Disclaimer: I do not own HunterxHunter, sadly.

Story so far: All business done in Hanzo's country, they moved on to the next country. Who would expect them to meet with Ging and Anansi? What kind of weird events would unfold before them next?


Chapter 22

FAIRY TALE COMES INTO LIFE


"Kuroro, m'boy! My, how grown up you are now!"

The lanky man with dark ochre skin and platinum blond hair charged at Kuroro with an open embrace, but eventually he was only able to hug empty air. At the last minute, Kuroro dodged his 'embrace'. The man gave him a teary puppy-eye kind of look.

"It's been almost 15 years since the last time I saw you and is this how you treat your daddy?"

Kurapika's jaws dropped unceremoniously while Kuroro frowned deeply.

"Da—daddy?" She exclaimed with a degree of horror in her voice.

"Cut it out, Anansi. Don't go around making false claims, especially about you being my father. It's annoying." Kuroro said deadpan, clearly displeased.

The man pouted.

"You are not cute anymore. You used to be so adorable." He approached Kuroro slowly and actually managed to ruffle his dark, wet (yeah, they were still soaked wet from head to toe) hair playfully. "But you'll always be my little boy, eh?"

"Stop it. I'm your little boy no longer." Kuroro pushed away Anansi's away. "I'll be 27 this year."

Speaking of age, it reminded Kurapika of birthday. Speaking of birthday, she just remembered that her birthday was coming soon. Well, it was not like it would make any difference whether her birthday was soon or not, right? After all, her birthday had become something rather insignificant in her life. What was the point of celebrating it when the people involved in her birth were no longer around? In fact, they were all gone for good.

In a fleeting moment, her thought went to her only friends; Leorio, Gon, Killua, and Senritsu. Even Bashou. How nice it would be to celebrate her birthday with them. That thought, however, was immediately pushed aside as she knew all too well that it was a mistake to hope for that wish to happen.

"Twenty seven! Oh dear! So this will be your girlfriend, right? Right? After all, this is the age where you'll be looking for one."

Anansi quickly turned to regard Kurapika; or more precisely, as Kuroro dubbed silently, targeted her as his next victim.

"Hello there, dear. Nice to meet you. Well, well, my boy does have a good eye on women, doesn't he, eh?"

"Anansi, judging from the look she gives us, I don't think she is his girlfriend. If anything, I suspect she is far from it." Ging said he approached his odd companion while stifling a deep amused laughter.

"Really? Aw, that's too bad. Isn't she the cutest thing ever?" Anansi said while tapping Kurapika's cheeks lightly with his spidery fingers with unconcealed excitement.

Kurapika was still so shocked, being confronted by a very peculiar man like Anansi without any prior warning, that she could do no retaliation upon being treated so childishly. Under normal circumstances, she would have growled at him and warned him not to treat her like a child.

"Frankly speaking, I think it's you who needs a bit more of growing up to do." Ging said as he jabbed an accusing finger lightly at Anansi's chest.

"Don't be mean so me, Ging." Anansi pouted at him; something that he seemed to be fond of doing.

Hearing the name 'Ging', an image of Gon immediately flashed in Kurapika's mind. All fluster forgotten, she snapped to give Ging a sharp look.

"You are Gon Freecs' father, right?"

Ging raised an eyebrow, and so did Kuroro. Anansi, on the other hand, was as clueless as an infant.

"So he is Gon's father? No wonder the uncanny resemblance." Kuroro nodded slowly as some explanation finally enlightened him.

"You two know my son?" Ging asked with an unconcealed excitement, his eyes blazing with delight.

"Gon is looking for you everywhere!" She exclaimed, feeling rather cross at Ging's unfair treatment towards his own son.

"So he takes up my challenge, huh?" Ging actually sounded very pleased with it.

"Why are you making his life so hard?" Kurapika almost stomped her feet in exasperation, but she refrained herself from doing it out of respect for Gon's father.

Ging gave her a small smile.

"Young lady, please understand our situation. This is an agreement that we indirectly made. I have told him in my message that if he really wants to see me, then he'll have to catch me. Otherwise, I won't recognise him as a true Hunter yet."

The man, who looked like a grown-up version of Gon, cast a faraway look towards the horizon, a look of longing in his brown eyes.

"Besides, I have given up being a father. I feel that I am not qualified to see him."

His voice and words were so earnest that Kurapika had no choice but to feel sympathetic towards him.

"But Gon wants to see you so badly." She said with small voice.

"Then he'll have to track me down with equal fervour." Ging smiled at her like how Gon would. The similarity was almost giving her the chill.

Kurapika's head hang low in dejection; she could not retaliate with his reasoning. Cold wind blew around the shore, making her involuntarily shudder and sneeze; she was still soaked wet.

