Diclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter
Story so far: When both had 'recovered' from the incident in the cave, they set out to continue their journey. It seemed that the combination of Kuroro and Kurapika was really a bad luck as, once again, they encountered yet another unwanted disaster.
Chapter 10
BLOOD
They had been wandering aimlessly for weeks, trying to find some magical creatures but so far they had found none; nil, zero, nothing. It really grated to Kurapika's nerve, because she perceived it as a great waste of time. To make things worse, Kuroro Lucifer seemed to be enjoying the trip and he seemed unbothered by her constant complaints and grumbles; if anything, he seemed amused by her actions. Also, it bothered her that she noticed the change of his demeanour towards him. While previously he had kept everything to himself, rarely speaking to her, lately he had been talking to her unlike before. It did not really matter whether she replied him or not, he would just tell her random things; mostly trivial matters. He would tell her about the towns they visited; the dangerous plants and herbs they came across in their trip, the animals, anything. Most importantly, though, she realised that the bind had expanded considerably; almost more than 1 metre now. She did not know whether to feel happy; since she could stand further from the man, or to feel dejected; because it meant that they were warming up to each other.
"Hey." She started the conversation first, which was rare.
"Yes?" Kuroro asked without bothering to turn around and look at her. Not that it bothered her, though.
"How come we haven't met a single mythical creature?"
"They are called mythical for a reason, you know." He replied with stifled chuckle. "Besides, the stronger they are, the harder it is to find them."
"Tsk, what a pain." She complained again.
Kuroro only shrugged and kept walking at his pace. When he suddenly felt a tug to his body, he stopped and turned around with a raised eyebrow. Kurapika had stopped walking, and was staring at her hand. To be exact, at the ring on her finger.
"What's wrong?" He walked towards her.
"The stone…" She mumbled, her eyes still fixed on the ring. Kuroro peeked at her ring, and noticed the change as well. The sapphire had turned red.
As if to clarify it, they heard a roar from nearby. The two exchanged a quick glance, before unanimously dashed towards the source of the roar. Soon enough, they reached a clearing and they were faced by a creature with a lion body, with a goat head in the middle of its body, and a tail that terminated with a snake head. Kurapika's eyes bulged in surprise, never before had she seen something as hideous as the creature. Kuroro, on the other hand, looked more disturbed than surprised.
"It's highly unusual that a Chimera will wander into this kind of place." He muttered.
"So what do we do now?" Kurapika asked as she flinched when the chimera roared again, its fiery eyes blazing with hunger at them.
"Kill it." With a flick of his wrist, Kuroro threw his pins at the creature, but it dodged them easily. "Chimeras don't let their preys escape."
Without dilly-dallying, the Chimera jumped; its massive body sailed across the air with the grace of a cat, its razor-sharp claws directed towards them. Kuroro had bent his knees in preparation to make a jump, but Kurapika was not doing the same. She looked at the creature, and then glanced at her hand. It was a good chance to try out her new chain. She summoned her chain and with a flip of her hand, she sent the Counterattack Chain towards the creature. The chain wrapped itself around the Chimera and restricted it from any movements. It fell to the ground with a loud thud and the earth shook slightly from the impact.
The Chimera struggled to free himself, the chain rattled dangerously as if it was about to break. However, nothing happened. The Chimera remained tied, its snake tail swishing around in fury, while the lion head growled. In frustration, it opened its mouth and vomited a stream of fire towards them. Both dodged it well, and with a flick of Kurapika's hand, the chain bound the lion's jaw to prevent it from throwing anymore fire.
"What chain are you using?" Kuroro asked curiously.
"Counterattack Chain." Kurapika merely responded without providing any explanation. She believed that the name was explanatory enough and Kuroro was bright enough to understand the use of the chain. She did not, however, mentioned that the particular chain was not as strong as her Chain Jail, and that it did not render the captive into Zetsu state. Uvogin's Reinforcement strength might have broken the Counterattack Chain.
"Can it be used for all opponents?"
"Anything that attacks me." She replied again. "Aren't you going to kill it?"
