Previously: 'Well, all we have to do is accompany ojou-sama to shop for an hour before we have the rest of the day off, right?" Bashou pondered aloud.
Senritsu sighed, "Indeed. However, she usually ends up taking more than an hour during her shopping sprees."
And I think it's about time I got back on track with finding the Sonatas of Darkness… She thought to herself. And Kurapika, I am sure, would want to get started on recovering the rest of his clan's scarlet pupils.
Senritsu shook her head and sighed again. "I suppose I will get myself ready for this last task. I will meet you both in the lobby, I assume?"
Kurapika glanced at her, deep in thought, before he answered. "Yes. We'll meet in the lobby with Neon-sama, in three minutes."
With that, they separated, each to prepare for an hour plus of shopping torture.
Chapter 2: ReflectionXHalf dayXNostrad's enemy
Bashou, Kurapika and Senritsu stood on guard at the entrance of an up-scale gleaming shopping mall, as they watched their boss' daughter and her two attendants run through racks of clothing and jewelry. Though she had been shopping for more than an hour and a half and bought more than a van full of clothing and other exotic items she still didn't want to stop.
Bashou stretched his neck and yawned, before glaring at yet another cart full of shopping bags and gift wrapped boxes Neon-sama bought, while Senritsu sighed impatiently and looked out the window next to her. Kurapika glanced at her.
"You've been sighing a lot more than I can count on both hands today, Senritsu." Kurapika's probing voice jolted Senritsu from her thoughts.
"Have I now?" Senritsu asked evasively, as she met Kurapika's gaze with a small smile.
"I can't help but agree to what Kurapika's saying." Bashou said, turning to Senritsu. "I've never heard you sigh so many times in all the months I've worked with you. You almost sound depressed!"
Senritsu chuckled softly. "I apologize for making you think that. I was just getting as impatient as the rest of you. But I can't push Neon-sama to stop. After all, she has always been able to get what she wanted without interference. I don't want her to cause any damage in the public."
Bashou laughed. "I wouldn't want that either. We'd get fired!"
"But are you alright? Is there anything wrong?"
Senritsu laughed softly and shook her head. "It's nothing too serious. I was just thinking about the Sonatas of Darkness."
"Nani? What in the world is that?" Bashou asked, scratching his head. "I've never heard of it."
Kurapika raised on eyebrow. "Senritsu, you haven't told him about it yet?"
She just shrugged. "There was no reason to. Besides, it's dangerous information. I would like to prevent others from dying out of curiosity because they wanted to know how it sounds like. Literally. I'd rather not have innocent blood on my hands just because I told people about the Sonatas and my situation, as if I wanted pity."
"Oh come on," Bashou grumbled. "Did you think that I was that brainless, if that item is that dangerous? I'm not a reckless person, you know."
Senritsu chuckled. "I know, I know. But you should know that I worry easily."
"So what is it anyway?" Bashou asked. "It's not pity. It's called gathering necessary information for precautionary measures. If I know what it is, it would be easier for me to avoid it, right? So enlighten me!"
"I guess I have no choice…" Senritsu sighed. "Sonatas of Darkness are music scores rumored to have been written by Satan himself to spite humans for their creative nature. It was composed for a small ensemble, and is quite dangerous. Even listening to a miniscule amount from the score can be deadly. I look like this right now because I heard a single verse of the flute part."
Bashou took a step back. "What? You didn't look like this before?"
Senritsu laughed. "You thought I did? That's funny. Do you want to see a picture of how I used to look like? I actually looked pretty decent, before I became this balding old lady!"
"Oh, you don't look that bad right now." Bashou grinned, slapping Senritsu lightly on the back. "You look… uniquely beautiful to me."
"My, you flatter me." Senritsu chuckled.
"So have you gotten any leads to finding it?" Kurapika cut in. "You did say that destroying it might help you return to normal, right?"
Senritsu nodded. "Yes, I did…" She sighed. "But the search for the information has been stalled multiple times due to many researchers' disappearances. They would always tell me they were close to finding a lead… but I lose all contact with them afterward. They vanished without a trace… It has not been easy for me to track."
"I see…" Bashou and Kurapika murmured in unison. They glanced at each and smiled.
"Well what about you, Kurapika?" Bashou asked. "Weren't you looking for those scarlet eyes of your people?"
Kurapika's eyes narrowed slightly and nodded, "Yes, but now I have to be more cautious. With Scuwala's incident… I don't want it to be repeated. He died just like that…" His hand gripped the shopping cart handle tightly. "I should have known earlier that the scarlet eyes I had in our possession were duplicates. If I had known, he wouldn't have been killed. I should have been the one killed back there-"
"Enough, Kurapika." Bashou cut in, as he placed a hand on Kurapika's shoulder in comfort. "It's not your fault. We all should have taken precautions, against Nen forgery. Besides, if you died, then who would be able to stop the Kumou thieves? You are the only one on par with them. Don't be too hard on yourself. Scuwala did not die in vain, and you better make sure he didn't. Find and retrieve all of your people's eyes, so he and your people can rest in peace."
Senritsu smiled and nodded. "I agree to that. Kurapika, what's done is done. Though it's painful to lose so many companions, but we are all here to carry the same burden with you. The life they couldn't live, we will carry on their legacy. They can live in us; in our memories."
"Thank you…" Kurapika murmured, smiling sadly.
Just then, Kurapika's cell phone rang. Kurapika picked up his phone and excused himself, as he walked outside of the store entrance and into the brightly lit main hallway. Neon-sama and her attendants met Bashou and Senritsu at the counter to pay, as Kurapika was on the phone. By the time they finished filling papers for their purchase shipments, and headed out, Kurapika had finished talking on the phone. His grip on the phone was enough to shatter it.
"What's wrong?" Senritsu asked, as she listened to his violent heartbeat. It sounded anxious and tense. Senritsu furrowed her brow as she analyzed the situation. "It has to do with your clan's eyes, doesn't it?"
Kurapika gave her a surprised look for a fraction of a second, before a dark expression replaced it. He nodded."Killua just called saying that he found a lead. It is on an island south of the Asian Continent. But I'm in a bind here, since I work under Nostrad… Darn it!"
"Who is it?" Bashou pushed.
Kurapika looked at the two with tense eyes.
"It's the Nostrad family's enemy. Remember the one who tried to outbid me at the auction? His cousin has two sets of them in his possession."