Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter
Story so far: Kuroro and Kurapika were accompanied by a Unicorn foal for their journey to meet the Lady in Red. However, halfway their journey they had to stop in certain towns for certain business…
Chapter 12
A MOMENT OF INSANITY
He looked around to make sure that nobody was following him, or that nobody would see him sneaking into the hotel's room. Well, to call it a hotel would be an overestimation. It was a really modest hotel, or more like a luxurious inn. He blended into the shadows, and crept his way to the window of a room at the third floor. He knocked thrice at the glass of the closed window and waited.
"Come in, Shalnark." Came the reply from inside the room.
Carefully, the young man pushed the window open and slid his way into the room. Once in, he quickly scanned the room; it was a small room, with two single beds at one corner. The room smelled faintly of lavender; the trademark of the hotel. The hotel was pretty famous around the area for having different rooms with different theme based on the scent of the room. They had rose, lavender, citrus, mahogany, etc.
"Do you bring the list?" The man occupying the room asked him. He was sitting at the sofa at the other corner of the room. A small figure was sitting beside him.
"Yes, Danchou. The names, the locations; they are all here." Shalnark said as he offered the paper to Kuroro, while his gaze fell on the girl next to the older man.
Kurapika was sitting while hugging her knees, her face buried in her knees that only the mop of her blonde hair could be seen. She sat still like a stone, and gave no response as Shalnark entered the room. He had half-expected to be greeted by some hostile or unhappy stare by the girl, since the girl hated the Genei Ryodan with all her heart, but she seemed lifeless. Kuroro, meanwhile, skimmed through the list of the owners of the Scarlet Eyes silently. His eyes stopped at a certain part of the paper and he raised an eyebrow slightly. After a while, he folded the paper and looked at Shalnark, who was still looking at Kurapika.
"Let her be. She is not feeling well today." He simply stated, with finality in his tone. Shalnark immediately knew that Kuroro had no desire to elaborate further about the girl's condition. He did not dare to push his luck.
"Well, anything else, Danchou? Any orders?"
"For now, there is none. Once I have any plan, I will contact you first. You may go." He dismissed the young man. It was decided automatically that Shalnark would take Pakunoda's post as the second-in-command for Kuroro. He would be the one to relay all the orders given by Kuroro to the other members.
"Okay. Bye, then, Danchou. Take care." Shalnark waved a goodbye at Kuroro cheerily and turned around. However, before he stepped out of the window, he stopped for a while and turned his face to look at Kurapika.
"You too, Kurapika. Get well soon." Kurapika twitched ever so slightly at his warm words. With that, he sneaked out of the room, and once again the room was inhibited by only two people.
The room fell into silence, albeit not an uncomfortable one. Kuroro leaned back against the soft sofa and closed his eyes. Kurapika still made no moves. For five minutes or so, they stayed that way.
"It's okay to look up now." Kuroro finally said, his voice soft. He received no reply whatsoever from the girl.
He really wanted to sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose, but he fought against the urge. Kurapika was having the monthly mood swings due to her menstrual period, but still he was having a hard time getting used of it. At least she did not complain as much anymore. She would suddenly sulk and seem upset for no apparent reason. The girl had been a really logical and reasonable one; she always had reasons for her actions. Lately, she had none of those logics.
"You will have to put up with her mood swings later, because she is entering her puberty. She will act irrationally and emotionally, and you better not make it worse. You are a grown-up, aren't you? Take care of her."
That was Ishtar's warning for him before they took off from Ryuusei-gai the second time. He had dismissed the idea as unlikely, since he thought he knew that the girl was more than able to handle herself. Well, it seemed that he was mistaken and the girl was not capable of such control, much to his dismay, to handle her hormonal changes. He himself was at loss on how to deal with the girl. He had never assumed the role of a care-taker, much less for a teenage girl with rampaging hormones. She would put an anguished expression, but at the same time strangely she did not really shun away from his presence; while previously she would try to be at the furthest distance for him. Take this instance for an example. Kurapika did not even mind that they sat at a very close proximity, his shoulder almost touching hers.
Right then, they were renting a room in an inn since Kurapika was having her violent period again. She needed to rest for days when it came to the accursed week. They asked the Unicorn to stay in the woods and waited for them, and it seemed that the magical horse had no objection.
"Kurapika." He tried again. He rarely called her by her given name, since she seemed to dislike being called so by him. He thought the girl might be unwilling to be addressed so by her sworn enemy.
