sends me an icy glare. "What a rude young woman you are". With that, she stood up and stomped away.
I send Kurapika a fake smile but never release my concentration on the grains of sand in my pouch. How ironic considering I was the one to tell him to not go for HIS weapon.
"What now?", I asked.
Kurapika sends a sideways grin towards me that makes my pulse beat erratically. "We need contacts", he says.
It is then, I realize, that I am about to drag Kurapika into some of my family's competition, other merchant homes, looking for scarlet eyes, before we find a blacklist agency. I need to change my appearance so I will not be as easily recognized when we're robbing the mansions of people who know what my family looks like. What I look like, what I can be identified as: a Versace, the merchant family known for leading the sales of the scarlet eyes.
The black eyed male in front of me gently runs his fingers through my now medium length hair which barely falls past my shoulders.
"It's short", Kurapika says,"...and it's a light green...but it complements the purple contact lenses"
A feeling of...is that lust?...shoots through me as I stare at Kurapika, who has apparently moved even closer to inspect my new disguise. Then I wonder...if he doesn't like me, why is he frequently touching me, teasing me?
I see him move closer to me in the mirror behind him. I think this entire motel room is full of mirrors which is odd, but then again both of us are low on income, so we have to make do with this weird room.
A hand gently touching the side of my face breaks my random, scattered thoughts. Something warm blocks my mind, keeping it from functioning. Damn emotions, I sourly think.
I look into Kurapika's tawny eyes and see...nothing but curiosity, fascination, disbelief, and the tiniest bit of terror. But not lust.
Anger subdues my desire. How dare he move closer to me and touch my face the way he currently is! I am done. It's HIS turn to feel the way I feel!
My body is flush against his in an instant and Kurapika's eyes widen in shock. As I predicted, his muscles stiffen upon contact and I smirk at Kurapika, whose face is now hidden by his stupid hair.
My hands are slowly running them up and down the sides of his arms. Still no reaction as expected. Who is he to think he can brush against me, play with me, whatever, and then simply respond with 'thank you' when I share my feelings? Why act interested if he isn't? What can Kurapika gain my playing with me? Insecure...ever since I gained my nen powers Kurapika has attempted to work with me more...because I am an ally. But he knows, as well as I, that even though he is physically stronger than me, I can kill him easily with nen.
"Don't you look good", I coo innocently as I run one hand down his chest. How low can I go before he stops me, I wonder in sick fascination? Unfortunately the black contacts hide any hint of the purple or scarlet color I want to see so badly. Because that means I will have won. He has no power over me. I hold the cards.
Kurapika's breathing quickens as he is probably wondering what his irrational feelings are. Since he has the emotional spectrum of a dead fish, I sourly think as I hook my thumb under his shirt and gently run it across his abs.
I glance up at Kurapika's face and expect to see his usual detached, cold expression. Instead, Kurapika's eyes are shut in pleasure or pain and he seems tense, as if he is trying to restrain himself...he looks so attractive...
That's the moment I realize I'm curious about the Kurta. What does the rest of Kurapika feel like? Taste like? I stop that train of thought. What am I thinking!? I glance back up at a panting Kurapika; I could do it and he would enjoy it...but it is not right. Kurapika appears to have never been touched like this before?
No way would I give in that easily. After all, he did simply say 'thank you' to me after I told him he was attractive. I needed him to want me to touch him before I would truly bother.
That's when I feel something hard against my leg and I look down. Kurapika has an erection, definite win for me. I smile triumphantly and laugh!
At the sound of my laugh the spell is broken. Kurapika's chest heaves as he shakes and stares at me, as if for the first time. "Why do I...I don't...I don't understand", he pants in confusion.
I waver in between wanting to see if I can push Kurapika more and stopping. A voice in the back on my mind chimes in: doesn't he know what it feels like to like a female? Didn't he ever have a female touch him before? Is he a virgin? These thoughts swirl in my mind as I stare up at Kurapika, inches away from his lips.
