Okay, what's up people? I meant to post yesterday, but I got kinda busy and didn't have the time, so my apologies. This is one of those times when I really don't have anything to talk about, which really sucks. So long as I'm doing these rant things, I want to make them interesting for you, but sometimes I have some real trouble coming up with what i want to talk about. I don't plan on stopping these anytime soon, though. They're good for venting. Typing like this is how I settle myself down when I get worked out. Of course, writing with an actual pen and paper is just as effective. Sometimes I have myself chat with one of my characters via paper. That's not that weird, is it? I enjoy it, and it's a bit of a writing exercise to boot. So yeah, that concludes my rant for this chapter.
I present to you chapter 24 of Number Zero.
It's the pain that wakes me. I shift in sleep and accidently brush my leg against my aching torso, and that's all it takes. I wrench my legs away immediately, the sudden movement sending lightning through my veins and drawing a moan from my mouth. The steady, constant stabbing sensation from before is gone, but now my entire body just dully hurts. It may actually be worse than before.
"Kurapika?" I groan. "You still there?"
His answer is slow, his voice rough. "Yeah."
"You don't sound too good."
"I know," he croaks. "I'm thirsty. I wasn't given anything to drink last time."
I bite my lip. Is that my fault? I kinda sidetracked the guy who brought the water…. "Um, when was the last time you drank anything?"
"Lunch, before we were kidnapped."
"Hey!" I shout, my voice echoing in the empty room. "Are you trying to kill him? He needs water! HEY!" There's no response from outside, and I raise my voice again. "HEY!" I cringe, the sound amplified by the echoes. After a minute, there's still no answer. Lowering my voice, I ask, "How long can people go without water?"
"You don't know?"
"Why would I have needed to?" I defend. I mean, I grew up with excess. No one ever told me how long we could go without water, or food, so it's not my fault I don't know. All I know is that people will die without it.
He sighs and I turn my head away. Not that he can see me. "Three days. That's how long a person can last, although it's a pretty horrible way to die. I've heard of many side effects to serious dehydration." Even if I never knew people die in three days without water, I'm not an idiot. I immediately comprehend how dire the situation is.
"When he came in, did you see if he brought another cup?" I inquire. If the thug brought a drink with the intent of giving it to Kurapika, and just forgot, then maybe one of us could reach it.
He clears his throat. "I didn't see anything. Even if it's there, we're more likely to spill it than pick it up."
"But if we don't try-"
"It might not even be there, Corona."
"So what?" I scoff, incredulous. "You're just going to die?"
"You're being dramatic. He'll likely remember he forgot and come back. He wants to sell me, after all. I'm worth less if I'm not breathing."
"Like hell I'll let him sell you!"
"I'm not going to let him, either," he snaps, voice sharp, "but right now, his greed for money could very well be what saves my life."
"You're going to depend on him?"
"I don't have much of a choice."
He's right. We're both helpless, have been for some time. As long as we're chained up like this, as long as these suppressants are being pumped into our blood…. I wouldn't pull out his IV, since I could end up nicking an artery, but maybe he could pull out mine. It was a mistake of our amatuer kidnappers to put the IVs in our arms that're closer to each other.
"Kurapika, pull out my IV."
"What?"
"If you can reach my IV, pull it out."
"Why? I asked you to pull mine out awhile ago, and you didn't, so why are you asking me to pull yours out now?"
"Because if I pulled it out wrong, you could bleed to death. I don't particularly care if that happens to me, though."
"You should care!" he exclaims to my astonishment. "You're life isn't just something for you to throw away!"
"Well, why not? I'm just sort of existing. Better you than I. You have to find your people's eyes."
"That's not a reason to-"
"Just try it. If you can't reach it, it doesn't even matter. And it's only a possibility, Kurapika. You could pull it out and I be just fine, so hurry up. I need time to get my strength back before you die."
He huffs, but I hear the clanging of his chains as he moves. In response, I lift my arm and move it as close to him as I can. He's worried, but at this point it needs to be done. Before, we could wait as long as needed, but with him becoming dehydrated there's no more time. As much as he doesn't want to kill me, which pleases me endlessly, this is the only way I we can think of that could save him. It seems like a better option for waiting for that thug who might never remember.
After a few seconds, his fingers brush across my arm. Then, cautiously, he feels along until he reaches the IV. His fingers close around it and hesitate. I wait, my heart drumming in my ears. Huh….maybe I do care.
Out of curiosity, I open my mouth and attempt to reassure him that I really don't care if I end up bleeding out. Before I can get the words out, though, the Nen sword pokes at my heart threateningly. So I do care. I bite my lip, the realization shaking me.
Kurapika feels it. "You're scared."
I try to still myself, but for some reason, I can't. Scared? Why would I be scared? No, I don't really want to die, but I've always thought I wouldn't really care if I did. What reason do I have to live?
"Do it," I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut.
"You have to still your arm first," he orders. "I won't do it, otherwise."
I curse and press my arm hard against the cold wall, until I'm probably bruising the skin. Then, and only then, does the shaking cease.
Kurapika takes a deep breath. "Three, two, one-"
It's quick, over in less than a second. One moment the needle's in my arm, injecting its drugs, and the next it's gone. I drop my arm, releasing my breath. No warm blood runs down my arm.