"The list is here. All 34 pairs of them." He told her, while his keen eyes tried to look for any hint of response. Originally, there were supposed to be 36 pairs, but they already had 2 pairs.
She nodded weakly.
"There is one in the neighbouring town." He told her again. This time, she looked up. Her eyes were faintly bloodshot and they were rather swollen; the tell-tale sign that she had been crying silently. His frown was barely noticeable, but it was there.
"Really?" She asked, her voice raspy. There was a hint of hopefulness in those tired eyes.
"Yes." He unfolded the paper and showed it to her. She took the paper from his hand and skimmed the page. Her eyes fell on one part, and her grip on the paper tightened. Kuroro kept observing her reaction.
"Are you in for it?" He asked her, like a doctor asking his patient. From Chiron's explanation, they were granted one day of freedom from Hassamunnin's magic during the new moon, when his power was weakest. Unfortunately, they still had not discovered the extent of their 'temporary freedom' yet. Coincidentally, the owner of the pair of Scarlet Eyes was going to have a social gathering at that night.
She nodded.
"Then it's settled. In that case, to fill in the time, why don't you tell me about what's bothering you?" His dark eyes were still fixed on her.
Kurapika looked at him with surprised eyes, but soon looked away and answered nothing. Truthfully, Kuroro really wanted her to spill out everything, since it bothered him that there was something off and he could not solve the problems. However, he wisely chose not the push the issue and let the girl be. She would be better soon, or so he hoped.
"Well, I'll take that as a no."
He took the paper from her hand, his fingers brushing hers and she did not flinch this time.
She looked at the dress with distaste clear on her face. She frowned at it, as if it was coated with poison, although indeed its colour was of bright red, the silk glistening brilliantly under the illumination of the light. Kuroro waited for her to say something about the dress that he had chosen for her. Kurapika finally looked up with her most unhappy face.
"Come on, you can't be dressing up as a boy anymore." He rolled his eyes, knowing what the Kuruta girl was thinking.
"Still…" She pursed her lips. "I don't like wearing dresses."
Nevertheless, she still dragged her way to the bathroom and changed into the dress. Kuroro stood near the door, the allotted space allowed by the bind had expanded considerably to allow them some private space. When Kurapika finally emerged, Kuroro turned around and he could not help but to be surprised by what he saw.
The dress hugged the girl's body perfectly; his guess had not been wrong of her size. The oriental collar was rimmed gold, the dress was parted on one side, exposing a bit of her milk-coloured leg up to her mid-thigh. Her bare shoulder and her upper back seemed to glow under the light, the fair skin as smooth as a baby's.
"Why halter neck?" She complained as she tried to adapt herself in the tight-fitting dress.
Kuroro said nothing but merely appreciated her. Secretly, he felt proud that he had chosen the right dress for the girl, and moreover that she looked really gorgeous in it. Kurapika, on the other hand, felt really self-conscious and nervous. She had never worn something so exposing before, and she felt naked in it. She wanted to change back to her usual casual attire, but she knew that the older man would not let her. As she noticed Kuroro's gaze on her, and his appreciating look, she became even more self-conscious and she squirmed uneasily. She knew that she was not that ugly, but she was also aware that her 'asset' was not really something to be boasted. For someone who had A cup-sized breasts, of course she would not feel so confident in such tight-fitting dress. Lucky he gave her a halter neck to cover for her lack of asset.
"You look good in it, so stop complaining." Kuroro said finally. However, his gaze never left her. He sensed something missing in her. Although she already looked pretty naturally, she still looked to plain for someone going to a social gathering; especially if she was to pretend to be someone from aristocratic family.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Danchou, they are all ready." A feminine voice called out from behind the door.
"Ah, perfect timing, Machi. Can you lend me your kit?"
"Kit? What—oh…" There was a moment of silence, and then Machi entered the room with a small box in her hand. Without any words, she gave the box to Kuroro, who muttered a thank-you to her. Machi then retreated from the room, but not before sparing Kurapika a measuring glance.
"What is that?" Kurapika asked, but she got her answer as soon as Kuroro opened the box. By golly, for her it was a box of horror.
"Sit down here, I'll do the make-up for you."
"Hey, Machi. Do I look good in this suit?" Phinks called out to the girl as he adjusted his tie.
"Does it matter?" She coldly commented without even looking his way.
