Disclaimer: I do not own HunterxHunter
Story so far: They were in a very difficult position, with their lives both at stakes. Not to mention that Kuroro was dying as well. When things seemed to lead only to doom, unexpected help came to their rescue.
Chapter 20
A SHORT RESPITE
Everything was in chaos and cacophony of various noises and sounds filled the air. Jorou-gumo was shrieking in her frenzied anger. Kuroro cried out in pain as his flesh was corroded by Jorou-gumo's acidic web. Kurapika was beneath him, sheltered and safe but was helpless. The acrid smell of burning flesh invaded her senses and it triggered her instincts; desperately Kurapika extended her own Nen and blanketed him with it. It seemed to help a little, as his scream had turned into groans of agony. He opened his eyes a bit, and their eyes interlocked with each other for a fleeting moment. There were thousand of emotions in those usually cold eyes, and there was turbulence in those oceanic blue eyes that had turned glowing scarlet.
Sharp jingles of metals suddenly were heard amidst the whole commotion.
"Rin byo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen! Evil spirit, be gone!" Two voices chiming in perfect unison could be heard from distance.
Suddenly, the two of them were engulfed in warm, white light and when the blinding light had retreated, the lethal webs had vanished. Kuroro collapsed on top of Kurapika, but he maintained his consciousness albeit barely. Blood ran freely from the raw flesh of his back; his skin had all but corroded by the acid. What remained of his shirt was thoroughly soaked crimson in his fresh blood.
Kurapika turned to take a short glimpse at their saviour, and it turned out to be two teenage girls. They were standing on the roadway with their jingling Shakujyo; a six-ringed golden-coated staff made of wood and brass, in their hands. They were dressed in all white Shinto priestess garments. One had shoulder-length dark hair while the other had long jet-black hair.
YOU LITTLE PIECE OF— Jorou-gumo bellowed in indignation as she charged at them with full force but the girl with shoulder-length bob hair grabbed her Juzu beads and started chanting.
"Rin byo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen noumaku senmanda masara dan sen da makaraosha da sowata ya un tarata kan man—!" Her mouth moved rapidly according to the incantations that she muttered with such expertise. A wave of power washed over the area and a character appeared on the forehead of the spider monster.
"—on kiri kiri on kiri kiri!" She continued chanting, while Jorou-gumo was rendered paralysed by the mantra. She fought the charm and consequently gashes of wounds appeared all over her slick body.
CU—CURSE YOUUUU! She screeched in rage, and again she spewed out her army of tiny spiders. They charged at the chanting girl blindly.
"So persistent!" The brazen girl yelled and changed the formation of her fingers. "On kiri kiri bazara bajiri hora manda manda un hatta, on kiri kiri bazara bajiri hora manda manda un hatta—"
The billions of spiders were paralysed and merged into one disgusting ball of spiders. Four pillars of light appeared and locked their movements.
"On sara sara basara hara kyara un hatta on agyana wei senji kya sowaka!" Her hands and fingers moved rapidly, forming many symbols that were meaningless for common people. With one final movement of her hands, the spiders then combusted into fire and burned into nothingness.
"Come on, let us be going." The other girl picked Kuroro and Kurapika from the ground and lent her shoulder to help carry Kuroro.
"But how about her?"
"Tara will be alright. Our top priority is the two of you."
Just as she said that, a shriek could be heard and a body landed on the ground. Tara had a horrible wound on her arm, and but still she clung to her Shakujyo and bravely stood up to face the monstrous spider again. With a roar, Jorou-gumo approached Tara furiously despite her limp.
The long-haired girl seemed to be torn between helping her friend and fulfilling her duty of taking the two of them to a safe place.
"Help her." Kurapika said firmly as she took the liberty of taking Kuroro's full weight on her shoulders.
"But—"
Miho. A very smooth female voice reverberated in their heads. Kurapika stiffened as she heard that voice, but the girl before her seemed relieved to hear it. When she turned her face around, a snow-white kyuubi (nine-tailed fox/vixen) was standing not far away from them. Her beady golden eyes looked at her with a kind expression, and a golden gem was embedded on her forehead; it almost seemed like her third eye.
Go and help Tara. I will take them myself, the kyuubi commanded.
"Yes! Thank you very much, daisaiin-sama!"
Miho then bowed to the kyuubi and hurried to assist her friend. Kurapika looked at the kyuubi with dubious eyes, but the otherworldly kyuubi looked at her serenely.