"Oh, my bad. I should've done something about it." Anansi then waved his hand and just so suddenly, they were all dry.

"What was that?" Kurapika asked as she marvelled on how clean and dry she was; while a mere second ago she had been an untold mess.

"It's a secret." He winked at her.

"Then, what brings you here? Surely not to simply say hello to us." Kuroro said while eyeing them with a degree of calculation.

"That is precisely what we intends to do. You haven't changed, Kuroro. Still the cynical boy as ever; doubting people's good-will." Ging smiled at him, but there was something like regret in that smile. It was as if he felt bad that Kuroro was being cynical at all.

Kuroro did not respond to Ging's remark.

"After all, we are your Nen teachers, aren't we? It's only natural for teachers to check on their pupils, no?" Ging continued.

Kurapika's eyes widened. She had investigated a little about Ging for Gon, and from her researches and the scarce results they brought, she could only conclude that Ging was powerful and influential enough to wield the position of a president of a country. Anansi was a magical creature, as proven by the little magic he did just earlier. To think that Kuroro Lucifer as those kind of people as his teachers, it was no wonder that he was as powerful and skilled as he was right now.

It kind of made her envious. She only had a somewhat gullible teacher as her Nen mentor; one that she could treat a little disrespectfully.

"That done, now what are you going to do?"

"Hmm… What are we going to do again, Ging?" Anansi turned to ask his companion.

"Try to remember things more, will you?" Ging rolled his eyes heavenward. "We've heard that you are collecting the Scarlet Eyes."

"And?" Kuroro knew where this was leading to.

Kurapika's senses were alerted when she heard of Scarlet Eyes. Suddenly, the weight of the three pairs of Scarlet Eyes that she kept in her backpack seemed to be so apparent. The other three pairs of Scarlet Eyes were with Kuroro; they managed to collect all six pairs of them back then in Hanzo's country.

"And I take it that the girl here is a Kurutan. You are doing her this favour?"

"Your point?" Kuroro was getting impatient. From the way they talked, he knew that they had been informed by the other magical creatures; Una was the one he suspected the most. It was not like he minded it, though. In addition, he did not deny Ging's statement of him doing Kurapika the great favour.

"We are taking you to the nearest Scarlet Eyes."

"Come again?" This time, it was Kurapika who responded. More exactly, she exclaimed.

"We'll be taking you to the nearest Scarlet Eyes." Anansi generously repeated for Kurapika, whose eyes were already glimmering with hope and gratefulness by then. "But it's located in Perussa."

"That is very far away from here. It's on the other side of the continent; more precisely at the border." Kuroro frowned as he calculated the distance they would have to cover. It would take weeks to reach there.

"And so we are taking shortcut; the Fairy Ring!" Anansi declared proudly. "After all, Perussa is still within the Erin continent."

"The Fairy Ring?" Kuroro and Kurapika's voice rang in unison.

"Come with us, you'll see it with your own eyes."

And so they marched into the depth of the woods.


Soon enough, they found out the famous Fairy Ring was literally a ring drawn on the ground by means of unearthly power. The ring glittered faintly during daylight, but during night it glowed softly.

"Stand in the middle of the ring and take care that none of your body parts are beyond the circle. You don't want to leave behind a toe or an arm here, do you?" Anansi said in a sing-song voice.

And so they squeezed in the tiny circle, trying to keep a safe distance from the inside of the perimeter of the so-called Fairy Ring.

"And?" Kurapika asked unsurely. She did not like the idea of her standing so close to Kuroro; not when they had gone through so much to expand the bind so as to allow them more personal space.

"Now where is that tiny little thiiiing?" Anansi muttered to himself as he looked around the vicinity.

"Found her!" Ging exclaimed as he moved swiftly to catch something that seemed to have been floating in the air.

KYAAAAAAAH!

A tiny little voice filled the air like the weak chime of a delicate bell.

You barbarians! Hands off me! Wait until I report this outrageous abuse to my Queen Titania!

The shrill shriek was so faint that if Kuroro and Kurapika had not paid extra attention they would not have noticed her. In Ging's grip was a glowing tiny little girl with glowing butterfly wings, with eyes the pale purple colour of lily. She struggled to free herself from Ging's hands, but all her efforts were fruitless.

"Relax, Lilias. It's me." Ging said softly as he tried to calm the tiny little girl, but the thumb-sized girl kept screaming, ignoring Ging's beseech at her to quiet down.

Of course, from the first glimpse, both Kuroro and Kurapika instantly knew that the tiny little girl was none other than a fairy. It just made sense; if they were to use a Fairy Ring, of course they would need a fairy.