"Of course! After all, I'm supposed to be a bodyguard for Danchou in this party." He sulked at her cold shoulder.
"Just put on some sunglasses." She said as she rolled her eyes.
Phinks, Nobunaga, and Shalnark had been appointed to be the 'bodyguard' for Kuroro and Kurapika, while the duo pretended to be the heads of a noble, influential family. The rest of the Spiders were left behind as they were not planning to raid the mansion, so there was no need to assemble the whole gang. Shalnark was there when Kuroro told him of the plan, and he had witnessed how enraged the girl was when she heard that she had to pretend to be Kuroro's lover. Kuroro had managed to convince the girl into the act, although the girl seemed the most reluctant to do so. They even had to go and especially buy a dress for Kurapika, since she had no such thing in her meagre belongings.
"Ne, Machi." He called out to Machi, who looked his way without a word. "Do you think this plan will work out?"
"You know there is no plan that won't work out if Danchou is the one who comes up with it." She told him with unhappiness, as if she was upset that Shalnark had doubted Kuroro's plan.
"I know that, but considering that Kurapika is in the plan…" His voice trailed away. Machi looked at him in the eyes and she knew what he was thinking. Kurapika was, naturally, rebellious towards Kuroro since he was, after all, the brain behind the murder of her entire tribe. It was just possible that the girl might screw up in the middle of the plan.
"Don't worry. This will be a big success."
"Was that your instinct talking?"
"Need you ask?"
"Stop fidgeting." He took her chin with his left hand and forced her to look his way.
"But it's too uncomfortable." She retorted and tried to push away but he would not let go.
"Just bear with it. Close your eyes." He quickly took the eyeliner and started applying it as soon as she closed her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered as the eyeliner touched the skin, and her eyelashes quivered. She frowned in discomfort, but tried to put up with it.
"Don't open your eyes yet, wait until it's dry." He instructed her.
Reluctantly, Kurapika obeyed him and shut her eyes. Kuroro had applied a thin layer of make-up for her, since the girl declared that she had never put on any make-up in her entire 17 years of life. She had demanded to know why a man like him would know how to apply make-up, where it was actually unnecessary for him to not know about such thing. Kuroro only shrugged and said that somebody forced him to learn. Kurapika knew that he meant Ishtar, and she said nothing anymore.
"I believe you can put on your own lipstick?" He asked, and she hurriedly snatched the lipstick from his hand and made her way to the bathroom.
When Kurapika emerged from the bathroom and returned the lipstick to him, he noticed a slight smear of the lipstick at the corner of her lipstick.
"Wait."
He stopped her and without asking for permission, he wiped the excess lipstick on the corner of her lips with his thumb. The gesture surprised the Kuruta girl and had her guard down when he touched her lips unannounced. She froze on her spot, but did not swat away his hand. At the same time, Shalnark had entered the room without knocking the door, and had seen Kuroro touching her lips. He himself was stunned and froze on his spot, but hurriedly made his escape from the room before the girl could explode and started attempting to murder him. Although he saw no logic in it, he just had the feeling that he had better not been caught red-handed seeing them in such closeness.
"What's with the hurry, Shal? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Nobunaga asked him in a joke, but suddenly he frowned. "Did something happen in the room?"
"Huh?" Shalnark blinked, not understanding the meaning of the samurai's words. "No, but…Wait, Nobu!"
Nobunaga had dashed and barged into the room occupied by Kuroro and Kurapika, his sword brandished and ready for action. Just as he entered, he turned into a stone, as if he had seen a gorgon in the room. There, in the room, was Kuroro holding Kurapika's body while the girl leaned against his chest and was clutching his arms for support. Truthfully, Kurapika had been trying out the heels and had tripped on her first attempt, and Kuroro was just catching her in her fall, but Nobunaga seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. Furthermore, Kurapika was already wearing her wig and the samurai did not seem to recognise her as the chain-user. Nobunaga's mouth fell open like an idiot, while Kuroro turned to look at him with a surprised expression, while Kurapika started to blush furiously.
A wrathful scream saying "GET OUT!" was heard and soon the people outside the room found Nobunaga running for his dear life from the room.
"What happened?" Phinks asked, bewildered to see Nobunaga so flustered.
"I—i—in—in—in the room…" Nobunaga's eyes were still wide in shock. Shalnark sighed while Machi shook her head in exasperation.
"What's in the room?" Phinks asked with a frown.
