Rise From The Ashes:
Chapter 9:
An Eye For An Eye
December 5th, XX21 : Age 20 : Spider's Mansion
Kurapika had long decided that actually going to class and experiencing the lesson first-hand was far more entertaining than having to learn it from the comfort of his bedroom in the Spider's Mansion. There was far less motivating him to do well. At least that was the last of his various essays, he thought, stretching out his sore arms. It felt good to finally get the casts off, but his muscles would have to get used to moving again after almost a month of being put on probation.
Alright, on to Biosocial Criminology. Wonderful. Time to pick apart what makes sociopaths tick.
Time to sleep.
No. He had to stay awake. Sure, it was past midnight and his mind kept reciting how important sleep was but if he didn't stay on task he would inevitably be left behind and then he'd come back to class and be completely lost and then he'd fail all his classes, lose his scholarship, and never complete his major therefore making it impossible to pursue his chosen career and . . . screw it . . . just a thirty-minute nap wouldn't hurt.
. . .
December 6th, XX21 : Age 20 : Spider's Mansion
He woke up the next morning in his bed. Snow fell quietly across the clearing, glowing in the morning sunlight. The trees held down by blankets of the stuff. Everything had transformed in the few weeks he'd spent here, from a myriad of fall colors to a Winter Wonderland. It was surprisingly quiet that day. Peaceful under the gloomy, dark sky. Heh. So much for a thirty-minute nap.
A clattering sound suddenly made its way to his ears. From next door? Chrollo's office? What the hell was he doing up so early?
Kurapika reluctantly left the comfort of his bed and went to check on the other man, just in case his caretaker had broken his neck somehow. Thankfully, he looked unharmed, despite the fact he was currently splayed out across the floor. He held a black box in his hands, looking down at the contents with a satisfied little smile.
"Up already?" the man asked, finally tilting his head up to peer at the blond with gentle, obsidian eyes.
"I could ask you the same thing," Kurapika replied, kneeling down to be on the same level as the criminal mastermind. "What are you doing up so early? You caused quite a ruckus."
The man smirked, edging closer to the blond. "And for that, I apologize. I was looking for something I'd forgotten about."
"And have you found it?" Can I go back to sleep, or do I need to help you search out of courtesy?
"You remember when I told you I'd find that artifact I stole from your apartment?" he asked, picking up whatever was in the box. A necklace?
Kurapika's eyes widened dramatically as he recognized the pendant. That craftsmanship, that flawless design.
"You found it!" he whispered, excitedly, taking the golden phoenix from his hands. "I can't believe you actually found it! Where was it?"
"Paris. Come to think of it, you came from France, didn't you?" Chrollo reminisced, though Kurapika could only think about how there was something more than just him left over from the fire. The bloody priceless heirloom, saved only because it was stolen. Was he shaking? Better than bursting into tears, right?
His fingers curled to engulf the precious golden bird. "Thank you."
"I figure there's more to it that I'd originally suspected?"
Kurapika shook his head. "It's a long story."
"We've got all morning."
The blond narrowed his eyes, but then a slow, almost flirtatious, smirk crossed his lips. There had been a few questions nagging him in regards to Lucilfer's past. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he wanted to know what had made Chrollo tick. What made him pick up these thieving tendencies? "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
And just like that, the man stood and brushed himself off. "Perhaps another time."
"You had a brother, yes?" he asked. It was common knowledge that once you stirred their memories, offered them simple, unassuming questions, then the real answers would come on their own.
"I did."
"What happened to him?" Was it the same as in the book?
Chrollo turned back to the blond, who was still sitting on the ground, and gave him a challenging, roguish little grin. "Why don't you try to figure it out? You've finished the book, I suspect?"
Kurapika stood and retrieved the book from his room with an eye-roll. It was filled to the brim with notes and had obviously been leafed through several times by the ever-studious blond.
"Okay, so, I figured the part where you grew up in a place called Meteor City is true," Kurapika answered, accepting the cup of coffee Chrollo had somehow whipped up out of nowhere. Oh, wait . . . no, there was a coffee maker. Mmm, hazelnut. "Though, I take it the magical power system isn't real."
"Your intellect never ceases to amaze me," Chrollo said, sitting on the loveseat. The blond followed suit.
Giving him a shut-up-and-listen sort of look, he continued with his observations. "Though stealing other people's powers sure suits you. I suspect that you turning to a life of crime did have something to do with funding the city, but I think what really got you into it was paying your brother's hospital debts so he could keep getting the treatment he needed. He's not dead, is he?"