"I'm alright," I assure him before he can ask. "No blood yet."
"Now we wait," he states, voice shaky. "How long do you think it'll take?"
"Dunno….not too long, though." Still, I'm worried. I tend to recover quickly, but who knows how long it's been? We could be approaching the three day mark already for all we know. I suppose I don't have to recover entirely...just enough to break loose.
I jump when there's a bang outside. The rattling of chains indicates to me Kurapika was just as unprepared. We wait a few moments, and then it comes again. This time we're ready for it.
"What do you think that was?" he wonders. I can't help but cringe at the gravel in his voice. Whatever it was, it's the first thing we've been able to hear from outside. It must be significantly louder than we're hearing.
The next one causes the ground to shake, and a duller, closer thud reaches my ears, accompanied by the clang of chains.
"Kurapika?" I venture, beginning to feel uneasy. When he doesn't respond immediately, I start to panic. "Kurapika? Hey, say something! Why did you go quiet?"
"...Sorry...I slipped."
"You slipped? How?"
"The shaking knocked me off balance."
"While you were sitting?" I ask in disbelief.
"I guess….I'm more dehydrated than I thought."
So dehydrated that he fell over while sitting? It's that bad? How long have we been in here? Is it going to be too late? Is he going to die? But we have a chance, now! My IV is out, and I'll recover soon, but if he dies…. My heart rate increases tenfold at the thought, adrenaline flooding my veins.
And then, something flickers.
I stop breathing, but it doesn't come back. Releasing my breath, I dart my eyes around in the darkness. What was that? I can only think of one thing it could've been, but that seems too soon! I expect to recover quickly, but already?
No, I decide. I shouldn't question it. I need it right now. If I don't recover quickly, Kurapika could die!
The ground shakes again, and this time Kurapika apparently keeps his balance. I don't go out of my way to ask and see, though, too concentrated on bringing back my glow. It's been forever since I've had to forcefully draw it out like this. Even though I'm used to using Zetsu, pulling out my Nen usually comes easily enough to me. The effort I'm putting into releasing it reminds me of when I was little. Of when I was always sneaking out at night into the forest. Those were peaceful memories….maybe, in return for Kurapika taking me to that cliff, I'll take him to my personal little forest. But none of that will happen if I don't hurry.
BANG
I jump, my bones rattling, and my aura surges outwards. I freeze, stunned. It's out! And it's stable!
Hastily, I collect myself and wrench my arms out against the chains. Adrenaline nullifies any leftover drowsiness as the links snap. Cuffs still around my wrist, I carefully pull myself to Kurapika's side. My Nen vaguely illuminates the darkness, less effective than Kurapika's eyes and yet to reach its full strength, but the light is just enough for my hands to quickly find his shackles. I hold his wrists in my hand for a second before moving my fingers to his IV and carefully removing it. Although he had removed mine in no time at all, I take half a minute to remove the needle from his skin. As soon as the IV's dangling freely, I go back to weighing his metal bracelets and wrists in my hands as I think.
"What're you waiting for?" he asks.
I bite my lip, withholding a frustrated growl. "If I accidently put too much pressure on you, your wrists and hands could break. I don't know how to break the chains without hurting you."
"I can handle it."
"I don't care!" I snap. "I don't have much damage because my hands were coated in Nen, but yours is still dormant! There's almost no way around seriously injuring you! What if they break, and when they heal, they heal disfigured? You'd have to relearn how to write! Or how to hold a spoon! I don't care if you don't care, but I don't want that weighing on my mind!"
He goes still and I quickly shift my gaze from his hands to his face. His features are dim, but I can still see look of surprise in his eyes. "...I just thought of it myself, but you didn't mention the Nen sword."
I also pause. I hadn't thought of that, either. There was a condition, if I remember correctly, that stated I couldn't attack him. But would that count? I wouldn't consciously be trying to cause him harm, or at least I wouldn't want to, but I still know breaking the chains could hurt him. Would that count as an attack? Would that kill me?
"Well now I'm even more reluctant," I growl, unable to restrain my feral tone. "I like living, you know? Maybe I could go fetch some water. If all the guards are like that indecent thug, I should be able to take them down fairly easily…." I push from my knees to my feet, turning to go when fingers grasp mine.
"Don't kill indiscriminately," he scolds softly. "I know I'm not one to speak, having killed people myself, but… And you should think about it. They could be carrying dart guns. If you get shot again, we're back in the same situation. They might even separate us this time."
"...Fine. Then what am I supposed to do?"
That's when the door opens.
Who is it? You'll have to tune in in my next update to find out! Sorry, I have a bit of a habit with cliffhangers. They're a good way to transition from one chapter to the next, and with this story going on for this long, I was bound to sprinkle in a few here and there. So I've been writing ahead, and I've finally planned the ending this story. I'm getting 'this' close to writing it, too. As such, this is my last call for how you guys imagine Corona. If anyone's had their picture of her change, or has yet to post how they imagine her, this is going to be my last reminder. Of course, I'll look at them all and include any posted before I upload the final chapter. At the finale, I'll share with you guys how I myself have always seen her too. And just to be clear, this isn't to say the next chapter is the last. I promise you all, it isn't, but it's coming! I dread it, but at the same time, I hope you all look forward to it as much as I do!
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!