Lilias… Una approached the rampaging fairy, and her voice actually reached Lilias.

Una! Help me! She implored the Unicorn tearfully.

But Lilias, he means no harms. Look closer. Una told her softly and gently.

With sobs and whimpers, Lilias finally looked up and saw Ging's grinning face. In a matter of second, her pitiful expression turned into an enraged one.

YOU! How dare you treating me like this, you ruffian! Buffoon!

"My bad, but we need your help." Ging said apologetically as he let go of the seething fairy. As soon as she was free from his grip, she dashed towards Una and settled on her silvery mane.

You think I'll help you after your ill-treatment towards me? The little fairy said with her cheek puffed.

"Like I said, I'm at fault. Please forgive me, Lilias, but we really need your help. Only you can help us, you see."

Lilias blushed upon hearing it.

"Flattery mode on. That's it. She's giving in. I'm telling you guys, Ging can talk his way to women's beds if he puts slight efforts into it." Anansi told Kuroro and Kurapika while shaking his head slowly, clearly incredulous with Ging's uncanny ability of sweet-talking with girls.

Of course none of them knew that his son; Gon Freecs, had inherited the same natural ability.


The path of the Fairy Ring was as ethereal as it could be. Everything seemed to be glittering and translucent; it was as if they were riding an aurora. There were no definite pathways, though. As far as eyes could see, there were only endless glittering pathways, intermingling with each others, bending this way and that way. It was impossible to see the end of those pathways.

With the guidance of Lilias, they were riding on one of the glittering pathways. For the faerie folks, the Fairy Ring was just as straight-forwards as any highways would be in human standard. Their eyes could see which pathways led to which Fairy Rings. There were other fairies that were crossing the Fairy Path, giggling and chattering with their chiming voices. The list of Fairy Rings scattered all around the continent was almost endless. It was most like the Ghost Path back then in Suzaku and friends' territory; it was a shortcut that could lead anywhere in the confinement of the Erin continent.

Anansi walked by Kuroro's side, interrogating him of what he had been doing for the past 15 years. In the end, Kuroro came to the ultimate question that had been bugging his mind since the first time Anansi and Ging offered to help them.

"Are you helping us by Ishtar's biding?"

Anansi looked at him with wide eyes and open jaw.

"Heavens, no! She's never asked me anything; as usual. If anything, I was the first one to ask about you."

They fell into a deep silence as they traversed the unearthly passage of the Faerie Realm. The little elves and fairies giggled around them happily, commenting about their odd appearance and the unusual occurrence of a band of humans travelling via the Fairy Path.

"Ishtar and I brought you up like we would do our own son." Anansi said absentmindedly.

"Play husband-and-wife with her to your heart content, I will have no part in it." Kuroro said, rather too coldly.

"Still in a cold war with her?"

Kuroro did not answer. Actually, deep in his heart he no longer felt any old resentment towards his surrogate mother. Instead of speaking it out loud to Anansi, Kuroro kept everything to himself and left Anansi's question unanswered.

Several paces behind them, Ging paced himself so that he was walking next to Kurapika.

"Anansi told me that Kuroro has a bad childhood."

"So he does." Kurapika muttered in agreement as she remembered the past shown to her by Phoenix.

"And I heard you have quite a bitter past, and the cause was none other than Kuroro."

"You are not mistaken." Kurapika responded evenly, her voice even and trained.

"…You have gone through a lot, haven't you?" He smiled warmly at her and patted her golden hair. "You are strong."

Kurapika's heart seemed to freeze and skipped a beat. Those very words, 'you are strong'; they reminded her of her oath to her dead brother that she would be strong. She looked up and her gaze landed on Kuroro's back; a back that she had gotten so used on seeing.

Am I really strong? She wondered, and doubts started to resurface. Or have I just simply lost my way?


"Your Scarlet Eyes will be in a mansion in this particular town. Tell us if you need any helps, we'll be waiting here." Anansi said as he gestured at the town before them.

With that, both Anansi and Ging made their disappearance. Una would be staying in the safety of the woods; it was never safe for a very unusual creature such as her to wander into a human dwelling. Besides, staying among impurities for too long a period was not healthy for a Unicorn like her.

"What now?" Kurapika asked as they walked down the winding path heading towards the entrance of the town.

"First thing first, let's gather some information. Standard procedure."

Inside, Kurapika felt all squeamish. She was yet planning another plundering of another person's house. Albeit the object they were going to steal rightfully belonged to her; or so she claimed, it still did not sit in well with her conscience. Stealing was bad, and it would always be so for her.

Her uneasiness did not escape Kuroro's keen observation of his surrounding. He spared her a sideway glance.

"You'll get used to this."

Kurapika scowled at him. "I don't want to get used to this."