Come, child. In my current form, I cannot offer you help. But once you are in my shrine, you will have all aid you need.
With that, the vixen turned around and started to walk away. Kurapika swallowed hard and looked over her shoulder at the ongoing battle between the two teenagers with the rampaging spider. Setting her jaw into a determined set, she took Kuroro's full weight with a grunt as she draped his arm across her shoulders and, suppressing the pain in her ankle, started to drag him to follow after the kyuubi.
They entered the forest slowly. Now and then the white kyuubi would stop and wait for them in silence, her golden eyes shining like a lantern in the dimness of the forest while the gem on her forehead glinted like a lone star in the darkness. Dusk had started to set, and the forest grew quiet in every second that passed. Kurapika's breath became more laborious as they started to climb uphill due to the strenuous task of dragging Kuroro all the way. The man could barely stand on his feet, with his entire back and half of his legs scalded and corroded to a massive extent. She had to repeatedly stop to catch a breath and adjusted Kuroro's position, and also to ease the throbbing sensation on her swelling ankle.
"Why…" Kuroro started suddenly, but his weak voice was merely a harsh croak. "…are you crying?"
Actually, he had been observing those tears for quite some time. He wanted to ask, but he had been in so much pain that he could not muster enough strength to even speak. Kurapika blinked once. She raised a tentative hand and touched her cheek; which was warm and wet with her hot tears. With bemused face, she wiped the remaining tears from her face.
"I don't know?" She said weakly, her voice not betraying her own confusion regarding her involuntary tears.
They continued their journey in silence. After a while more, they finally reached the shrine, and reached the front gate of the shrine. The white kyuubi then trotted through the through the magnificent tunnel created by the thousands of vermillion torii gate lining along the stone path, heading towards the main shrine.
Convincing her self that it was already close-by, Kurapika braced herself for a few more minutes of walk under the serene vermillion shade of the torii gate. When she finally exited the crimson tunnel, she found herself in the front yard of the main shrine. It was a quiet, peaceful place; a perfect resting place.
Before she realised it, the place was bustling with activities. Youthful shrine maidens approached her and helped her with Kuroro, carrying the limp body to the 'hospital wing' of the shrine. They gently guided the confused Kurapika along, telling her that she would be safe in the compound of the Inari shrine. When they reached the ward and started taking off Kuroro's torn clothes, one of the young miko touched Kuroro's ruined back and she immediately screamed in pain. Her hand was instantaneously scalded; the poison still remained on Kuroro's flesh.
"I'll heal him." Kurapika insisted, since she knew that those miko could not touch Kuroro's wound carelessly, lest they got burned by the vicious poison.
Kuroro could only raise an eyebrow but gave no objections. Reluctantly, the girls moved aside to give her space. Kurapika shifted to face his ruined back as he sat in front of her, cringing when she laid her eyes on the hideous wound. In a flash, she turned her eyes scarlet and her Holy Chain danced around her thumb. With a flick of her wrist, the Holy Chain wrapped itself loosely around Kuroro's body and a flow of Nen embraced Kuroro.
What Kurapika had not expected was that it would require tremendous amount of energy to heal Kuroro's burns. They were no ordinary burns. They were so persistent, and Kurapika had to reach deeper into her Nen reserves. She started to lose her breath as her body wore out, but she persevered. Once she was done with the back, she moved on to the legs. By this time, Kuroro had already noticed her abnormal breathing and the sickly paleness on her face.
"Kurapika, you are overexerting yourself." He warned, but she paid no heeds.
"A bit…more…" She said with strained voice.
No sooner than when she saw the last wound on his leg closing, she had given all she had and everything turned abysmal black. She collapsed forward, but Kuroro quickly caught her from falling face first to the tatami floor. He immediately checked her pulse and breathing, and soon realised that she had just passed out due to exhaustion. He sighed in relief.
"Daisaiin-sama! (Grand High Priestess)" All the shrine maidens suddenly sat in a very polite manner and bowed towards the person standing on the entrance of the room.
There, on the doorway, was a majestic woman with pure snow-white hair that touched the tatami floor. Unlike the other miko, she wore the very elaborate High Priestess attire; she wore a white haori decorated with silver and golden embroidery of Japanse chrysanthemum with a transparent veil draped over her hair and shoulders, and a deep purple hakama which symbolised her office as the High Priestess. On her forehead was the golden orb which Kuroro remembered seeing on the white kyuubi's forehead.