Kuroro rolled his eyes; if she wanted to, she could have killed the creature. She simply delegated the 'dirty work' to him. Nonetheless, answering her question, Kuroro shot his pins at the creature lying helplessly on the earthen ground. He chose its eyes and forehead as targets. The Chimera roared in pain, its body writhing in agony beneath the unwavering restriction of Kurapika's chain. She frowned at the creature's display of pain, uneasy with the terrible scene. She glanced at Kuroro, and noticed his cold and uncaring demeanour towards the creature's plight. She scoffed inwardly, trying to despise him more.
The Chimera finally stopped crying out, and when the head finally turned limp and the chest heaved heavily as it breathed its last breath, it launched its final vengeful attack. Too preoccupied with her disturbed thoughts, Kurapika did not notice something coming after her. Kuroro saw something moving from the corner of his eyes, but he was too late in his reaction.
Kurapika gave a loud gasp of pain. Kuroro watched in horror as he saw the snake head of the Chimera's tail had sunk its lethal fangs into Kurapika's delicate neck. Her eyes turned wide and her mouth gaped, but no scream came out. Her knees turned into jelly, but before she collapsed to the ground face-first, Kuroro had taken her elbow and wrenched the snake's head from her neck roughly. With one swift jerk of arm, Kuroro separated the head of the snake from its body and tossed the carcass aside. He turned to Kurapika and saw blood overflowing from the jagged puncture wounds on her neck.
"Kurapika!" He grabbed her more firmly and called out at her.
The Kuruta girl seemed to have frozen in her place. Her eyes; which had turned fiery scarlet, were unfocused yet bulging out. She let out ragged gasps of pain from her mouth and her body began trembling violently, as if she had a mild stroke. She could no longer stand properly and Kuroro had to support her full weight in his arms. He could see the colour drained rapidly from her face, and soon her face had turned ghostly ashen.
"Kurapika!" Again, he called out at her and she responded by shifting her eyes towards him; crimson eyes that spoke of horror, fear, and pain only. Even in that split second, Kuroro was fascinated by those eyes; he instinctively felt that he must not lose those eyes, no matter what.
Cursing under his breath, Kuroro took out his switchblade; the one that was not treated with poison, and slashed at the bite mark on her neck carefully so as to avoid her artery vein. He had noticed that the bite mark had missed the vital vein by a mere cm; he assumed that the girl saw the attack at the very last minute and had shifted, or it was just her pure luck. In any case, he had to suck out the blood as a form of first aid.
He squatted on the ground and cradled Kurapika's vulnerable upper body in his arms; supporting her torso with one arm while the other arm was used to treat the wound. He squeezed the sides of the cut wound he made to let out the bad blood, and then he bent down to suck out the poison. He was sure that he had no cut in his mouth, thereby reducing the chance of him being poisoned to death while trying to save the girl's life. He sucked and spitted out the poisoned blood to the ground, repeating the action several time until he could not feel the acidic taste of the poison. Kuroro knew that he had not sucked out all of the poison, but this first aid was enough to let her survive for another one or two days; three days if she was strong enough.
Kurapika gasped in pain, her breathing uneven and jagged as if she was having breathing difficulty. Her eyeballs turned in frantic directions in the sockets, cold sweats started to drench her forehead and back. Her clothes was already half soaked in her blood, and the older man knew that he had to stop the bleeding first, otherwise she would die of blood-loss rather than poison. Kuroro ripped the hem of her thin over-shirt into makeshift bandage and wrapped it around her bloody neck. In no time, the bandage was entirely dyed crimson.
"Hold on." He whispered to her, although he knew that she could no longer hear, let alone understand, his words. Maybe he was just convincing himself.
Kuroro carried her bridal style and tucked her safely in the protection of his arms and torso. Without wasting another second, he took off with the fastest speed his legs could carry him. There was only one destination in his mind; the only place that could save Kurapika's life, and therefore his as well.
He was awakened in the most unusual fashion. Usually, it was the faint presence of Nen or aura of strangers, or the sound of the footsteps disturbing the sand from distance, or the smell of people carried by the desert wind, which awakened him from his easy task of guarding the gate of the city. This time, it was the faint, acrid smell of bad blood.