He will give in first. So I have to leave now before I make Kurapika feel, heaven forbid, actual emotions and lust for me. He will definitely emotionally shut down on me like he did earlier on the train.
I reach up and run a hand through his bangs, messing his hair up. With his length pressing against my leg, I can easily turn him on, make him crack, even more. But I resist the urge to make him harder by grinding my leg against his penis. Though it would be funny to see how he would react...
Kurapika stares at me in fascination, shock, and fear. I have rendered him speechless, but something about him still feels...off. I am not sure what it is, but any other male would have responded to me touching him but Kurapika seemed...
Suddenly I realized what it was that bothered me. I didn't like the fear in his eyes. Why is he scared of someone getting this close to touch him? Then, a disturbing thought answers my question: when was the last time someone even hugged Kurapika? Even put a comforting hand on his shoulder? Everybody he loves is dead. What if majority of people only touched him when he fought them? Hurt him? And here I am...turning it into some stupid game because I'm immature and Kurapika's a hot-headed idiot who hates losing...
So I smile and much more gently smooth his hair into place.
Rather than continue to touch him teasingly, I simply hug an unmoving Kurapika who instantly wraps his arms around me in response. I guess he's grateful that I've stopped causing his body to have uncontrollable physical reactions.
"We have to go rob a merchant's mansion now, the Dursha family's mansion. That's all there is to understand", I mutter as I remove myself from his grasp.
With a dazed expression on his face, hands awkwardly in front of him now that I had removed myself from his arms, messy blonde hair, and an erection, Kurapika stands in front of me, a mess. I feel equally proud of myself for making him appear so disheveled and disgust that I unleashed the human need for affection and touch within Kurapika, who has no idea how to handle someone caring about him.
I hide my shame by quickly smiling at my handiwork and said,"We need to review nearby architectural layouts so we can get in and out." I can't resist grinning wickedly at Kurapika and asking,"Are you having a hard time?" I could never resist a good pun.
Kurapika's cheeks have bright red spots on them. "I need to use the bathroom", he said as he angrily stomps into the bathroom of the small motel room.
I sit down on a nearby tattered chair and put my face into my hands.
"Knife", Kurapika deadpans as he not-so-gently slaps the dagger into my outstretched palm.
I say nothing, allowing Kurapika some time to chill out.
The rock makes a horrid screeching sound as I push it along the dull edge of the knife which automatically sharpens.
Kurapika winces and stares at me. So much for letting him chill out. Now he thinks I am being obnoxious on purpose. Whatever. I wait...he is so predictable.
"Why did you touch me like that?", Kurapika blatantly asks me in an authoritative tone.
My blinding smile disarms him again. "When was the last time someone touched you, not to hurt you, but to make you feel happy?"
Kurapika's jaw stiffens angrily and I raise an eyebrow. "Oh wait...me. That night on the airship."
"Silly emotions are weaknesses", Kurapika grumpily mutters to himself,"I wish I was not weak."
I give him a cold stare. "To care for others gives you the motivation to push yourself. That weakness is your best weapon. It is a weakness if you shove it down and hide it, as you are doing now."
His right eye begin to twitch in anger as he glares at me. He and I both know I am right. Kurapika sighs in defeat and hangs his head.
The sounds of almost hysterical laughter float to my ears from Kurapika.
"What?", I ask, suddenly self-conscious. Has he finally cracked!?
"That's rich coming from you, Avi. Especially since you can be the most calculating, logical, and cold individual I have had the 'honor' of meeting."
His angry tawny eyes bore into mine.
"I have seen you kill. I have seen you fight. There are no emotions when you fight."
I smile cruelly. One thing Illumi had taught me during the Hunter Exam on Zevil Island was how to deal with veiled insults, which Illumi was the master of. Kurapika pales in comparison.
My hollow laughter causes some of the irritation to dissipate from Kurapika's bright, angry red aura.