"I never thought you'd be so scared to see a girl, Nobu." Kuroro said with a chuckle as he emerged from the room, while Kurapika trailed behind him, the blush was still faintly there and her expression still furious.
"Since when there is a girl in your room, Danchou?" Phinks blinked several times as he looked at Kurapika. "And such a cute girl, too. Where did you find her?" He grinned from ear to ear, and Kurapika frowned at him in distaste.
"And where is the chain-guy? I thought you are stuck with him?" He added.
Kuroro raised an eyebrow and turned to Shalnark, who was already hiding behind Machi. The Nen-string user rolled her eyes and moved aside to expose the young man in black suit.
"You didn't tell them?" Kuroro asked in a rather curious tone.
"Tell what?" They all, except for Machi, asked Shalnark in unison. The said young man flinched.
"Shal, spill it out." Nobunaga had already unsheathed his sword, his veins on his temple throbbing.
"O—okay, okay!" Shalnark put up his hands in surrendering gesture. He glanced at Kurapika, who was looking away, and gulped. "Erh…She…She is actually the chain-user…" He explained in small voice.
There was three unbearably long seconds of momentary silence, before…
"SHE IS WHAT?"
Standing on heels, Kurapika was almost of the same height as Kuroro. However, on the contrary, she felt strangely small. She had never liked such social function, not even when she was still working as the Nostrad's bodyguard. This time it was even worse, because she participated as one of the guests.
"Still not used to this?" Kuroro asked her in a low voice with an amused grin plastered on his handsome face.
"I'll never get used to this." She answered with a scowl and in a begrudging manner. Kuroro seemed to enjoy himself, plus he seemed to enjoy her discomfort as well. Furthermore, there were three Spiders trailing behind her, pretending to be their bodyguards. The whole situation and environment she was in was enough to drive her nuts, and still he had the nerve to tease her about it.
"Learn to enjoy this kind of thing. We may need to do this for quite a few times in the future." He smiled at her, and she had no idea whether that smile was genuine or not. Anyway, she did not really care about it since she was feeling too self-conscious right then.
"Well, how about letting me enjoy myself as I grind your feet with my heels?" She growled at him, but kept her voice low so as not to startle anyone nearby with her hostility.
"I'm afraid I can't afford that." He smiled again at her, but he took her right hand in his left hand. "Come on, milady." He mocked a bow.
"Of course, milord." She replied with thick sarcasm and mocked a curtsey as well. They then took off into the ballroom, hand-in-hand.
Meanwhile, the three 'bodyguards' kept observing the duo as they kept bickering in their own style. Kuroro kept teasing her while she kept throwing sarcastic remarks to him. Phinks and Nobunaga kept glancing towards each other, still unused to the fact that the chain-user was actually a girl, and that their Danchou had been travelling with a girl all along. Shalnark, on the other hand, was enjoying the scene and was grinning silly to himself.
"Are they always like this?" Phinks whispered to Shalnark.
"I guess. They are getting along better than previously, I suppose." He answered cheerily.
"I still can't believe that the chain-bastard is really a girl." Nobunaga crossed his arm and his face really showed his dilemma.
"But she's a darn cute girl, I have to say." Phinks whistled casually as he looked at Kurapika once again.
"She suits Danchou, don't you think?" Shalnark thought out loud, but he earned a glare from Nobunaga.
"Don't even think of it." He growled unhappily.
"Someone's jealous here." Phinks grinned as he whispered at Shalnark, who nodded earnestly in response.
"Watch your mouth, you bloody bastards!" Nobunaga raised his voice and his hands were already on the hilt of his sword, but the other two hurriedly hushed him.
"Not so loud, Nobu! We do not want to raise any unnecessary attention here." Shalnark hissed.
"Tsk."
"That man over there," Kuroro pointed with a nod of his chin. "…will be your target for tonight."
"Don't say it in such way. It makes me feel like I'm some kind of…" Kurapika's voice trailed away, embarrassed even to finish the sentence.
"No one is saying that you are to sell your body to that old man." Kuroro shrugged, although a mischievous smirk was clear on his handsome face.
Kurapika dug her finger nails deep into Kuroro's flesh, as they were still walking hand-in-hand. Kuroro flinched a bit, but said nothing to complain. He kept his cool mask on his face.
"There is one thing that I've been wondering about." Kurapika said with small voice.
"Which is?"
"This 'temporary freedom'…How much freedom do we actually get? Is it only the separation factor, or the bind that ties our lives together dissipates temporarily as well?" She said with even voice, as if they were just some couple discussing about trivialities of life.