"Suit yourself." Kuroro only shrugged.

If she did not want to get all too comfortable with thievery, it was not his problem. He would not impose his ideals on her; and so she ought to do likewise. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them; an agreement that had no clear beginning or origin. There were a lot of things between them that had suddenly become so natural that they never bothered about tracking them down. 'Minding each other business' was one of the oldest agreement that they came up with.

At the same time, both never thought of considering the implication of these silent agreements; they were accepting each other.


Several leagues away from Kuroro and Kurapika, Ishtar was again staring at her magical water mirror, speaking to someone else from the other part of the world.

"I am very surprised that you will lend them a helping hand at all," she said with husky voice, "Kirin-sama."

After the confrontation with Tamamo-no-Mae, the golden kyuubi who was obsessed with Kurapika's Scarlet Eyes in particular, the Kirin had forced her into submission and made her return Kurapika's other Scarlet Eyes. That was how Kurapika was able to collect all six pairs of Scarlet Eyes in that region in a relatively short amount of time.

For my country's sake hast I done it, and neither for thee nor thy child. Those Scarlet Eyes, they were ill-destined. Best it is to spare my country from such bringer of calamity. The Kirin spoke majestically and archaically, as per normal.

"Ill-destined? Perhaps, considering its tragic origin." Ishtar nodded wistfully.

Your child and consort, they walk the path of thorns. Forgive my rude intrusion, my lady, but pray tell me of their history. It intrigues me so, the reflection of the Kirin on Ishtar's water surface shifted slightly, as if he himself was not so comfortable with the issue yet was too curious to let it go.

Isthar only smiled at him.

"I am afraid I cannot do you that favour, my dear Kirin. I wish not to create any more chasms between him and me. Regarding him and his history, you will have to ask the person himself."

Little did the Kirin know that the same answer had been given to Kurapika a few months ago. At the same time, it seemed that Kurapika was starting to get the answer she was seeking, though the girl herself seemed oblivious to her 'longing' to know more about her self-proclaimed enemy.


"And so, will you be generous enough to give us lodging for the night?" Anansi asked as politely as he could.

The lord of the mansion; who was too insignificant to be named here, eyed him with suspicion, but nonetheless gave the group a nod of approval. After all, the ragtag group of four seemed to carry interesting stories with them, and interesting stories entertained him.

"Thank you so much, good lord. May the Gods smile upon you." Anansi bowed at the lord, but inwardly snickered since he knew that the opposite would befall the lord.

And so without any more unnecessary formalities, the guests were ushered to their appointed room. Since Kuroro and Kurapika claimed to be husband and wife; something that Kurapika had vehemently objected against but apparently was a lost cause since Ging and Anansi supported Kuroro's idea for a reason she dared not to ask. If anything, she could literally see the mischievous glints in those eyes of Ging and Anansi; those two weirdos.

The whole plan was so terribly simple that Kurapika almost could not believe it. Kuroro and Kurapika pretended to be unfortunate nobleman and his wife who got robbed in their journey, and were later accompanied by Ging and Anansi; travellers who happened to pass by and offered help to them. Anansi would take care of the security in his own way while the two were off to take the Scarlet Eyes.

"Now what?" Kurapika asked rather curtly since she was still upset with the idea of her pretending to be that man's wife. What outrageous plan!

She slumped to a chair in the bedroom with her face rather sour. Moreover, she was forced to wear a dress! A freaking dress, as she had said. It was the halter neck dress that she had worn last time when they attended a party with some of the Genei Ryodan posing as their bodyguards to steal the Scarlet Eyes. Well, the fateful night when she had unfortunately turned drunken because of liquor.

Kuroro simply ignored her complaints and went to the balcony of the mansion. He scanned the backyards briefly, and finally decided that it would be simpler to simply break in from within the mansion itself.

"We'll move when nightfall comes. The lord and the servants should be asleep by then, leaving only the guards. They will be easy to take care, I believe." He announced his plan.

Kurapika only grunted unhappily, telling him that she was listening and had no objections whatsoever.

When nightfall came, Kuroro and Kurapika slipped from their bedroom and dropped by Anansi's room. Kuroro poked into the room, made a quick gesture at his two 'mentors' that he was initiating the plan. Anansi merely nodded.

Kuroro and Kurapika walked briskly and as stealthily as possible through the winding corridors of the mansion. It was not a mansion too large that Kuroro could not navigate himself within the building. One look at the outside of the mansion and a brief look inside the building, and he was able to crudely determine the layout of the building. It was a skill he had honed after years of being in the thieving business.

At one turn of the corridor, Kuroro stopped before they made the turn. He turned to face Kurapika and gave her a tiny perfume bottle. Kurapika gave him a quizzical look.