"No, no, he's not. He's actually recovering quite well," Chrollo answered, eyes blank and focused on the mug of coffee in his hands. "Currently resides in a rehabilitation facility. He's made quite a few friends according to the reports."
"You haven't gone back to see him?"
Chrollo shook his head. "He doesn't need someone like me in his life."
Kurapika shrugged, before taking a sip of his coffee. "I suppose you're right. Crime circles were what got him into all this trouble in the first place." Another sip and a somber look overtook his face. He had lost his entire family in a fire. Not a day went by that he didn't wish he could still speak to them. That they were still alive. Had they survived he wouldn't have any time in seeing them again. Though, he supposed it was different when you were the reason they almost died in the first place. "But what if he wants to see you?"
"He doesn't."
"How do you know?"
"Would you?"
Kurapika scowled. "From what I could tell, in your novel, that boy looked up to you more than anyone."
"And then I dragged his expectations through the mud. Not only that, I became exactly what I'd told him he could never become."
He sounded so bitter and broken. Kurapika had never before heard him take that tone of voice. Once, he'd threatened him. Pretty much every other time they were together, the man was the epitome of carelessness. He teased him relentlessly, mixed in some flirtatious phrases every now and then, almost always served his lines with some distance from the darkness beneath, from the person he really was. Which was rather infuriating since Kurapika felt the man was easily one of the few people he could trust with his darkness.
For God's sake, Kurapika just wanted to be there for him to some extent.
Anyway, this was what they called 'progress', yes?
"Yeah, you messed up pretty badly," Kurapika started, not quite liking how he sounded a bit like Leorio in that phrase, but really, Leorio was easily the best at comforting people. "But you'd be surprised how much people are willing to forgive."
"But never forget."
"No, but these sorts of things aren't really meant to be forgotten." Ah, life lessons, living with an insatiable thirst to avenge his family had taught him many things. The truth was that if he had a choice he wouldn't have picked this path for himself. He really was doing this for his family. Chrollo's brother doesn't have anyone to avenge but himself. And really, the desire to avenge thyself is far weaker than the desire to avenge your loved ones. Eventually, you'd consider what it was that you really wanted and realize this wasn't it. Revenge for others was far stronger, since what you wanted didn't come into play. It was based in honor and justice, not desire and spite.
Oh dear, he'd been rambling internally again.
"Alright, your turn," Chrollo chirped, brightening up again so easily it almost scared him.
Kurapika relented. That was enough for now, then. He'd drawn the line.
"Alright, then," the blond sighed, wondering where to start. "As you know, my family and I came from a village named Lukso in France. We lived right by the coast, but far away enough to be missed by, well, everyone. We moved around a lot, you see, but most of my life was spent in that place. Anyway, this . . ." He lifted the pendant. "Belonged to my great to the fifth power grandfather. My parents actually named me after him, so technically I'm Kurapika Kurta the Second, spitting image as well." And he was proud of it too. "He founded our village and our crest ended up being a phoenix with red eyes, because apparently no matter what we went through, we came back in the end."
"So, what happened to him?"
The blond gave him a glare for being interrupted. "I'm getting to that part. Kurapika Kurta the First had really, really pretty red eyes."
"And?"
"People wanted them. In fact, he became better known for his eyes than his work as a philanthropist and entrepreneur. So, that's why he started the village. He didn't want to go into complete isolation, you see. Just away from people who'd want his eyes. Didn't do much good, unfortunately. He was killed and had his eyes gouged by some thieves at the age of forty six. His wife, my great to the fifth power grandmother Isadora, took over for him."
"What happened to his eyes?"
"Probably still in circulation somewhere."
Chrollo gave him a strange look. "And you're okay with that?"
"Well, after five generations of trying to find them, I've sort of come to terms with the fact they're probably never going to show up," Kurapika said, a slight sadness tinging his voice, as he pulled his knees up to his chest.
"We could help you look for them."
"I wouldn't know what to do," Kurapika muttered, rejecting the very idea.
"They're yours. As his only living descendant, you deserve to get them back," Chrollo reasoned, fingers tapping against the ceramic shell of the mug.
Kurapika smiled slightly. "I have my hands full at the moment. Besides, I don't want to devote my life to something that happened over a hundred years ago."
"Understood, if anything comes up about a pair of red eyes, you'll be the first to know," Chrollo assured, moving a bit closer to the blond. "Did you sleep well?"
Kurapika raised an eyebrow at the change of subject but accepted it gratefully. "Yeah, I was pretty tired anyhow."