"Hmmm… Frankly speaking, I have no idea as well. It is certain that we are granted limitless separation for this one night, since we've tried it just now. As for the life-binding part, we haven't tried it yet."
The question had not popped in their heads before, when they were still in Chiron's forest. It was still questionable whether one would live if the other one died on that new moon night. Truthfully, there were still a lot of unanswered questions shrouding the so-called 'new moon freedom' they had just found out. They did not know if they were free from the physical distance factor only, or if they were free from the life-binding curse as well. They also did not know of what would happen if they were in a huge distance apart when the freedom expired.
Well..." Kuroro glanced at her with another evil smirk on his face. "We can always try to see what will happen, though."
"And risk everything in the process? No." Kurapika glared at him mildly. "At least, not this time. I don't want to die before I have collected my comrades' eyes."
Oh, an improvement. Kuroro thought with gleeful satisfaction; but of why he was feeling so he did not even understand it himself.
" And…" She stopped.
"And?"
"No. Nothing." She muttered, suddenly unwilling to continue with their little discussion.
Kuroro raised an eyebrow at her, but asked nothing more. Weeks he had spent with that girl, and he knew better not to push on with questions when it was not an urgent issue. Kurapika could be a handful when she was upset, and he already had his hands full with all this Scarlet Eyes plan for the night.
Truthfully, Kurapika almost said that "I don't want to get into any compromising situation with you again," but decided against it. She felt that if she really told him of it, she would see no end of his teasing; and she had had enough of it. She cursed him inwardly, because she envied him since he seemed perfectly unaffected whenever they got into any embarrassing (at least for her part) situation. For examples, those embarrassing events in Fino's Prancing Pony Inn.
Besides; although she would never openly and consciously admitted it, she wanted to save more of her face in front of that man and his gang. Talk about public self-awareness…
The plan was actually fairly simple. They just needed to blend with the crowds, found the owner of the mansion, and then Kurapika had to try to occupy him with any means (preferably by flirting with him, but she had glared daggers at Kuroro when he mentioned this so he let her decided on the method herself) while Kuroro would sneak into the treasure room and stole the Scarlet Eyes. Nobunaga would go with Kuroro so as not to raise any suspicions, while Shalnark and Phinks would stay with Kurapika. After that, they would leave the place as soon as possible.
Things went out smoothly until the part where Kuroro excused himself for some business and left Kurapika to deal with the lord of the mansion. The lord; Lord Hubert, asked Kurapika to drink wine with him, and she complied. She drank along with him as they chatted about politics; something that Kurapika had endless resource about. Even Shalnark could barely keep up with what she was talking about, leave alone Phinks; and Lord Hubert seemed pleased with her knowledge. They drank endless glasses of wine, until Kurapika's face started to turn red like a lobster, and she started to giggle.
When Kurapika had started giggling, Phinks and Shalnark exchanged worried glances but still said nothing. As long as she could make the lord preoccupied, they would go along with the plan. Shalnark started glancing to his watch, wondering why it took Danchou so long to steal the Eyes. Phinks kept an observant eye to the Kuruta girl and listened to their conversation, in case the girl slipped out something important about the Spiders in her drunken state.
By the time Kuroro returned, Kurapika was already unable to stand up straight and she was forced to sit down on the couch with the lord. Lord Hubert himself seemed to have lost his awareness of the surroundings. His bodyguard stood close by, but his face showed a hint of worry towards his employer.
"What's happening here?" Kuroro asked in puzzlement when he saw Kurapika in such state.
"Well, she drank quite a lot with the old man…" Shalnark told him in small voice.
"She's drunk?"
Even surprised, Kuroro looked at the girl, who was already half-asleep and half-conscious. Nobunaga snorted behind him, but said nothing. Kuroro then approached Kurapika and peered into her eyes. True enough, her eyes were already unfocused and her face was the colour of a tomato.
"Kurapika?" He called her name, and she looked up with a silly grin on her face. She started smiling at him; a childish smile.
"Ah…You really came back to me." She slurred as she talked. Kuroro raised an eyebrow.
"You're drunk. Let's go back." He took her arm and pulled her into a standing position, but she staggered and almost fell back if Kuroro had not caught her by her waist. Kurapika then started giggling.