"You know what to do." He only said as he gestured at the turn of the corridor with a soft jerk of his head.

Kurapika frowned unhappily. Truth to be told, Kuroro had just taught her on how to make use of her 'womanly charms' to get things her way. Kurapika had cringed at his use of words; it did not sound right to her. Nonetheless, upon Kuroro's insistence, she gave up.

Inhaling deeply, Kurapika braced herself; her pride to be exact, for the worst.


The man in uniform yawned widely as boredom was eating him up. The job had a fairly good payment, but it was just downright tedious. When he yawned again for the umpteenth time of the night, a soft thud attracted his attention.

At last, something actually happens! He exclaimed hopefully in his thought.

When he turned, he saw the blonde guest crouching on the floor, holding her ankles gingerly. Without a second thought, he approached the girl.

"Hey, lass. What're you doing in the dead of the night like this?" He asked while trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Oh? Pardon me. My ankle hurts." The blonde guest said with husky voice that teased his ears. What a sweet voice!

He crouched down to look closer on what was the problem with her. She was holding her ankles as if it was hurting. The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her position, her dress that was parted on the sides up to her upper thigh slipping gracefully to reveal a good portion of her leg.

"Did you sprain your ankle, girly?" He smiled warmly at her, but his eyes travelled from her ankles to her thigh.

Hoo boy. He thought as he began to drool at her slim, long, milky thigh. Her legs are beautifully long, dammit. He cussed happily as the wolf in him started to awaken. Well, being a bachelor for the longest time of his life, it was no wonder that the good guard was having quite the craving for a female flesh.

"Mister?" The blonde asked with small, inviting voice.

"Uh? Oh, ah, yeah?" The guard returned to attention awkwardly.

When he turned to face the blonde again instead of staring hungrily at her legs, the blonde was already holding a bottle of perfume or the sort to his face. The blonde smiled warmly at him.

"Good night."

And something cool was sprayed on his face.

And he turned dizzy and sleepy suddenly.

And he kissed the floor noisily with his entire face.


Kurapika sighed heavily as she inched away when the guard fell forwards towards her, so that he would kiss the floor instead of hitting her. The whole process was a pure torture to her. She felt like her dignity had all crumbled into dusts and was blown away by the wind.

This is just too much, she bitterly grumbled as she stood up and dusted her legs.

A series of soft clap awoke her from her grudging reverie. When she turned around, she was faced with a very amused and pleased Kuroro.

"That was wonderfully done."

"If that was meant to be a compliment, I don't feel complimented at all." She said dryly as she shot him a dirty look.

"You don't want bloodshed, so you simply have to work for it." He smiled at her again, clearly pleased that she had really been listening to his advice about 'womanly charms' and had actually put it into good practice.

Kurapika tsk-ed rudely before she turned her attention to the snoring guard on the floor, and then to the bottle in her hand.

"What is this, anyway?"

"A special concoction by Anansi. Only God knows what is inside it, and I have the feeling that we are better off not knowing the ingredients he used to make it." Kuroro shrugged as he walked past the fallen guard uncaringly. "He said the person sprayed with it will forget anything just before the sleep spell kicks in; which means he won't remember you tricking him at all."

Or showcasing my legs at him. She growled in her mind, but decided not to express it out loud for the fear that if she told him of her agitation, he would simply tease her of it to no end. The man was really taking advantage of him, and it was grating on her nerves.

And so the process was repeated for quite a few times that Kurapika almost broke down from the shame.

"How many times more do I have to do this?" She exclaimed in a harsh whisper as she squatted on the floor and covered her face with both her hands.

Her words seemed more like a whine than anything to Kuroro's ears. The older man looked at her with mild pity. She seemed to be really taking this kind of things hard. Well, given his education and upbringing, he was already so used to using any means to get his way, but the girl was totally unexposed to using 'dirty tricks' to get her way.

"Kurapika." He had only started, when the corner of his eyes caught something coming their way.

Rather too crudely, Kuroro gripped her by the arm and hauled her to her feet with a force that caught her off-guard. Without any prior warning that he should have given her, he seized her waist and pressed her body close to his. Shocked, Kurapika gasped but the man took this opportunity to seal those lips of hers with his.

Kurapika felt that her mind had gone haywire and she could not think straight. She could do nothing and was limp in his embrace. Her hands involuntarily dropped the bottle she was holding and it dropped to the carpeted floor with a soft clink. When Kuroro's tongue accidentally bumped against her tongue, she felt as if a mild electric current ran through her whole being and she felt a very profound tingling sensation along her spine. It numbed her senses and turned her into jelly.