"I keep telling you not to overwork yourself," the man chided, shaking his head in disappointment.
Running through all their conversations, Kurapika came up with a blank. "You've never told me that."
"Really?" Chrollo replied, more to himself than to Kurapika. "I thought I made it quite clear."
"Implications don't count."
"Well, you don't listen to me very well anyway," Chrollo shrugged.
"It depends."
"On?"
"On whether or not what you're saying is worth listening to," the blond responded, haughtily. "Which it usually isn't."
Chrollo smirked. "You really aren't an easy person to love, you know that?"
"Neither are you." Kurapika pursed his lips as soon as the words leave his mouth. Goddammit, why did he always slip up around him? He shook his head and prepared himself for the consequences.
"Oh, Pika, you love me! You really love me!" Chrollo teased with faux enthusiasm, throwing his arms around the blond and nuzzling into his shoulder.
"I hate you," Kurapika muttered, but didn't move to unravel himself from his human cage.
The doors suddenly flung open and the Spiders barged in, weapons in hand and scary looks on their faces. "DANCHOU! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Eleven pairs of eyes fell on the two of them and the weapons fell to the ground with a thump and a collective disappointed murmur fell over Chrollo's loving comrades. Kortopi even kicked the trashcan beside him. It didn't have much of an effect on the tin cylinder, unfortunately.
"Oh dear," Chrollo said, releasing the blond. "It seems I caused more of a ruckus than I'd imagined."
Shalnark, the only one who hadn't had a weapon in his hands, chuckled. "I told you so. Pay up."
Another collective groan of disappointment and Shalnark found himself at the center of attention. Which really wasn't a good thing.
"Hey," he said, voice nervous and hands raised placatingly. "Let's talk about this."
Everyone, save Pakunoda who didn't give a shit, chased him out of the room. Some with an angrier stomp to their run than others. The ones who hadn't run after the poor baby-faced blond prayed for his safe return, though they were all used to it by this time. Chrollo even shook his head at their antics ;ike a fond, albeit exasperated, mother.
"You two," Pakunoda mumbled under her breath, giving them an exasperated look, "will be the death of me."
"You worry too much, Paku," Chrollo responded, and hugging Kurapika once more when the other man tried to escape.
The blond wriggled around to find a way out, but alas, he had never been known for his outstanding, superhuman strength. "I give up," he finally breathed.
"It's my job," Pakunoda answered, giving Kurapika a pitying look. The blond rolled his eyes. Pity was good and all, but it didn't mean anything if you just stood there. It meant even less when you just started to walk away from the scene of the crime!
"Wait! Come back! Don't leave me here alone with the dreaded pervert thief!" Kurapika felt like shouting, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't completely terrible to be held by him, anyway. As long as it didn't step out of bounds, this would be alright.
"What's been keeping you up lately?" Chrollo asked, still not releasing him.
"School," Kurapika answered, shifting his weight so he'd be more comfortable. "It's a lot harder to keep up my grades from a distance."
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don't you have perfect scores in all your classes?"
Kurapika shook his head. "I have a ninety-nine percent in chem."
"Oh, however will you survive?" Chrollo asked, dramatically. The older man placed his face in the crook of Kurapika's neck, lips brushing against the soft skin, trailing along the elegant curve.
That was enough.
"Chrollo, let go."
He released him, albeit reluctantly. With a sigh, he muttered, "your loyalty is admirable, but an incredible inconvenience in terms of my victory."
"You treat this like a game," Kurapika commented, putting some space in between the two of them and leaning his elbow on the armrest.
"That isn't my intention."
The blond picked himself up off the couch, before tossing the man a cold glare over his shoulder. "Well I have no interest in playing the prize, whether it be intentional or not."
. . .
December 6th, XX21 : Age 26 : Spider's Mansion
"You can't claim to be in love with him if giving him up is something you could do so easily," the boy had said after a particularly tense argument on the car ride back to campus. Pairo might be a bit dense in certain things, but he certainly did know just what to say to hit a nerve.
It wasn't an easy decision, though. For Chrollo, who could usually come with the proper response for any given situation in under five minutes, the several weeks it took for him to decide to let Kurapika go was of a record-breaking length. After all, if you loved someone, the next rational step was to let them go.
But Kurapika hadn't actually told him to back off.
Pathetic. Chrollo Lucilfer, the world-class gang leader, angsting over a romance. What had that man done to him? He certainly had mellowed since he'd met him.