Straightening up his old yet muscular body, Jan narrowed his eyes towards the far horizon marking the beginning of the desert surrounding the 'garbage-dump' city. He waited for something to appear, and true enough, he saw an image approaching—at a very terrible speed. Jan stood up and braced himself in case it was danger approaching. He waited until the figure was distinct enough for him to discern, and to his surprise, he did recognise the thing that was approaching fast.
"Kuroro?" He called out in bewilderment. The young man was running towards the direction of the city, his raven hair down and messy, and he was carrying a huge bundle in his arms.
"Jan, open the gate." He said in a voice loud enough to be heard by the old gate-keeper across the distance he had yet to cover, but calm enough so as not to raise alarm.
"Okay." The old man nodded and with hurry opened the gate and held it open so that Kuroro could slip into the city without stopping. He did not even mutter a thank-you to the old man; which he was quite surprised about. Jan scratched the back of his head as he settled down in his usual spot; the boy had never been so in hurry before, not in his lifetime when he had watched him growing up.
Kuroro did not even bother to take the road anymore. He took shortcuts, jumping from crates to balconies, from roofs to roofs, until he reached his destination. He landed in front of the gate of the temple, the bundle in his arms motionless and undisturbed from his landing from a third-storey building. He dashed into the temple, only to find the entrance already opened for him. Ignoring his irritation; which was miniscule compared to the direness of the situation, he jumped into the entrance without a moment of hesitation.
She blew the smoke from her mouth lazily, her fingers toying with the hookah pipe, waiting for the arrival of her anticipated guests. Sure enough, the door was banged open, or rather, kicked open by a young man and he marched into the room straight towards her, the bundle still secure in his arms.
"I've been waiting. Come on, follow me."
Without waiting for any explanation whatsoever, Ishtar got up and glided across the room towards another door. She opened the door and left it open for Kuroro, who had his hands full. Wordlessly he followed her from behind, walking briskly along a dark tunnel, before finally they emerged into a lush forest. Kuroro narrowed his eyes as light assaulted him, while Ishtar seemed unaffected by the drastic change of the brightness of the surrounding. She made her way into the forest, and Kuroro followed close behind. They walked nonstop until they reached a small pond.
"Jump in. You know what to do." Ishtar stopped and stepped aside as she gestured towards the pond with a small tilt of her pretty head.
Kuroro looked at her for a while, before he began taking off the clothing that wrapped Kurapika's prone body. He peeled off the wet bandage wrapped around her wounded neck, before walking towards the pond. At the edge of the pond, he stopped and gave Ishtar a final glance.
"First thing first." She nodded in understanding at him.
He looked away and jumped into the lake without a moment of hesitation. From Ishtar's point of view, she could see the lake's water tinted black in no time. She frowned at the sight, and turned towards Basille, who had been observing the whole thing from the branch of a tree.
"Fetch her for me, will you?"
The basilisk blinked at her several times, before she slithered off the branch and made her way towards the further depth of the forest.
The water of the lake was biting cold, yet refreshing. The water seemed to be alive, the current moving around them in a subtle dance. Black blood was drawn from Kurapika's wound on her neck as soon as they were underwater. Kuroro forced his eyes open and looked on as he observed the blood flowing out of her in a ridiculous amount. He waited patiently until all the poison was drawn from her.
A bit more, he heard the water speaking to him. The tingling sensation at his nape whenever he was in the lake was always new to him. He never got used to it. Kuroro looked around, expecting to see someone floating in the water, hoping that he could see the spirit of the lake for once only. He remembered years back, when he was poisoned the first time and was dumped into the lake by Ishtar. For treatment, she had said back then, without explaining to him beforehand. He had been frantic, him being barely 10 years-old, afraid that he would either drown or died of poisoning. The water then embraced him gently and sucked the poison out of his blood system, saving his life.
Kuroro turned back to observe the blood-letting process of Kurapika's treatment, and was surprised that the blood had turned into its normal red colour. Quickly, he swam to the surface, hugging her fragile figure close to his body. As soon as he reached the surface, he gasped for the blessed air. Kurapika's head leaned against his shoulder weakly, her eyes still closed tight and her breathing swallow, almost inaudible. He could still feel the faint rise and fall of her chest as he pressed her body to his, indicating that she was still, at least, breathing.