Kuroro did not know whether it was his sub-consciousness that was kicking or his male instinct, but feeling her submissive in his arms, he felt compelled to act further. This time, he purposely licked the inner ceiling of her mouth. This act, unfortunately, served to awaken Kurapika from her trance.

She started to put in resistance as she tried to pull away. Kuroro, equally persistent, held on to her by grabbing the scruff of her neck and pushing her towards him. They then engaged in a silly game of tug-o-war. Kurapika, out of desperation, grabbed Kuroro's face by its sides and tried to physically pull away his head. Unfortunately, such gesture made their kiss even seems more passionate than before.

Though it seemed that their kiss lasted for so long, in reality it only lasted for a few fleeting second before someone had to rudely intrude them.

"Hey, you! What are you do—"

Apparently the guard understood that he was stepping into the very wrong moment when his eyes landed on the two 'couple'. He flushed immediately and out of instinct turned around to give them his back.

"P, p, pa, pardon my intrusion." He stuttered awkwardly. "I didn't know that you two are busy." He whispered as he tried to go back to his post.

Just as he took one step, suddenly his vision turned all black and he succumbed into oblivion. Little did he know that the reason of his sudden black-out was none other than Kuroro, who was already standing behind him in his full glory with one hand raised. He had knocked the back of his neck with enough force to knock him out without having to kill him.

Behind him, Kurapika was leaning against the wall with her back and was panting furiously. She shot Kuroro a very nasty glare, but strangely enough her eyes did not turn scarlet. As a matter of fact, it did not give any impression of ever turning into scarlet in any short time to come.

Of course Kurapika knew the reason why Kuroro suddenly kissed her when she heard the man's voice as he intruded their 'private moment'. However so, it did not justify the fact that she felt terribly, unfairly violated.

With rage, Kurapika took one broad step towards Kuroro with a hand ready to strike his face but her movement was stopped as Kuroro grabbed her wrist.

"A good wife does not strike her husband after a kiss, no?" He smiled at her.

"Perhaps not." She said with gritted teeth, yet her face was glowing bright crimson. "But tell me, dear husband, what makes you think that you can just do that in your own convenience at your own time?"

"Is it not common for husband and wife to engage in a passionate kiss?" He teased her again.

At the mention of 'passionate kiss', Kurapika's face turned lobster red.

"That may be the case." She hissed furiously and drew her face closer to him until her nose almost touched his. Her eyes blazed with wrath as she glared into the depth of his dark eyes. "But remember, Kuroro Lucifer, I am not a cheap woman that you can use just like that and in reality I am NOT, and WILL NEVER BE, your wife."

Kuroro smirked at her and leaned forward so that his forehead touched hers. She flinched as he did so.

"Well, in that case you can consider this as a training for your future life as a wife." He said with low, seducing voice.

His voice made her shudder, but she fought not let it show. She actually thought that his voice was really pleasing to her ears. That aside, picturing herself as a wife was a surprisingly hard thing to do.

"But that was my first kiss!" She hissed in protest as she pushed him away harshly.

"Oh?" His eyebrows quirked, and his eyes shone with mischief. "Well that's just too bad."

Kurapika scolwed darkly at the man, who was bending down to pick the bottle on the floor. He sauntered towards the knock-out guard and sprayed his face with the concoction, to make sure that the guard would forget ever seeing them in their 'private moment'. When he was done, he stood up and pocketed the bottle, seeing that they were already so close to the treasuries chamber. He spared Kurapika a quick glance, but he was rewarded by a very heated glare.

Kurapika stood her ground firm, but when Kuroro reached her side in a flash and curled his arm around her thin shoulder, she could not help but to turn frigid.

"Come on, we are supposed to be husband and wife. Act it out." He whispered to her in a loving voice, really immersed in his role.

"I won't let you have your fun in my expense." She hissed in annoyance at him.

Kuroro rewarded her with one of his rare boyish grin. "Will it make a difference if I told you that that was my first kiss as well?"

All mannerism and poise forgotten, Kurapika gawked unceremoniously at his face.

"You are lying." She flatly said in disbelieving voice.

"No." He said in a sing-song voice. "In fact, this is the first time I have ever held someone like this."

As if emphasising his point, he squeezed his grip on her shoulder. The gesture revived the tingling sensation coursing through her spine again and it made the flush on her cheeks deeper.

"It doesn't look like it…" She mused.

"Well, shall we proceed?" He said as he pushed her forwards with his strong arm.

Kurapika was about to give him a piece of her mind when a soft whirl of the surveillance camera screening the corridor above them took her attention.

"What about those CCTV?" She asked unsurely.

"Oh, Anansi has taken care of it." He merely said with confidence.


Ging stared at his companion with curiosity-filled huge eyes. He was lying on his stomach, looking keenly at his friend in his rare moment of displaying his uncanny heritage.

