A/N: Enjoy a little fluff in this short chapie, guyz!

"He's a dandelion, up on a cliff above the sea."

-LFO-

CHAPTER 4: THE RUMOR

How do you show interest in a guy?

First, try being alone with him.

It was awfully easy for Clandestia since the target was a bodyguard and it was his job to stick to her and Neon 24/7. So here she was, standing in front of the guy that she was rumored to have made goo-goo eyes at first sight (what the heck! she sighed). Meanwhile, the expressions on her bodyguard's handsome face went from confusion to skepticism.

"Please accept this." She smiled sweetly, pushing a little box into the guy's hand. "It's a Beetle watch that will go well with the phone you're using."

Second, give him something to remember you.

Cold black orbs like abysses of darkness peered at her. There was nothing but clear annoyance on his perfect and sharp features, just as she had expected.

"Why are you doing this, Miss?" Unlike everyone, he never called her "Lady", just a "Miss" like he considered her only an extra of his work and not his main job like Neon, and it made her a bit irritated for some reason. The guy was very cautious of her. He built a really thick wall around himself, plus a warning sign that read "don't dare come near me!"

Fine, it was not like she was really interested. Steeling her resolve, she looked at him almost bashfully.
"This is to apologize for my rudeness yesterday, Kurapika-kun!" She said. And God...did she just freaking bat her eyelashes at him?

"Sorry for having made you uncomfortable…" She cast her eyes down, acting all giddy like a schoolgirl, "And I got you this on the way back from my walk." Damn, she secretly applauded herself. She should be eligible for an Oscar award!

Kurapika fought the urge to roll his eyes and thought to himself, how the hell did she think this will make it any less uncomfortable? "I won't take this, Miss," Kurapika replied with a cold expression.

Well, she expected this much, she snorted internally and said, "Please do keep it. I don't have any use for it anyway!" Then she cheerfully added, "It's quite handy. Once connected to your Beetle phone, it can be used as a spare phone with full features of the original." She explained enthusiastically, feeling like Leorio was rubbing off on her now.

She saw him scowling. She's cool though. Better dislike than hostility. So she flashed him another big smile and said, "You'll definitely like it."

"Goodnight, Kurapika!" She gracefully added a playful wink before she whirled away.

The young slender brunette promptly disappeared into the hallway, leaving her bodyguard frozen in utter disbelief. Was Basho right? He knew he should have returned the gift to her earlier but he was taken aback. It was the first time that he had a girl hitting on him. He didn't know how to react better, so he sighed and walked back to his room thinking that he'd have to return it another time.

From another corner of the hallway, a girl in kimono gasped in astonishment. Eliza couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

Being a maid with the Nostrade family for a long time, she had grown quite close to both Ladies of the house. But she had never seen Lady Clandestia interested in anyone, and now the Lady's interested in a mere bodyguard?

Eliza was in a relationship with Scuwala, another of the Nostrade bodyguards, but the Lady was of different social status. Sir Light might even kill that bodyguard if he knew the guy was involved with his niece. But from the look of it, that guy Kurapika was totally trying to reject Lady Clandestia.

Eliza sighed heavily. She didn't know how to feel about this. Lady Clandestia was such a poor sweet Lady but Kurapika was indeed an ice-cold guy.

Grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist, Kurapika closed the bathroom door and stepped into his bedroom where he picked a simple sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts.

At last, he sat on his bed, using another towel to dry his drenched blond hair. Tonight was not his turn to guard any of the Nostrade Ladies so he retired to bed early. The scent of soap and the hotel room's lavender aroma refreshed his mind a little.

He glanced at his phone lying on the bedside table where there was a small black box sitting next to it. He grabbed the box and opened it. Inside the box, laid a simple black watch.

After some deliberate examination, he sighed and returned the gadget to its box. No Nen-element detected. Not even a tracker, he thought to himself, it was really a plain Beetle watch. Kurapika ran a hand through his still-damp hair and lay down on the bed.

The Ellis girl really just gave him a watch. He must have been overthinking it too much? She might be a simple mindless girl just like Neon Nostrade.

Well, he would let her be for now. He already had a plan for himself to focus on and he needed to gain the Nostrade's trust first. So it would be wise to play along with whatever they've got up their sleeves. By gaining the Nostrade's trust, he would rise to a position where he could easily access information regarding his tribe's stolen eyes.

After that, he would annihilate all those disgusting collectors like Neon and Light Nostrade. Just the thought of this situation made his eyes gradually turn a startlingly beautiful crimson color. He forced his eyes closed for a moment to calm himself down and after his mood leveled, at last, he sat up again and took one last glance at the watch.

Thinking of it, this was the first time he got a gift from a girl.

Back when he was with the Kurta tribe in his village, Pairo and he were the only children. There were no girls around his age. After he left and learned of the massacre of his tribe, he had no time to deal with matters like this. So this was the first time this sort of thing happened to him.

He was fleetingly reminded of the girl's smile but the thought vanished as quickly as it came.

If she had any ulterior motive, he would find out in no time anyway.