"Come on, get out of there." Ishtar motioned at him impatiently and began to pace towards the direction from where they had come before.
Obediently, Kuroro swam towards the edge and heaved Kurapika's body out of the water and laid her on the ground before he extracted himself out of the water. When he did so, he felt the push of the water helping him out of the lake. He glanced at the slightly disturbed surface of the lake, but he said nothing and instead he picked the unconscious girl from the ground and walked quickly towards the building.
Once inside, he was ushered towards another room. Inside, a wizened old woman was already waiting. Her hunched back and the wrinkles all over her body were the tell-tale that she was at an age close to 100 years-old, if not more. She looked up when he entered the room with Kurapika in his arms; both wet from head to toe. She snorted softy and tottered across the room and stood between the two beds prepared in the middle of the room.
"Put her down here, boy." She ordered him, her voice was as ancient as the voice of the wind. "Nevermind your drenched state. We'll take care of it later."
Eyeing her warily, Kuroro put Kurapika on one of the bed and he stepped back as far as the bind allowed, giving room for the old woman to inspect the girl. The old woman looked at Kurapika's sleeping form and frowned deeply. She sniffed the air about her, as if trying to recognise something; she then snorted and wringed her nose as if in disgust.
"Chimera poison. What have you been doing, boy? Never mind, I'll ask the Lady myself." She rambled to herself like a half-crazed old woman. "Now…What's her blood type?"
"I don't know." He answered honestly. How on Earth could he know of such thing, anyway?
"Tsk. Basille, come here and do your job!" The old woman called out with her raspy voice towards the dark corner of the room. Soon, Kuroro could hear the quiet, slithering voice as Basille made her way into the room.
The basilisk soon emerged and approached the bed where Kurapika was lying on. She hovered above the girl, her tongue stuck out to sniff the air. She leaned down, inching closer towards Kurapika, who was still blissfully unaware of the close proximity between her and the snake. Basille then tasted her blood with a slight touch of her forked tongue to the bloodstain on her clothing. Her beady red eyes blinked several times, before she turned to the old woman, and then to Kuroro.
Her blood type is the same as hissss… She said in her characteristic hiss, her eyes fixed on Kuroro's surprised face.
"The same as him, eh? How convenient. What's your blood type again, boy?" The old woman turned to Kuroro.
"AB." He answered shortly.
"You lie down on the other bed. We'll transfuse your blood to her; she has lost too much blood." She said as she busied herself around the beds. Kuroro complied with her order and lay down on the bed next to Kurapika's. He looked at the old lady, wondering what she would do next. He had not seen any blood transfusion equipments, or any medical equipment in that matter.
"Now, you go to sleep."
With that, the old woman emitted her Nen and enveloped the two in her Nen. Kuroro suddenly felt drowsiness overtaking him and he did not fight against it. In no time, he was deep in slumber. The old woman clasped her hands and rubbed them together as if to put some warmth into her wrinkled hands. She unclasped them and placed each one on Kuroro's and Kurapika's hand.
"Jekyll and Hyde, come out." She muttered, and her Nen began taking shape into two small palm-sized men. One had white doctor coat, the other black.
Without waiting for any order from the old woman, the two Lilliput doctors began working on their own.
Checking blood compatibility; ok. Transmittable disease in blood system; nil. Donor's blood pressure and blood count; stable and safe.
They muttered and perform the procedures neatly, checking all kind of conditions needed for blood transfusion. Lastly, they produced a long tube out of raw Nen, and then poked each end into Kuroro's and Kurapika's heart; without actually making any physical wound. Blood streamed from Kuroro's body into the tube, which proceeded to enter Kurapika's body.
At the corner of the room, hiding in the darkness, Ishtar observed the process as she stroked Basille's head absentmindedly. Her face gave a strange expression, but she remained mute.