Anansi was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and his SIX arms were extended that he looked more like the statue of a Hindu God with multiple arms. All his fingers from all hands were outstretched, but his face betrayed nothing of the exertion of this odd activity that he was undertaking.

"What are you doing again?" Ging asked.

"Sabotaging the surveillance cameras. They won't be recording anything related to Kuroro and his girl." He grinned.

"Hmm… You'll really do anything for him, won't you?" Ging asked as he rolled around the bed lazily.

"Well, he is my boy." Anansi laughed softly. "And will always be my little boy regardless everything."

"You and Ishtar." Ging sighed. "You two are such doting parents. I'm surprised he doesn't turn out to be a spoiled brat."

"And that's why he's special."

Ging narrowed his eyes as he shook his head in wild wonderment.

"Doting parent, alright."


"Tell me again, what is the purpose of me doing all those shameless acts if in the end we are going to break in by force?" Kurapika asked with irk as she knocked out yet another guard, her dress flailing and flapping around her in a blurry dance of red. Don't tell me you just want to harass me, she thought begrudgingly.

"To avoid any unnecessary confrontation before we reach the main place." He simply answered as he killed another guard.

Such different methods of dealing with their opponents that they used, but they were almost equally efficient. Almost, because those whom Kuroro had taken care of were as good as dead and would not rise to give them further troubles again.

"It's been bothering me. How did you come to know Ging?" She asked with low voice as they made their way to the treasuries.

"Fifteen years ago, a few months before Anansi left, Ging came to Ryuuseigai in search of ruins."

Kuroro knocked the grand door leading to the treasuries with such ease, opening the treasuries all for themselves.

Ah, yes. Gon did mention that his father is an archaeology Hunter. Kurapika made a mental note.

"Perhaps Ging attracted Anansi's attention because of Ging's uniqueness, I don't know. But they made a quick friend with each other and soon enough it was as if they were old friends. When Ging decided to leave for more exploration of ruins around the world, Anansi simply decided to tag along with him."

"Leaving you and Ishtar." Kurapika added unsurely.

Kuroro nodded. He sauntered across the treasuries room, ignoring all other valuable items and heading directly towards the Scarlet Eye that was perching majestically among other treasures.

"Anansi has always been a curious person. He often went for a long period of time to travel. That one decision was no different." Kuroro shrugged, as if he could not care less about it.

Despite his composure on the outside, inside Kuroro was having a lot to think about. Thinking back on how he had openly laughed and smiled childishly at Kurapika when they had their little experiment with Nen, Kururo wondered on why he felt so strangely at ease with Kurapika around. She felt bile towards him, she hated him, she reviled him, but why did he feel so oddly pleased with her company? He never even acted that way in front of his Genei Ryodan family.

She was the first one to ever hear about his childhood, and he did not mind telling her at all.

Gruff voices of a guard rudely jolted him from his reverie. Hastily, Kuroro snatched the Scarlet Eyes and motioned at Kurapika to head towards the grand window. Kurapika had a bad feeling when she saw him opening the window.

"Jump."

Her horror was realised as soon as the word escaped Kuroro's lips.

"No way! I'm wearing a freaking dress!"

"You can fight while wearing it, what's the difference about jumping from this height?"

"But—"

Loud voices could be heard from the end of the corridor. Having no desire to waste any more of their precious time, Kuroro decided to take things his way. Without any warning whatsoever, he put the Scarlet Eyes in the safety of Kurapika's hands, hauled the Kurutan girl's feather-light body and carried her bridal style. Kurapika only had time to yelp and held her skirt with her one of her hands as Kuroro leaped from the broken window. Her skirt flapped wildly as they free-fell towards the ground. It took all she had so to keep the skirt in place so as not to expose her entire legs and underwear.

As soon as Kuroro's feet touched the solid ground, they could hear the galloping sound of a horse. In no time, Una made her grand appearance; she was all glittering and glowing in the darkness of the night. She charged at them, not stopping even as Kuroro jumped to mount her. With the speed that both humans had never imagined the young Unicorn was capable of before, Una spirited them away from the place.

Unfortunately, there were some Nen users who managed to catch up with them. Kurapika was the first one to notice them.

"Behind—"

"Don't talk, or you'll bite your tongue." Kuroro told her firmly, his eyes fixed on what lay ahead of them.

I'm putting up barrier. Hold your breaths! Una said as she dashed into the woods.

In the perspective of the pursuers, the thieves had suddenly disappeared into thin air, as if they did not belong to the world. The two other guests that had come along with them had also disappeared without any traces, as if they had not come into the mansion in the first place. It then became a kind of legend in the area; that a prince and a princess had sprung into life from a fairy-tale and they rode away back into their world on the back of a Unicorn.