Soundlessly, the woman approached him and the unconscious Kurapika. She sat down gracefully before them, and with a lift of her hand, dismissed the entire army of miko out of the room. Pin-drop silence filled the room.
"Welcome to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. I am Kuzunoha, the High Priestess in-charge of this shrine." She bowed politely at her guests.
Kuroro said nothing for he was still weary and Kurapika was still out-cold in his arms.
"Please make yourself at home here, dear guests. It is a request from the Shishin; the Four Celestial Guardian Beasts of the Four Compass Directions. As long as you remain within the compound of this sanctuary, no harm shall befall you and your companions." She continued.
"You are that nine-tailed vixen." Kuroro suddenly said.
The snow-haired woman smiled warmly. "Indeed I am." She turned to look at Kurapika's ankle, which by then was already so swollen and purplish blue in colour. "Poor girl, she hurt herself."
Kuzunoha reached at the first-aid kit that the group of young miko had left earlier when she dismissed them from the room. She rubbed a kind of salve on Kurapika's swollen ankle and wrapped it neatly with a bandage. Kuroro only observed the process in silence.
"She could have healed her ankles before she carried me." Kuroro muttered.
"Maybe the thought didn't cross her mind because she was so distracted." A gentle smile appeared on her frail-looking face. "Or maybe she thought that wouldn't be wise with Jorou-gumo around."
The fox-woman packed everything into the kit once she was done and straightened up to give Kuroro a brief scrutiny.
"Normally," she said quietly, "ordinary humans would have died when they touched Jorou-gumo's lethal webs, let alone the enhanced one. But you were able to withstand the shock and torture, and even the poison."
Kuroro listened to her quietly. He knew of what she was going to ask inevitably.
"From the smell of your blood earlier," she continued, "I can tell that you are of no ordinary human breed. What are you?" She asked quizzically. She had never encountered someone so extraordinary before. It scared her; he scared her.
The raven-haired man looked at her with calculating eyes. He could see that she was unnerved by his exceptional endurance. It might go as far as being phenomenal, but there was no helping to it.
"I am born human." Kuroro finally answered. "But my blood has been mixed with the blood of a medusa."
The colour was drained from Kuzunoha's ivory face. Even though she was not very knowledgeable about her fellow creatures outside of her country's boundary, she had heard some tales of medusa; the ferocious medusa.
Kuroro turned to look at the still unconscious Kurapika.
"So does hers."
Kuzunoha held her breath temporarily.
"I see." She finally said with a very quiet voice. "There are so many things that I want to tell the two of you, but I'm afraid that will have to wait until your companion regains consciousness."
With the grace of someone belonging to a royal family, Kuzunoha stood up and made her way to the sliding door. Before she excused herself, she told him that their needs; such as baths and food, would be attended to so they had nothing to worry about. When the sliding door was closed with a very soft thud, Kuroro turned to look at Kurapika again. Her pallid face seemed as cold as a stone. He tenderly brushed her wan cheek with the back of his fingers, as if it could crumble upon touch. A thought reverberated in his mind:
Why did you cry?
Kuzunoha locked herself in her private chamber. She took out a certain paper screen with a drawing of a white tiger, and placed it in front of her. She looked at it with reverence, and after a few seconds, she put her three fingers; her index, middle, and ring finger, of both hands on the tatami floor right in front of her bent knees and bowed her head low.
As if answering to her silent request, the drawing of tiger on the paper screen came into life and stepped out of the two-dimensional plane into the real world. The tiger paced straight towards the bowing Kuzunoha and sat in front of her.
You have done your job well, the tiger said with a deep, gruff voice.
"It is my pleasure, Byakko-sama." Kuzunoha said softly.
When the white-haired fox-woman looked up, as per Byakko's permission, the white tiger had morphed into its human form. Before Kuzunoha was a massive tiger-headed man wearing golden armour and war helmet adorned with a huge white jade on the forehead. He held a halberd in his hand, ready to strike any enemies at anytime.
"Suzaku should have told me of their arrival earlier. That way, those two youths would not have to encounter Jorou-gumo, and thus they would not have to be in such deep trouble as they are now." Byakko shook his snowy white tiger head with slight exasperation. "Really, that incorrigible man!"
Kuzunoha said nothing and merely sat down sweetly as Byakko rambled on about Suzaku's laid-back manner that had caused too many troubles for him. After a while, only then the frail-looking woman braced herself to bring up a certain topic to her superior.