She brushed a strand of her golden hair from her pale face gently, like a mother caressing her sleeping daughter. She scrutinized her visage; heart-shaped, thin, and pale from sickness. She noticed that she had become thinner than the last time she visited, so she decided to interrogate the older one later, when he had come around. She cast a quick glance at her surrogate son, who was sleeping deeply next to the girl. His face was pale from fatigue and blood loss due to blood transfusion.
"Ah, here you are." A husky voice called out from behind a translucent maroon curtain, and a hunching figure drew the curtain and entered into the sleeping cubicle partitioned by curtains only.
"Hatsubaba, thank you for your help." The Lady nodded in respect and gratefulness at the elderly woman, but the doctor only waved her and impatiently.
"Don't mention it. In fact, I'm grateful that you called me, so I could see the boy again. My, he has grown so handsome." The woman laughed in a way an old witch would. "So who's the girl? His girlfriend?"
"Not really. Travelling companion, I should say?" Ishtar chuckled softly as he gazed at the two youths.
"Travelling companion? The boy never takes a personal travelling companion." The old woman snorted.
Ishtar smiled at her gesture with good-nature, and then explained briefly the predicament that Kuroro and Kurapika were in. At the end of her short story, Hatsubaba laughed merrily.
"The boy will learn a lot of life lessons from this experience. Ha, serve him right!"
"Probably, I hope so." Again, Ishtar stroke Kurapika's soft hair gently, but this time she stirred slightly.
Kurapika felt light-headed, as if there were some clouds in her minds, confusing her senses. She felt the presence of people around her, but she knew that they meant her no harm. She tried to open her eyes, and only succeeded after much effort. The first thing she saw was a pale face with a crown of jet-black, curly hair.
"Kurapika, you are awake." Ishtar spoke to her slowly, her tone happy.
"Nnh…" She groaned as her body felt sluggish and heavy. She looked around to see her surrounding, but she could not really recognise the place. There were a lot of translucent curtains hanging around her; the air felt slightly heavy with sandalwood incense, but she felt warm and secure for some reasons. Kurapika looked back again at the pale face that was speaking to her; this time she recognised her.
"Lady Ishtar?" She addressed her, her voice raspy and hoarse.
"Hush, child. Let me do the talking." She said as she put a finger on Kurapika's lips. Hatsubaba inched closer towards the girl, curious to listen to their conversation.
"You were fighting against chimera, correct? Then you were bitten by its tail, and lost your consciousness since then. I'll fill you in with what you have missed. First, after you were bitten, Kuroro performed a first aid on you. He sucked out the poison with his best, and then he rushed you here in less than three days."
Kurapika's eyes grew wide in disbelief and surprise. She turned her head to stare at the older man, who was still sleeping peacefully next to her. Another realization dawned to her; they were actually sleeping on the same bed. As Kurapika scanned her surroundings with a newfound horror, taking in the circumstances she was in, the old woman laughed in her witch-like laughter.
"The boy rushed you here without stopping for three days, imagine that!" She continued laughing, as if the entire matter was really hilarious. "I even have to drug him to sleep so he can make up for his lack of rest."
Kurapika looked at the wizened old woman with partial bewilderment and disbelief. Kuroro Lucifer rushed to save her life? That was the last thing she would believe on earth. She looked at Ishtar, hoping for some explanation or denial. She found the woman stifling her laughter as well.
"Hatsubaba is telling the truth. She is the one who performed blood transfusion for you. You've lost tremendous amount of blood, and luckily you have the same blood type as him, saving our time to look for suitable donor."
"She did what?" Kurapika squeaked, her eyes still wide in pure shock.
"Performed blood transfusion." Ishtar repeated her words. "Kuroro gave you his blood to save you from dying from blood-loss."
Instinctively, Kurapika clutched her chest with her hand, her heart beating fast in nervousness. Ishtar looked at her closely; she knew what she was thinking but decided not to say it out loud. She knew better than to announce people's thoughts when she had unconsciously peeked into their thoughts.
"By the way, what was his response when you were discovered?" She decided to change the topic.
Kurapika looked at her with puzzlement, not understanding her question. Ishtar raised he perfect eyebrows at her, but she refused to clarify her inquiry. She waited patiently until finally something clicked in Kurapika's mind.