Kuroro had to sigh as the drunken girl had let him carry her weight in his arms; she had practically leaned against him and was drown in her giggling fit. Concluding that she was no longer capable of walking, he casually slipped one arm behind her knees and swept her from the floor, carrying her bridal style. His action, apparently, earned three different responses from his subjects.
Shalnark covered his mouth with his hand and his face was already flushed beetroot red. Phinks had his jaws gaping open, while Nobunaga went rigid as his eyes bulged; threatening to pop out of the sockets. While they had never seen Kuroro doing such thing, Kuroro himself was already used to doing it; he had been forced to carry her in such way in many occasions before in their journey.
"Lord Hubert, I shall take my leave since my companion does not seem to be in any condition to continue with the party." He politely excused himself from the lord of the mansion.
"Oh…Oh okay….Heheh…You may go…" He said with slurry voice, as he was starting to lose coherence in his speech due to the wine.
Kuroro had turned around and was about to walk away when the old lord called out to him. He half-turned around and looked at the drunken old man.
"Young man…You're lucky…It's not easy to get a fine lady such as yours…" He chuckled, and Kuroro almost thought that the old man was for once sober again. In the end, right after he said those lines, the old lord fell asleep in the couch.
The leader of the Genei Ryodan shrugged and he started walking towards the exit, out of the building. As they made their way to their temporary hideout; which was actually the hotel where Kuroro and Kurapika were staying in, Kuroro thought about the lord's whimsical comments.
A fine lady? He mused as he glanced at Kurapika's face, who was sound asleep in his arms. Perhaps she is, if only she is not so hell-bent in taking her revenge…
"Danchou has changed."
Shalnark looked at the older samurai with quirked eyebrows. Nobunaga had asked him to talk with him privately, since he had something to discuss with him. Shalnark had no idea that the topic would be about Kuroro himself.
"What do you mean?"
"In the mansion, when we were going to steal the Eyes, I asked him…something…" Nobunaga looked away, as if he was unsure of himself whether to tell Shalnark the whole thing or not.
"What something?" Shalnark looked at him closely. "Tell me everything, Nobu. Otherwise I won't be able to help."
Nobunaga scratched the back of his head and finally sighed. He then told Shalnark of what had exactly happened back then.
They were walking in silence, Nobunaga slightly behind Kuroro just as how a bodyguard would be. Nobunaga kept glancing at Kuroro's back and looking away, his brows furrowed deep as something kept bugging him. Finally, he could not contain himself and he had had to ask him.
"Danchou."
"Yes?"
"Is it really okay to leave her alone? I mean…She can just attack Shalnark and Phinks and…you know…Considering that she is the chain-assassin after all…"
"She will stick with the plan and will not do something as foolish as that. That, I can assure you." Kuroro responded coolly.
"But she hates us! I mean…We should never trust her, do we? Besides, she's killed Uvo…" Nobunaga clenched his fists as he remembered the death of his best friend in Kurapika's hands.
"And we've killed her entire family." Kuroro replied, this time there was an edge in his voice. Nobunaga did not miss it, but still pushed on with his idea.
"But Danchou! She—"
"Nobu." Kuroro stopped and took a sharp turn on his heels to face Nobunaga. The samurai froze on his spot as Kuroro dealt a silent glare at him.
"I have been travelling constantly with her for these past few weeks. You can say all you want about her, but none of it will change my opinion of her."
With that, Kuroro spun around and continued walking in his previous pace, as if he had not shown the slight irritation to Nobunaga at all. He left the samurai gaping in surprise.
xXx
"Isn't it strange? Danchou trusts her!"
"Erh…Well…" Shalnark looked away and racked his brain to find some suitable explanation of the uncanny bond between Kuroro and Kurapika. Of course he would not be so surprised and shocked as Nobunaga had been if he was the one who saw Kuroro's reaction to Nobunaga's persistent distrust and suspicions towards Kurapika. After all, he had seen them in such close relationship; such as the one in the cave and the one in the room. Even Machi could feel a certain vibe resonating between them.
"I don't know if this will help you cope with the situation or not but…Kurapika did say something back then…" He looked at the still puzzled samurai with tentative eyes.
"Back then?"
"When she was dealing with the lord of the mansion."
xXx
"Hey…Where's your companion…?" The already tipsy lord asked Kurapika, whose face was already turning crimson.
"Companion? Oh…You mean him…" She said in husky voice.
Phinks and Shalnark had tensed up and looked at each other nervously. They then looked at Kurapika with wary eyes, readying themselves in case she slipped the fact that the him was Kuroro Lucifer.