"Byakko-sama, that man…" She began hesitantly. "He said he shared blood with a medusa. Could it be…?"
"Yes. He is Ishtar's surrogate son. You have heard of her?" He nodded, mildly surprised by the meek woman's question and nervousness. She had always been confident and reserved.
"Yes. Who would have not heard…" she looked up to gaze dreamily at the starry night. "…of the tale of a fallen Goddess?"
She rarely dreamed. If she ever had dream, they would be nightmares, and her nightmares were more often that not the same one over and over again; the massacre of her tribe and her brother's decapitated body. This time, however, she found herself experiencing a very awkward and peculiar dream.
Kurapika was standing in pitch black darkness. So dark it was that she could not see what was beneath, above, or sideways. Strangely, she was not afraid at all. It was not a cold darkness; it seemed to welcome her warmly, embracing her with their ubiquitous constancy and perpetual ambiance. It was peaceful, soothingly so.
She caught a speck of light from the corner of her eyes. It blinked weakly in the far distance, cajoling her to come closer. Curious, Kurapika walked slowly to approach that beckoning light. The closer she got to that blinking light, the more she felt heavy and troubled in her heart; yet the light urged her still to come closer. Something suddenly stopped her legs. When she looked down, she was confronted by a very odd, seemingly harmless creature.
It looked like a tapir, but not quite so. It had an elephant's head, tusks, and trunks, while its horns and claws belonged to the tiger species. Its body was covered in thin, gray hair. It was a Baku. The petite creature tugged at the hem of her pants, urging her not to go to that source of light. Kurapika looked at the weak light, and then at the Baku. She repeated that gesture for quite some time, before she finally sat down next to the queer creature.
"It's strange, but I feel that I should stay with you." She said with small voice.
With a happy glint in its small eyes, the Baku nuzzled at Kurapika's arm, pleading her to hold it. Amused by its antics, Kurapika complied with its whim. She patted its small head gently, like she would pat a dog. With a content sigh, the Baku rested its head on Kurapika's lap.
Peace overcame her again, and before she knew it, she was already swallowed by boundless oblivion.
"Finally awake?" was Kuroro's first words to her when she blinked open her eyes.
She turned her head to look at Kuroro, who seemed all fresh and alive as if he had not been grievously injured before. He was sitting on his futon still in his sleeping yukata. She looked at the low ceiling on top of her. She barely recognised the place, but she knew for sure that she felt so strangely brimming with energy; as if it was the first time she ever had a very peaceful and content sleep.
"Where?"
"Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine." He answered. "You've been sleeping for two full days."
"WHAT?" Kurapika shrieked in horror as she jolted up from her futon.
"Relax, kid." Kuroro carelessly stifled a yawn. "I just woke up myself a few minutes ago."
"Huh?" Kurapika blinked as she saw him doing such common gesture; him stifling a yawn openly? "Then how do you know that it's been two days?"
"This little fellow told me." Kuroro lifted his arm that was obscured by his body, and clinging to it was another curious creature.
Kurapika frowned and leaned closer towards him to take a better look at the creature. It looked like a miniature fox the size of a rat or weasel. It looked at Kurapka with its narrow eyes, staring at her with equal curiosity as she offered it. After a while, she recognised what kind of creature it was.
"A kuda-kitsune!" She exclaimed with joy.
"Why are you so happy to see one?" Kuroro asked with one raised eyebrow.
"I have always wanted to have one." She said, too happy to act indifferent towards him as she usually did. "Come here, little one." She said while reaching out with one hand to the small fox, while the other supported her body.
The kuda-kitsune sniffed her hands gingerly first, before it leapt from Kuroro's arm to her hand. It then climbed up her arm towards her shoulder energetically, nuzzling her cheek with its tiny nose.
"Like a little kid." He teased her.
"Excuse me?" She glared at him.
"I'm a good nine years older than you are, so it's quite right for me to call you so."
"I am seventeen! I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Isn't it about time that you heal your sprained ankle?"
Kurapika blinked. Why did the man suddenly change the subject?
"No, I'm out of Nen." She curtly answered.
"You've been sleeping like a log for two whole days."
"Do you have any idea how much Nen I used to heal your back and legs?" She retorted, turning to glare at him but when their eyes met, she could not so much as muster a hostile glare. She only stared at him. After a while, she turned away from him.
"Anyway, I don't want to waste my Nen for such trivial things. By the time we are out of this place, by right it'll be back to normal already."
"How much Nen do you have left?"