"He wasn't too surprised." She replied after she thought of the accident back then, weeks ago when she first lost her disguise as a boy.
"As expected." Ishtar nodded in agreement.
"Girl." Suddenly Hatsubaba inched closer towards Kurapika. "Tell me what you think of him."
"He's a selfish bastard who likes to have things his way and have fun at my expense, who thinks that he knows everything and that anything unrelated to his convenience is of no importance and therefore he has no qualms in disposing them like old useless trash." The words escaped her mouth with vengeance like a hailstorm, before she could rein herself.
The room fell into complete silence for three long seconds, before Hatsubaba once again broke into a fit of cackling laughter.
"That's it! That's what I want to hear!"
Embarrassed by her sudden insolent outburst, Kurapika's face tuned beetroot and she could feel her face burning. Even Ishtar had to laugh as well. Kurapika glanced grimly at Kuroro, but he seemed undisturbed by the noises that the two women had produced.
"That's exactly it. By golly, I have never heard a better description of the boy than yours, girl." Hatsubaba grinned at her, flashing a row of surprisingly clean teeth, only with several missing gaps.
"But your impression of him seems entirely negative." Ishtar commented, her beady obsidian eyes searching into her eyes.
"Well, you can't blame her, not after what the boy had done to her." Hatsubaba waved an impatient hand in front of her face, as if swatting away some invisible flies. "Nevertheless, I like her." The old lady beamed at Kurapika.
Kurapika smiled uneasily at her; she did not know whether to be pleased or wary towards the old woman's antics and instant fondness towards her. Suddenly, the old lady broke into a mischievous grin, and she leaned closer to Kurapika.
"Girl, let me tell you some interesting stories…"
His mind was clear, but his body was terribly sore, as thought he had not moved from the position for days. When he woke up, his body was as stiff as stone that he had to sit up and stretch his upper body. He somehow knew that the old witch doctor had mixed his drink with some sleeping pills to knock him out, but he might have to be grateful for it, though. With the extent of tiredness and fatigue he was in before he fell into deep sleep, he would not have been able to sleep as peacefully as he had.
Feeling a slight stir next to him, Kuroro looked aside to see Kurapika shifting in her soundless sleep; she was sleeping on her side, facing Kuroro. Her expression was calm, there was no trace of the agony and pain she had been suffering from days ago. He leaned over her and looked at her neck, only to find it unblemished. There was no scar whatsoever left behind on her thin neck; no bite mark, no slash wound. Gingerly, he reached out and brushed the skin lightly with the tip of his fingers. The touch roused the girl from her sleep, and Kurapika's eyes fluttered open.
She stared into his deep, endless dark eyes as soon as she opened her eyes. They were looking at him curiously, almost anticipating his next move. He had not removed his fingers from her neck, but at least he had stopped feeling her skin with his fingers. Truthfully, it gave her goose-bumps but she stubbornly refused to show it. Kurapika narrowed her eyes in suspicions.
"What are you doing?" She asked and inched away from him, sinking further into the soft bed.
"I was half expecting you to slap me, or punch me." He grinned at her and retrieved his hand back to his side. Kurapika rolled her eyes.
"Cross the line, and I'll beat the light out of you." She threatened him, inching further from the man sleeping on the same bed as her.
"Oh?" He quirked an interested eyebrow and leaned closer towards Kurapika. He wanted to test how far is 'the line' that she defined, but he stopped when the Kuruta girl raised her fist with silent ultimatum.
"Honestly, is my touch that revolting to you?" Kuroro settled back to his part of the bed, deciding not to tease the girl further in case she was really going to punch him. His body was not in the mood for another fist fight with the girl.
"You bet." Kurapika said deadpan as she relaxed her fist.
Kuroro turned to face her, there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Liar."
Kurapika glared at him, but there was puzzlement in her eyes. Kuroro grinned triumphantly. "You wouldn't have done what you did back then in the cave if you really hate any skin contact with me."
"You were sick." She retorted.
"I am as well now."
"I am sicker than you are right now."
"You don't look that sick to me."
"Neither do you."
"I am like this because of you."
"I didn't ask you to do anything for me."