"Looks like…He has abandoned you…In that case, you can just…accompany me…I like you, you know?" He looked at Kurapika with admiration even in his slightly drunken state.
Suddenly, Kurapika laughed in a very pleasant manner. Her laughter rang like a bell to the Spiders' ears.
"Oh…He won't leave me behind…He'll come back to me…for sure…"
xXx
"She did say that?" His eyes were now bulging as they threatened to pop out their sockets.
"Yeah. You can ask Phinks about that. He even asked me about what they have been doing during their 'journey' together up until now." Shalnark shook his head in exasperation.
"Tell me, too!" Nobunaga hastily grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shook him vigorously, as if he was trying to literally shake the answer out of him.
"D—do—don't—sha—shake—m—me! A—I—don't even—know!" Shalnark said in staccato voice as he grabbed Nobunaga's wrists in attempt to free himself from the frenzied samurai.
"Tceh!" Nobunaga let go of him and paced around nervously.
"Relax, Nobu. At least we know that Danchou is not in any sort of danger, do we?" Shalnark said with a pout as he straightened up his shirt. Why had he always been the subject of abuse by everyone in the gang?
"But it is going to the wrong direction! How if they end up accepting each other?" He screamed in anxiety.
"I thought that's supposed to be a good thing?" The younger man asked with confusion written on his baby-face.
"IT DEFINITELY IS NOT! IT MEANS I WON'T BE ABLE TO AVENGE UVO!" Nobunaga yelled at Shalnark until the latter had to protect himself from the torrent of saliva.
"Why do you think so?"
"Because…I have this dreadful feeling…that if Danchou really accepts her, he will protect her from my revenge…"
Well, I think he will definitely do that. Shalnark thought, but he wisely kept that to himself for fear Nobunaga would change his mind and mutilate him instead of the chain-assassin.
"Aniki…" Kurapika spoke in her half-asleep state. She hugged him close with so much affection, that other people would really think they were lovers. Kuroro sighed. Earlier, in her hallucination, she had tackled him and they both landed on the floor, with her arms around his neck.
Kurapika pressed her face to his chest, a silly childish smile plastered on her face. Kuroro peered down at the girl, who was practically lying on top of him. Her face was red from the alcohol, but she definitely looked prettier when she smiled that way. Of the many weeks they had travelled together, Kurapika had never smiled at him; not even once if sarcastic smiles were not to be counted. The only times that she smiled were when she was drunk. Well, he could not blame her, though. He was, after all, her sworn-enemy; the one who had orphaned her, the one who had killed her entire tribe, the one she hated with all her soul. She had no reason to smile at him.
"Aniki…" The girl mumbled again.
Kuroro looked at her and reached out with his hand. He patted her head gently, and she giggled softly, like a little child. Kuroro raised one perfect eyebrow. Under normal circumstances, she would have swatted his hand away, glared daggers at him, or hurled some sarcastic remarks at him. Truthfully, the only time that he could touch her without earning any glares from the girl was when she was drunk. He ruffled her hair; which was silken and soft in his touch. Kurapika sighed contently, like a cat being patted, and she looked up at him. He stopped, fearing that she might have come to her senses and realised the dreadful situation she had gotten herself into.
It never happened, though. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek; softly and affectionately. Kuroro froze, his entire body went rigid. Of his 27 years of life, no women had ever done so to him. Well, he did not give them the chance to do so, anyway, but this time he was completely caught off guard. Kurapika lifted her head and peered into his dark eyes; her blue eyes rather unfocused because of the alcohol. He did not fail to catch, however, the sad glint in those aquamarine eyes.
"Aniki…I'm lost…" She whispered to him. "What am I supposed to do now…?"
Kuroro frowned at her statement. It was unlike her to lose sight of her goal. He had always thought that her goal had been straight forward and impossible to forget. Why was she saying such statements, as if implying that she was losing focus on her tasks?
"Am I…doing the right thing…? Tell me, Aniki…"
The older man let the young girl drowned in her own soliloquy, while he listened to her silently. Kurapika finally fell asleep on top of him, and with a sigh, Kuroro got up and deposited her on the bed. He sat on his own bed and thought about Kurapika's ramblings.