"Barely." She shrugged. "It will accumulate back over time."
"We can't afford it." He said with even voice, yet there was a stress in it, like an emphasis.
"What do you suggest we do then?" She asked in annoyance. She knew what he was hinting on; the moment they stepped out of the shrine, Jorou-gumo would be after them and they had to be in prime condition to face her.
Kuroro was silent for a while, covering his mouth with his hand in his characteristic thinking gesture. After a moment, he looked at Kurapika with intense stare that the girl shifted uncomfortably.
"I have a theory, but we may as well give it a shot."
"What theory?"
"Nen are classified into different categories, which means each group should have a generally similar property. If that is the case, then it should be possible for Nen to be transferred from one person to another to fuel one's Nen. After all, there are treatments where they use Nen as means of healing, especially for the Reinforcement group. Your Holy Chain is one good example."
Kurapika frowned. "Makes sense, but even if the property is similar, it still may not be compatible for everyone, correct?"
"True. However, in our case, I wager that our Nen should be compatible."
"What makes you think so?" Kurapika asked incredulously. The man was full of surprises, really.
"We both belong to Specialisation group, and our blood type is the same; AB. They say that people's personality can be grouped based on their blood type, which means we are more or less of the same personality."
"I don't see the similarity between us." She remarked deadpan and flatly.
"Moreover, you share my blood from the transfusion. All these should increase the probability of the compatibility of our Nen." He ignored her sharp remark.
Kurapika frowned even deeper. "So what are you getting at?"
"Connect our Nen and see if you can access my Nen and use it like your own or not." He said with even voice.
Kurapika disliked the idea; very much so. Nen was something personal and private for her; it was like the symbol of identity for each person in her perspective. To think that her Nen could be compatible with this man of a criminal and she would try to access his Nen to be used as her own made her shiver in fear, and slight revulsion. She did not want to admit it, but she was afraid that if this little experiment was a success, it was like sealing the fact that they had shared their inner selves with each other.
"Come on." He gestured at her to come closer and hold his hands.
He did not seem bothered about that; no, he seemed oblivious of it. He did not care. Kurapika swallowed hard. Despite her fear, she was curious. She was dead curious; she wanted to know more about Nen, to know how far she could use her power. Without bothering to battle her own conscience, she took his hands in hers.
Kuroro's Nen increased subtly and smoothly, flowing flawlessly as it reached Kurapika. When his Nen enveloped Kurapika wholly, she was overwhelmed by a very strange sensation. It felt like she was drowning in a kind of liquid, and it gave an electrifying tickles all over her body. She could feel his Nen entering her through the pores of her skin, prodding deeper into her inner self, trying to connect with her Nen. As their Nen collided, she gasped as her chest felt tight and constricted.
He held her hands steadily, observing her subtle expressions silently. He could feel his Nen meeting hers; at first it was like a hailstorm, her Nen refusing his, but overtime the chaos gradually subsided and they fused into one. Kurapika closed her eyes, focusing her attention on the new Nen in her body. It felt like a newborn baby, raw and pristine yet strong. She detached one hand from Kuroro's grip; her hand that bore the Nen Chain, and attempted to summon her chains. It worked.
The familiar rattles of the Nen chain filled the room, and Kuroro looked on in wonder. The Holy Chain appeared, hovering like a confused bee. The cross then flew towards Kurapika's swollen ankle and floated above it, giving out a warm light as it healed the injury. In no time, Kurapika's ankle was back to normal.
Kuroro Lucifer was excited. He had never thought that his theory would ever be proven true.
Kurapika withdrew her chain and settled back her Nen. As her Nen reverted into its sanctuary within her inner self, Kuroro detached his Nen from hers. He withdrew his Nen slowly, so as not to shock her to her death. However, he deliberately left behind small residues of his Nen. When the whole process was done, both of them collapsed to the tatami floor.
"It worked." Kurapika said disbelievingly amidst her huffs.
"So I was right." Kuroro muttered, his eyes glinting excitedly.
Suddenly, he laughed. He did it the way a child would laugh when he had just gotten the toy that he had been longing for, as he laid supine on his back. Kurapika stared at him with wonder in her eyes; what had gotten into the man?
"I was right." He said again as he turned to look at Kurapika with his soulful eyes.
Kurapika held her breath. His sudden raw happiness was contagious. Kuroro was showing her his childish persona; something he very rarely did so openly, and it might as well be one of his true inner selves. Catching a glimpse of it, and intoxicated by his childish delight, Kurapika could not help but to get carried along. She smiled at him.