"I didn't have any other choices."
"You could've just let me die. You don't fear death at all, anyway."
"I can't let you die yet, I told you, didn't I?"
"Reason being?"
"Can't tell you now."
"Stingy."
"So are you."
Kurapika opened her mouth to counter his words, but she could not think of any. Kuroro smiled triumphantly at her; like a child who had just won a bag of his favourite candies. Somehow, as of lately, they had started to bicker about trivial things more often than not. In her frustration, she huffed and looked away. She could not stare into his eyes for too long; lest she would always be reminded that he had shared his blood with her. At that very moment, his blood flowed in her veins, mixing with hers. When she was told that he had given his blood to save her, she had felt terribly strange. It was almost like she could physically feel another blood, one that was different from hers, flowing in her small, miniscule veins. In a way, a part of him was already inside her. She shuddered at the accursed thought, and tried to push it away from her consciousness before it destroyed her sanity. Instead, another thought popped in her minds. This time, she smiled with evil mischievousness.
She turned around to face Kuroro again.
"You know, I was told some interesting stories."
"What stories?" Kuroro asked offhandedly.
"Stories…about you." She tried to stifle the incoming laughter as she remembered those stories. This attracted Kuroro's attention and he shifted to look at her straight in the eyes, his expression serious.
"Who told you?"
"Hatsubaba."
Kuroro groaned in exasperation. This gesture surprised Kurapika and caught her off guard. She had never expected him to show that kind of attitude; it was as if his most embarrassing weakness had been discovered and was announced publicly. However, this pleased Kurapika because it just proved that the stories the old wizened woman told her were indeed useful. She had to thank the old lady sincerely later.
"So you know her already." It was more like a question than a statement.
"Barely." She admitted honestly. She only knew that she was a Nen-user specialised in healing in the city. She seemed to be good old friend with Ishtar, since they addressed each other so casually.
"She has been around since the very beginning. Nobody really knows how old she is." He told her; a habit he had picked up in his travel with her. He had a tendency to tell her things that he felt she did not know about; just for the fun of it. He knew that the girl did not like it when she knew less than he did.
"Hmm…But she sure knows a lot about you." She deliberately grinned again, evilly.
Kuroro frowned at her with displeasure. He did not say anything but his eyes told her to 'drop the subject already'. It only made her grin inwardly with triumph. Now she had a trump card against him. Oh, how her days onwards would be quite enjoyable.
"You didn't call me." She pouted at him unhappily.
Kuroro only regarded her coldly. "I don't have to. You will know eventually. Besides, you always keep track of us, don't you? That's how you knew that I was coming with the dying Kuruta."
"I do not spy on you!" Ishtar exclaimed in indignation at his accusation against her. Kuroro looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his eyes clearly doubting her. "Hassammunin came and told me, that's how I knew."
She was telling the truth. A few hours prior to Kuroro's arrival in Ryuusei-gai, the genie had paid her a short visit. He had told her that the Kuruta girl was dying and in desperation Kuroro was heading to the city, so she might want to make preparation in case the worst thing happened.
Kurapika tried not to get involved in the 'family matter', but she could not help but to hear the entire conversation. There was no helping to it; she was bound to the man, after all. Nevertheless, she tried her best to ignore the ongoing arguments, although it intrigued her how Kuroro seemed to greatly antagonise his foster mother while Ishtar was really concerned about his wellbeing. Eventually, the curiosity turned into irritation and anger; but she tried to suppress them. She was not going to explode in front of Ishtar; that would be too embarrassing and uncalled for.
In the end, Ishtar retreated from their sleeping cubicle with head hung low in dejection. She smiled weakly at Kurapika to excuse herself, and then she disappeared behind the translucent curtains. Kurapika looked at Ishtar's retreating back with sympathy; she felt bad for her. Kuroro could be the worst person to deal with when it came to arguments; she had experienced it first hand in many occasions. He was too smart-mouthed for his own goodness, sometimes she just wanted to punch the wit out of him instead of debating with him. Kuroro closed his eyes and remained silent as he rethought of some issues. Kurapika looked at him closely; a disapproving frown was etched to her forehead.