Anansi was laughing his head off.

"That was really something! Hoo boy! I've never seen such entertaining thievery before."

"Was it?" Kuroro asked absentmindedly as he dusted himself after dismounting from Una. After the wild horse-riding across the woods, dusts and dry leaves were stuck all over him.

Ging approached Kurapika and gave them their backpacks that they had left in both men's care for the time being. He briefly eyed Kurapika with a torn look in his face. He seemed to be battling with his inner self with an issue, and so Kurapika waited until he seemed ready to voice whatever thought he had in minds.

"Kurapika, when you see Gon—"

"I'm going to tell him that his father is an absolute pain." Kurapika said decisively.

While Ging seemed rather taken aback by Kurapika's fierce response for a split moment, he quickly regained his composure and gave him an amiable smile.

"Do that for me."

And with that, they parted ways. However, it only happened after Anansi managed to peck a kiss on Kuroro's cheek; which made him shudder all over.


The two had only scarcely reached a hotel in the neighbouring city when suddenly Kuroro's cell phone rang. He fished out his phone but his eyebrows quirked when he saw the name of the sender, and his eyebrows rose higher as he was finished reading the entire message.

Slowly, he pocketed his cell phone and turned to regard Kurapika.

"I just received a very interesting message."

"What of it?" Kurapika asked noncommittally as she brusquely wiped away most of the make-up; she never liked make-ups anyway. She was not so interested in it, all truth to be said.

"An old acquaintance of mine intends to showcase his most valued treasure; the Scarlet Eyes."

Kurapika's head shot up in attention at the mention of the object that was rightfully her treasure and nobody else's.

"And he invites me to the occasion, so long as I bring a female companion with me."

Kurapika raised a fine eyebrow. "Why?"

"Have you heard of Abelard Constantin?"

"No."

Kuroro gave her a crooked smile. "He is the Duke of Cenabum; quite the famous womaniser."

A muscle on Kurapika's cheek twitched involuntarily at the mention of the word 'womaniser'. She knew that Kuroro might have already schemed something that took advantage of her status as a female; and it was never a good thing. She just hoped that he would not ask her to go around flashing her bare legs again. She'd rather kill herself than doing it again.

"What are you planning?"

"I'm taking you to the party, of course." He said with even voice, as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth.

"Another party?" Kurapika said with dreadful voice.

"Yes. I guess we'll need to buy another dress for you. The last one is done for." He said as he eyed the tattered dress that Kurapika was still wearing. All the cuts on the dress were the result of them horse-riding through the woods.

"Aren't you a bit liberal in spending your money?" Kurapika narrowed her eyes unhappily. And it's not your necessities, some more. Spending money for frivolities is really not my style.

"I find this quite refreshing." He chuckled.

"What, buying dresses?"

"Dressing you up." He corrected.

Kurapika's face turned slightly beetroot. "I'm not your doll!"

"Actually, I'm helping you fix your fashion sense." He paused for a while, and added, "and to help you be more womanly. Somewhat."

"Thank you very much." She said with thick sarcasm. "You sound as if I can't take care of my own self."

"It seems that way to me." Kuroro said with a chuckle, and on they argued about such trivial things. In the end, they settled down with attending the party.

"In any case," Kuroro finally said, getting tired of their endless arguments that were going nowhere, "you don't have to worry about being harassed by this Abelard Constantin."

"It doesn't convince me." She scowled at him.

"What can I do to convince you then?"

"Why do you need to convince me?" She asked irritably.

"Because you seem to be very troubled by that prospect." Kuroro said incredulously, as if, again, it was the most obvious thing on Earth.

"Why do you care anyway?" Kurapika, still not willing to take in his genuine concern, snapped.

"Need you ask?" Kuroro asked back.

Kurapika could only gawk.


Author's Note: I rushed to get this done in time, really. So forgive me for the lack of quality. Actually, Perussa is a name I altered from Prussia, which is the old name of Germany. Erin is the olden name of Ireland, as well. Let me know of what do you think of the 'kissing' scene here. I bet you guys won't be too satisfied with it. After all, who'll like a forced kiss? But for now, you'll have to settle with it. Don't expect Kurapika to out of the blue kiss Kuroro willingly. That's just to OOC. If you want, you can give me your answer to Kuroro's "Need you ask?" question. I'm curious to know your thoughts ^^

Next: Kuroro would be taking Kurapika to meet with his old friend. But since it was his old friend, how would he get this friend of his, a Duke, to relinquish his possession of the Scarlet Eyes? Also, fate seemed to have more in store for these two as they unexpectedly ran into another yet odd person in the party.