He heard the mattress next door creaking as Kurapika finally decided to turn in for the night. Before midnight, too. What sorcery was this? His fingers itched to open the door to the next room, as they usually did, and sometimes the urge won out, but not tonight. He had too many thoughts tonight. Thoughts regarding the blond.
The dark-haired man heaved a sigh, leaning back in his chair and massaging the bridge of his nose. This would be much easier if Pairo hadn't challenged him. Chrollo was could at admiring and loving people from afar. He had experience in distance. Trying to properly bond with someone and actually putting his heart into it was difficult. He had his Spider, but they were a different story. They were family. They grew up together. Bonding took place long before Chrollo began to shut himself off from the world, figuring he didn't owe it anything. Kurapika came long after. Chrollo could to charming. Friendly? No problem. He could act the nice guy. The playful one. He could be whoever was most compatible with the blond. But it would always remain just that. An act. His true self. He'd forgotten who that was the moment he'd turned on Demetri. Kurapika had the potential to help him remember.
The sound of a loud thump next door brought him out of his reverie. It sounded like . . .
"Get off me!" The sound of someone crashing into a wall or the like followed. Chrollo's eyes shot open, and his hands reached for the desk drawer. Gripping the handle of the weapon, he slid into the room unnoticed.
The object of all his affections and stress was currently slammed against the wall, pinning him to it was Vlad Volkov, wielding a syringe and iron grip. His blood boiled at the sight, but being the cold, methodical bastard he was, he let it simmer below the surface. Kurapika was putting up a good fight, but Volkov had been in the killing business for far longer. Volkov was aiming for his neck, so the probable sedative had to be injected through one of the veins there to work. Now, where should he aim? The best plan would be killing him right then and there, but then, there'd still be Victoria to deal with. He wouldn't let him go, that was absurd. He'd get Feitan to deal with him.
So, with that split-second decision, he raised his pistol and shot him in the leg. The man crumpled to the ground, surprisingly intolerant to the pain. Kurapika wisely got out of Volkov's reach as soon as possible, and Chrollo wasted no time in coming over to his side. He could already hear his Spiders coming.
"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down next to the young student and setting down his gun somewhere close by. The man cupped the blond's face, searching for signs of injury. Kurapika nodded a bit numbly. "Are you alright?" he repeated, louder this time.
"I'm fine!" Kurapika replied, pulling away. The man breathed a sigh of relief, before bringing him into a hug.
"You've got luck on your side, child," a creaky voice whispered, deep and broken. Volkov stared at them with empty eyes. "No one's ever been able to outrun us for so long."
Kurapika didn't answer, but his jaw clenched and his eyes grew almost fiery with fury.
"I both pity and admire you," he continued. "We don't leave survivors for a reason, you know, we would never wish the punishment of isolation upon anyone. You still being alive was a miscalculation on our part, and for that, I apologize."
"Apologize?" Kurapika repeated voice barely above a whisper. Chrollo himself felt goosebumps crawl up his arms. There it was. The darkness. That most exhilarating darkness. The man picked himself up, something metal glimmering in his hand. The pistol?
"Kurapika -" Chrollo found himself getting cut off.
"Chrollo. Don't try to stop me," the blond continued, still whispering, detached and stoic. He raised the gun with surprisingly expert precision at the already injured man crippled on the floor. With just a look at his face, Chrollo could tell he was lost. Nevertheless, he attempted to reason.
"Kurapika, he'll be dead soon anyway," he said, reaching out to him.
"By somebody else's hand," said the blond, stepping out of his reach and closer to his target, who did nothing to get out of his way. "Do you know what the most satisfying part of revenge is?" A cruel, fleeting smile crossed his lips. "You get to kill them yourself."
The trigger was pulled and the peal of the gunshot shattered the air.
. End of Chapter .
(A/N: I like being evil, it's fun. Writing my Dark!Kurapika which is more like canon!Kurapika than my normal!Kurapika is fun. I think I'll keep him around for the next . . . oh wait, there's only one chapter left. Oh well. So, you'll see him next chapter, I guess. Also, about Kurapika wanting to kill the Volkovs himself. It's made obvious in the anime that he doesn't like the idea of anyone else killing off his targets. York New Arc, right after PT turns up dead, he's all depressed and stuff and everyone feels really bad for him. Y'know, in the fandom. In universe, only Melody cares. Speaking of Melody, I should put her in the next chapter. Anything else seem of to you. Chrollo's being OOC again. Sorry 'bout that. Different universe = different circumstances = different Chrollo?)