It took him by surprise, but he did not let it show. Instead, he dwelled in that fleeting moment. He rolled so that he lay on his stomach and he reached out to tease golden strands of her hair with his slender fingers. Kurapika watched as he twirled her hair absentmindedly, not minding the gesture.
"How are you feeling?" He asked with a faraway look on his face.
Kurapika rolled over so that she lay supine on the tatami floor. She breathed in and out steadily, trying to discern the feelings of her own body condition.
"I feel like I have more Nen." She finally said as she slowly turned her head to face him. "Did you…?"
He nodded, a glint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. His theory was all correct; he really could fuel other's Nen so long as the Nen was compatible and the conditions were met.
Instead of being elated as he was, or happy for having more Nen, Kurapika felt her blood freezing in her veins. First it was her blood that was mixed with his, and now her Nen. It felt like he was invading her through very delicate and unthinkable means. He left traces of his self inside her; giving her a piece of himself in different ways.
Slowly but surely, he was entering her very being.
"Yo, Ishtar. Looks like things are going smoothly for them."
"Is that so?" The lady smiled at the reflection of the Phoenix on the surface of her magical water. It served as a long-distance communication means between her and a few others who owned similar devices.
"Definitely. Heard from my cousin that they are in deep shit right now, but that's exactly the good thing."
"Phoenix, your language, please." Ishtar massaged the bridge of her nose delicately.
"Bother." The Lady in Red rolled her eyes. "Anyway, they did a little funny experiment, and turned out that they can access each other's Nen and even transfer their Nen to each other. Very weird, huh? I've never heard of this before."
Ishtar giggled. "I didn't expect them to be that compatible."
"Whaddya mean?"
"Nen is a very delicate and serious business." She said while twirling her hair with her thin fingers. "It is no child's play, especially when it involves the interconnection between Nen. It represents one's inner self and soul. What do you think is the implication when they are giving their Nen to each other? Even assessing each other's Nen like their own?"
"Giving their souls to each other? Goodness, that's like they've become one."
"Precisely."
"Geez. Just tell them to get married already." She said while crossing her arms like a parent exasperated by her child.
Ishtar smiled tenderly at the hot-headed legendary bird. "I wish it was that easy, my friend."
Kurapika sat on the balcony of their room, which overlooked the lake behind the shrine. She still felt uneasy after their small experiment with their Nen. Sometimes she felt her stomach churning whenever she remembered the fact that Kuroro had given her a piece of his Nen in her. She felt giddy. She felt violated. Swallowing the bile, Kurapika looked up and began reciting her favourite lines:
"Sun in the sky,
Trees upon the ground…
Our bodies are from the earth,
Our souls come from the Heavens above.
The Sun and the Moon rejuvenates our bodies,
Sends our bodies to the wind that blows across the plains.
Give thanks to the Gods who abode in the Heavens for the land of the Kuruta.
Let our spirits live in everlasting vigour and protection.
I seek to be capable of sharing the mirth with my people.
Offer homage to the people of the Kuruta Tribe,
Let our blazing Scarlet Eyes bear witness…"
"A Kuruta Prayer?" Kuroro absentmindedly inquired.
He had heard it before; back then in Fino's inn, when Kurapika was still extremely hostile to him. Come to think of it, Kuroro realised how comfortable things had been between the two of them. Previously, the Kuruta would especially take every chance she had to spite him, to deride him, to revile him. Now they were so at ease with each other it made Kuroro ponder; what was in the girl's mind right then?
Kurapika had not responded to his whimsical question, as if she had not heard him. Kuroro then deliberately approached her and sat next to her. The moon was high above, hanging like a lone lantern with its forlorn glow. Kurapika sat stiff and tense despite the harmless environment. It bewildered him, and so he reached to touch her.
The moment she saw his hand approaching her from the corner of her eyes, she briskly swatted away his hand. Kuroro seemed mildly surprised at this resurfacing hostility; it had been a very long while since she the last time she avoided his touch. He looked closely at her face. It intrigued him. The girl was easy to read, at least for him. This time, however, Kuroro could not discern what lay behind that expression of hers. Contempt? Hatred? Despise? Sorrow? Regret? Disgust?
"What are in your minds?" He asked curiously.
His face might have openly shown his curiosity that it made Kurapika feel like she was some experimental subject being questioned. She looked away, not answering his question. Without thinking twice, Kuroro reached out fast at her and grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him.