"When can you stop antagonising your mother?"
"She is not my mother." He said with stern voice.
"She raised you!"
"That does not automatically make her my mother. I have no mother, end of discussion." He said curtly and dismissively.
"No, it is not." Kurapika replied stubbornly, her eyes flashed in anger. "I can't accept how you are so ungrateful towards your foster mother. Not when you have killed my mother."
"That." Kuroro turned to her and frowned with great displeasure; he appeared to be terribly angry at her defiance. "Has nothing to do with this. She is not the kind of mother that you know. This is none of your business. You stay away from this."
Kurapika was so shocked at his sudden display of anger. Kuroro had been displeased by her at times, true, but he had never openly showed his anger towards her. Heck, he had never been angry at her; only irritated or displeased. His obsidian eyes glinted dangerously, signalling at her that he seriously meant his words. His glare zipped her mouth shut and she could not verbally retaliate. She let the subject drop and silently admitted her defeat.
Hatsubaba leaned against her old rocking chair, the soft moonlight penetrated into her small room. She gazed at the starry night sky, her wizened visage softened as she reminisced the past. Seeing the now grown-up boy had triggered the grandmother personality she had. She had been completely surprised to see the boy carrying a girl in his arms; one for whom he was willing to sacrifice his three days rest in order to save her. Even as she heard of their odd circumstances, she still could not imagine him trying so hard to save someone. Kuroro was not the type who would do anything to cheat deaths; there had to be an important reason behind everything he did for her. She had seen him growing up, and had expected to see him becoming a cold-blooded, calculating killer, unable to express emotions due to his harsh trainings and unusual upbringings.
She let out a weary sigh. Mistakes could only be realised when the disastrous results were out. Regrets would do nothing to repair it, and her dear friend Ishtar knew it better than anyone else. It was true that the boy had distanced himself from her because of her, that it was her fault. She had been hard at him, training him personally with the standard that normal humans would not have been able to withstand. The boy had miraculously survived the gruelling and hellish trainings, and he emerged as the excellent, unbeatable fighter he was; at the cost of his emotions and feelings; and perhaps conscience.
If she was to count the number of scars that the boy had on his body; the scars that he got from any fights out there could be counted with one hand only. Most of his scars he got from his trainings with Ishtar. Hatsubaba snorted in bitter amusement; she remembered one occasion when Ishtar had accidentally skewered the boy with her weapon during their sparring session. She was fortunately there, and thus was able to save his life before he expired.
Nevertheless, she felt that the boy had to learn to forgive as well. Being a very old woman she was, she was bestowed with certain wisdom so that when she saw the Kuruta girl and witnessed her personality first-hand, she suddenly had the feeling that the circumstances might not be as disastrous as they had perceived it to be. In fact, it might be beneficial for them; for the boy to come to terms with his past, and for the girl to learn to let go, and for both of them to learn to forgive.
Hatsubaba chuckled softly and looked up to gaze at the full moon. She smiled to herself as she remembered the blood transfusion she did for them. They now shared the same blood, although the girl declared themselves as enemies. She only hoped that the blood-letting process that the Kuruta girl had undergone might release some of her hatred as well. With the knowledge that his blood ran in her veins in order to save her life, it might serve as a catalyst for her to learn to accept him.
The wrinkled old lady stopped pondering and sighed. She could only hope, couldn't she?
Author's Note: A longer chapter than the previous one, alright. If you ask me what Hatsubaba means, don't expect any answer. It's just a name that randomly popped up in my head when I was trying to name the old witch doctor. Actually, I was inspired by Baba-Yaga, the witch from Russian folklore. And yes, another session of trivial bickering between the two of them. Is Kuroro too out-of-character here? I think he needs to change, too, after all he has gone through with Kurapika. Not to mention the incident in the cave. This chapter only serves to emphasise how humane Kuroro is, no? Hehehe…And as always, reviews will always be gladly welcomed.
Next: After both had recovered, they set out in their journey again. However, just when they were scarcely out of the desert surrounding Ryuusei-gai, they received a message from Isthar, telling them to meet a certain mythical creature. She even provided them with a very…unique…transportation.