Self-doubts, that was what she was having right then. Without anybody for her counsel, she could only rely on her own knowledge and conscience. It was only normal for someone her age to have self-doubts, to lose sight of her life, to be confused about her own self. Kuroro, however, could not relate to it. He had always been clear on what he wanted and how he was going to do things. His education and upbringings had been strict and thorough, so he had not had the time to doubt his own self. Growing up in Ryuusei-gai, self-reliance and independence what was he learned in his childhood. Then again, he was a premature adult; that was what Ishtar had always told him.
"I can't help you." He absentmindedly told the sleeping girl. "You will have to find the answer on your own."
Remembering that it was a rare chance that they were not bound by the genie's magic, Kuroro decided to take his sweet time indulging himself in a hot bath. In his bath, he could not help but to let his mind ponder about what Kurapika had muttered in her drunken state.
Am I doing the right thing?
Kuroro snorted. Sometime, he thought that the girl's heightened moral conscience was all too much. Then again, it might be that he was the one who was lacking it. Suddenly, a question popped in his head.
Why are you doing what you are doing now? Why?
Questions beginning with 'why' was his weakness. He had never tried to put his reasons into words. Everything he did was only based on what he wanted, and what was best for his group. It was rarely driven by any tangible reason. He had never really put any much thought on his actions and decisions, except considerations regarding the best interest for the Genei Ryodan. He did not really care about the consequences of his decisions to other people unrelated to him.
"I guess you are right, Kurapika. I am a selfish person." He mused. Hatsubaba had told him about her opinion of him. He had not been surprised by her very negative opinion about himself. He had never cared much about other people's opinion regarding him. They could talk about him all they wanted, he could not care less.
Then again, that just showed how selfish he was.
When she woke up, the first thing that greeted her was not the warm sunlight, but a really nasty headache. She groaned in pain and rolled over in bed, clutching her head while pressing her eyes tightly closed. Kurapika then realised that she could not move freely, as if her clothes were restricting her. Also, her hair and face felt strangely out of place. When she could not take it anymore, she decided to get up and check what was wrong with her.
"Ooh…" As soon as she got up, her head was assaulted by the worst dizziness she ever experienced. She leaned forward and clutched the bed sheet, while the other hand massaged her temples to help her rid of the throbbing sensation.
"Hangover?" An all-too familiar voice spoke next to her.
Kurapika turned around and saw Kuroro sitting on the bed close to her own bed, he was wearing a comfortable looking shirt. It seemed that he had just gotten up well. When he saw her confused expression, he pointed at her clothing. Kurapika warily looked down, and how she was so surprised to see herself still in the dress she had supposedly worn for the party last night.
"What? Why? How?" She blinked, not understanding how and why she had fallen asleep still in the dress.
"You drank too much." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"I was drunk?" She said, sounding horrified. "Did I do or say anything stupid?"
"During the party, no you didn't." Kuroro hid a smirk, but Kurapika noticed something from his choice of words.
"During the party…Then, after the party…?" She dreaded hearing the answer, but she had to know.
"You rambled incoherently. But again, you mistook me as your brother."
"No freaking way…" Kurapika covered her face with her hands and she bent down, as if she was mourning. Kuroro let her wail silently, before she looked up again. "What did I do this time?"
"You don't want to know." He simply said. "It was just a moment of insanity."
"WHAT? What do you mean by that? You don't mean I—" She seemed to choke on the last word.
"What do you think you did, then?" He asked back, a gleeful smile on his usually poker face.
"I—Stop fooling around!" She screamed at him, her face was already flushing mad.
"It was nothing big, really." He was close to laughing out loud, then.
"If it was, then tell me!" She continued yelling.
"You hugged me, and…"
Kurapika already cringed when he answered her, but when he paused, she looked at him with pure terror. "…and?"
"You kissed me…"
"NO WAY!" Her face looked as if it was on fire.
"…on the cheek."
A pillow flew and kissed Kuroro's face.
Author's Note: The ending is a bit weird, huh? Hehehe…Anyway, I've always wanted to make Kurapika somewhat drunk and mistaken Kuroro as her brother yet again. I'm such a bad person (evil grin). And the last part of Kuroro teasing Kurapika, a bit off the character but I guess that's what we can call "progress" in terms of their relationship, no? Hmhm… And quite a bit of part of Kuroro's self-introspection there.
Next: After the Scarlet Eyes business, they proceeded with their initial plan of visiting this Lady in Red. They did reach the place safely with the Unicorn's help, however what awaited them was no ordinary host, with extraordinary personality and power.