"What's your problem?" He asked straight-forwardly.
Kurapika cringed when she was confronted by him, as if she was hurt and wronged when he talked to her. She wrenched her chin free from his grip and looked away again. Kuroro frowned at her.
"If you despise me so much, then why did you heal me?"
"Why did you save me?"
Kuroro sighed.
"For one, I have told you so many times before that I have not the slightest intention of letting you die for a reason that I cannot tell you yet. Second, one person injured is better than both of us injured. Correct?"
Kurapika searched for a retaliation speech, but found none.
"My answer?" He demanded.
"I don't want to be indebted to you. So consider ourselves even." She said deadpan, her voice devoid of any emotions. She paused for a while, her eyes radiating a sense of hesitance. When she finally asked away a question that had been bugging her for God-knows-how-long, her voice was rather weak. "Why are doing all these for me? You don't gain any personal benefits."
"It's not about personal benefits." He answered quietly, almost with reverence.
"Then?"
"I'm not telling you." He smirked at her.
"Stingy." She pouted.
"Say what you want, it won't change a thing." He chuckled.
The reason why Kuroro was willing to venture to great lengths to help her would be a mystery to her for a very long time. It would only then, years later, that someone else had to relay the answer to her.
In agreeable silence, they walked along the vermillion Torii tunnel towards the great stone staircase that led towards the entrance of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. They did not even spare a final glance at the shrine that had housed them for the past few short days.
"Kuroro, Kurapika."
A soft voice called out to them before they stepped out of the safety of the shrine. When they turned to look back, they saw the frail-looking Grand High Priestess Kuzunoha approaching them. She hurried after them and gave each of them a protective charm; an o-mamori. It was a small, flat rectangular bag with a knot at the top which functioned as the seal. The knot itself was connected to a loop of string that was long enough to serve as a necklace.
"This is my parting gift for you. I can hardly leave this shrine, only at rare occasions, so the chance of me meeting you outside of this shrine is terribly slim." She told them softly. "But nevertheless, allow me to give you one last advice. Beware of Tamamo-no-Mae."
Kurapika twitched upon hearing that dreadful name. Oh, she knew that name, and Kuzunoha seemed to have seen it in her eyes.
"I can assure you that she is more malevolent than Jorou-gumo is. If you do run into her, try to take her Hoshi no Tama; it's a jewel that every one of us, kitsune, has with us." She said while pointing at her golden orb perching on her forehead. "It contains the very essence of our being; our soul. Once you have it in your hands, you can make her do all your biddings."
"Assuming we can take it from her at all." Kurapika said dryly. It was almost impossible a task.
Kuzunoha only smiled weakly at her. "May your journey be safe," she said while squeezing Kurapika's hand in reassurance.
"Thank you." Kurapika replied politely. Although I doubt it'll ever be safe at all, she told herself.
"Who's this Tamamo-no-Mae?" Kuroro asked.
She gave him a look. "I'm surprised you don't know."
"What am I, a walking encyclopaedia?" He said deadpan, yet amused.
"But—"
"Hush!"
Before Kurapika could even finish her sentence, Kuroro's face turned alert and he pushed her aside; at least he intended to. As he was not looking her way, his broad hand accidentally landed on Kurapika's chest; or to be exact, her breast. Kurapika froze, and so did he. After several interminable seconds, a wrathful bellow shook the entire forest that the birds had to fly away from their comfy nests with great haste.
"YOU—!#$%^&*()!"
"It wasn't intentional!" He defended himself.
Much to his dismay, Kurapika's screech invited the trouble that he had tried to avoid just a few seconds ago. The forest shook again and something landed noisily on the ground before them.
LITTLE GIIIIIRLL! ANANSI BOOOOY! Jorou-gumo screeched. Her one eye was still missing, and so was her one leg.
Like a demon possessed, she charged at them, her fangs clicking angrily and full of lust to savour their flesh and blood. Again, adrenaline rush erased all traces of embarrassment from Kurapika's head and she switched into her fighting mode. Now that they were prepared to confront her, there was no holding them back. Both jumped in unison, and Kurapika used her Counterattack Chain to restrict her movements by the neck. Kuroro used the opportunity to charge in and gouged out her other eye. Bellowing in rage and agony, Jorou-gumo retaliated with full force until she finally broke free from the chains, consequently shattering the Nen chains into bits.