"I fight for myself and not for other then, Kurapika. You do not want to see me fighting for one of my family members' lives."
Kurapika blinks and opens his mouth. "Family? I was not aware that you have living kin?"
I gulp nervously but then wonder, why not tell him the truth? Or well, at least a partial version of it...I gently smile.
"Sabie is my little sister, she just turned sixteen. She's crazy. When she focuses on a goal, she will achieve it. She has always been ambitious. My brother, Brec recently turned thirteen. He's a loud mouth who does not think things through."
"Like you", Kurapika jibes as he pokes me in the arm. I giggle at him and poke him back.
Kurapika raises an eyebrow and interrupts my story about my family. "I remember that night..." he swallows and composes himself,"the anniversary of the massacre of the Kurta Clan, you were talking to your brother...you were upset." And now you're upset and diverting attention away from yourself because you can't bear to deal with your emotions head on, I think to myself. But I say nothing about that.
This is it...this is where my tangled web of lies is going to start.
Kurapika looks me straight in the eyes and asks me the one question I do not want to answer. "Why?"
"My sister Sabie was kidnapped by the Mafia."
Kurapika's eyes narrow. "Why? Why is she so important that the mafia would even waste time bothering to kidnap her?"
Lies whip through my brain. Lies which I would feed Kurapika. No...why do I need the deception? I'll just avoid parts of the truth. Kurapika is smart and I will slip up, but when I do, I want to be able to have room to manipulate and cover my butt, which I cannot do if I give him an outright lie.
I place my hand over Kurapika's hand and lean forward until I am millimeters away from his face. "Promise you will tell no one", I whisper. To see if Kurapika is lying or not, I reach out with my aura to feel that of Kurapika. If I feel any mockery, amusement, or anything I can associate with betrayal, I will lie. But I do not have to. All I feel is a genuine want to work with me...and anger, there is always anger in Kurapika. The need to avenge his Clan, to kill.
Kurapika nods, breaking my concentration. "I promise."
My family stole Mafia goods in order to make ends meet. My parents did...actually...but somehow the Mafia tracked down my siblings and kidnapped my sister. I have until two months before the Yorknew City Auction to find and rescue her. Or rob enough merchant family mansions to pay for the Mafia's ransom fee. My parents are so busy collecting it that they think I'm at home with Brec."
"And your parents permitted you to take the Hunter Exam?"
I look up at Kurapika's face. "Well, they did...but Sabie was kidnapped in the middle of the exam...they are under the impression that I earned my license and came straight back home. They don't know because it's unsafe for them to return home. They have no idea I'm robbing merchant families' houses with a Kurta who I will soon help infiltrate the Mafia to find the scarlet eyes."
Kurapika nodded. "Sometimes rules must be broken to finish a task." He sent me an unreadable look. "Or fulfill a promise. But you are trustworthy, our goals still coincide", Kurapika states as he puts a thoughtful hand under his chin. He glances down at me.
I raise an eyebrow. "I want to ruin the merchant families and Mafia as much as you do, Kurapika." But for different reasons...and my family and their partners will receive warnings from me in advance, allowing them to lay low until they are off the Kurta's radar. Like I'll EVER tell THAT to Kurapika. He clearly didn't trust me still and I don't trust him.
The determination in Kurapika's eyes makes me feel guilty about my partial lies and skewed truths. He grasps my one hand with his two, both hands swallow my tinier one. I am once again reminded of how easily he can break my bones if he wished. But luckily I can use nen while he cannot. Yet.
"I, Kurapika of the Kurta Clan, will help you, Avi of Samil, rescue your sister or help locate her body to give her a proper burial."
Nen glows around us and fear tears through me. "It's mixing...what?", I gasp in confusion.
Our auras are mixing, but of course, my comment is wasted, because Kurapika can see nothing.
Kurapika sends me a confused look. "That is my promise to you, Avi... but what are you referring to?"
I send him a guarded look. Will it always be this way? Me seeing and feeling while he is...disconnected and unable to see?