At that moment, Kurapika felt her heart being squeezed tightly for a fraction of second. She gasped sharply and fell to her knees while clutching her chest. That was the first time someone broke her Nen chains, and she had never anticipated that the pain would be so overwhelming.
Without a word, Kuroro picked her up by her waist and hauled her to his shoulder, carrying her like a grain sack. He jumped towards the nearest tree branch just as Jorou-gumo spewed forth her poisonous webs.
"Are you alright?" He asked quietly while still keeping an eye at the rampaging blind monster.
"I'll be alright, but…" She drew a deep breath. "My Nen is fragmented…Never knew it would be this painful…"
OVER THEEEERREEEEEE… Jorou-gumo shrieked and lunged at them despite her gigantic size.
Kuroro had just readied himself with his arms around Kurapika to spring out of troubles when the spider's body suddenly, just so suddenly, was split into two. With a final shriek, the two halves of Jorou-gumo's body free-fell towards the ground, obeying the implacable law of gravity. It crashed to the ground, her dark green blood painting the whole terrain around her dirty green. Her spider legs twitched a bit, before it finally fell stiff and the body disintegrated into fine sands and were blown away by the wind.
The two of them looked down from the tree branch, unsure of what had happened. They went down to the ground and inspected the place. There was no single trace of the Jorou-gumo left in the vicinity, only the mess in the forest that she had caused as she went berserk.
"Who are you?" Kurapika suddenly asked with suspicious voice as she spotted an odd-looking man standing not too far away from them.
The man was standing in the dark shade of the trees, his head hidden by the thick shadow. They could see, however, his grand armour that he donned. The man was silent for a while, before he decided to take some measured steps and stepped into the dim light that penetrated through the canopy of the thick forest.
Kurapika could feel her jaws dropping as she beheld a man with a white tiger head. She kept seeing stranger and stranger creatures in every passing day in her journey.
"I am Byakko, the White Tiger of the West. I am pleased to make acquaintance with the adoptive son of Lady Isthar and his consort."
"Co—consort?" Kurapika blushed again. Kuroro narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the mention of Ishtar; her name and fame seemed to have spread wide across the globe.
"But I must say that you should not have meddled too much with the affair of this land, not to mention getting into troubles with one of the youkai here. That is highly not recommended and unadvisable." He said in a rather scalding tone.
Kurapika was about to protest, when a sing-song voice interrupted on her behalf.
"That's so mean of you, Byakko-saaaan…" said the voice coming from above.
The three of them looked up and spotted a man dressed in blue oriental attire with deep blue hair sitting leisurely on a tree branch, looking at them with amused expression.
"Seiryuu!" the tiger-headed man barked.
"Jorou-gumo is the one who's messing around with them in the first place, and now you are blaming them. How bad of you. Besides, you could have helped them long time ago, you know." Seiryuu said with a playful smirk.
"Who are you to talk? All you have been doing is to observe them fighting that wretched youkai from up there without doing anything." Byakko said fiercely.
Kuroro frowned at his words. Was it true that Seiryuu had been up there, observing them all the while, without him noticing the man's presence? It reminded him of the event in the Ryokan back then, when Suzaku appeared unannounced without him realising it.
"Well…" Seiryuu tapped his chin with his long finger. "Isn't it one of those cobwebby rules that I'm not supposed to meddle with affairs in your territory? Watching is all I can do and it's so freaking booooring…"
"It is an ancient decree as well that we are not supposed to help humans all the time. Our existence is one to be revered, not to mingle around with the humans too much otherwise they will lose their respect towards us."
"Ah." Seiryuu grinned broadly at him. "That might be true, but have you forgotten that aside from being a foreigner in this land…"
He turned to glance at the two with a strange glint in his sapphire blue eyes. Looking at those eyes, Kuroro then knew instantly that the man was not looking at them as he would look at normal humans.
"Those two can hardly be deemed as pure humans?"
Author's Note: For one, I can't find any site that give me the list of Shinto incantations, so pardon me… If there are any Shinto practitioners out there who feel offended by my wrong usage of any incantations, forgive me because I don't know… Just another trivia, Kuzunoha is the name of the famous onmyouji Abe-no-Seimei's vixen mother. As for Tamamo-no-Mae, you'll hear more of her in the next chapter. This chapter is intended to be short, but when I realise, it's already so long…
Next: Seiryuu said the two of them were hardly any pure humans! What did that mean? Also, just when they thought that the crisis had passed, they had to stumble yet into another troublesome danger.
