A/N: Ok, so...in this chapter, KuraxTia will have to say goodbye for a while. Or will they? :)
"The logs of wood which move down the river together are driven apart by every wave."
-Nagarjuna-
CHAPTER 13: NEON'S DISAPPEARANCE
A man in his mid-40s leisurely rested on the couch.
From the way he dressed to the way he carried himself politely, he looked like a typical businessman. The timid air around him could fool anyone but he was anything but an ordinary man. And as uncanny as it sounded, the man was Light Nostrades, the boss of one of the most notorious mafia clans in the world.
He silently observed the four bodyguards standing in front of him. His gaze stopped at a certain blond teenager standing out among them.
Striking sharp eyes. A cold and calculating demeanor. As sly as a fox! He silently appraised. He got to say he was more than pleased with this new recruit.
Climbing up the social ladders of the underground world for almost ten years, Light Nostrade got a fairly good eye for evaluating his underlings' potential. This blond kid, even though not much older than his niece and daughter, radiated a particularly superior air that was far above his former head bodyguard. And what's more? The kid managed to capture a member of the infamous Phantom Troupe. Maybe it wasn't so bad for a change in personnel. He felt indeed lucky this time. This kid is going to be much more useful than Dalzolene.
"I see. I understand the situation now." He smiled amiably.
"Changing rooms was a brilliant idea-" He said. "-If you hadn't acted that fast, my daughter and my niece could have been mortally wounded. Thank you, Kurapika!"
Clandestia silently watched her cousin sulking in her seat. The slender brunette rolled her eyes as she could almost picture mushrooms sprouting out of her dear cousin's gloomy aura.
"For the rest of the events, I'll have my daughter and my niece return home." Light instructed the bodyguards and promptly turned to his sulking daughter.
"Do you agree, Neon?" He asked her timidly. His 180-degree change of attitude shocked the rest of the people in the room.
Clandestia just sighed. Here it goes again…
"It sucks like hell! All the objects were stolen. I really wanted them!" Neon protruded her lips.
"Neon!" Clandestia immediately shot a hard glare at her cousin. Then her gaze briefly wandered to the bodyguards standing quietly around them. As expected, some of them were visibly shocked, some were secretly disgusted. Except for a certain blond bodyguard. He showed nothing but a blank expression.
Though it was fully anticipated, Neon's words still horrified her. Many people had sacrificed for the sake of their safety. And the nerve of this girl, complaining about the stolen items!
Light Nostrade did not give her a chance to silence Neon though. He promptly stood in between them, with his back on Clandestia, shielding his daughter from the furious niece.
"Don't worry baby, there's an auction next year, too!" He cooed. "About the objects you wanted, we'll retrieve them from the thieves."
"Really?" Neon chirped excitedly.
"Yes, I promise. Did I ever break a promise?"
"You'd better ask me if you ever kept one." Neon puffed her cheeks which, in normal circumstances, would have looked as adorable as a chipmunk. But knowing the matter that she's whining about, it's just downright insane.
"Haha, you've got a point there." Light chuckled contentedly.
Clandestia exhaled heavily and slumped back into her seat. Without even checking, she knew that all the bodyguards here were already sick of this whole father-daughter banter.
After a while consoling Neon, her uncle had Melody and Basho escort her and her dear cousin back to their quarters to prepare for their flight returning to the Nostrade's estate.
Right before she left the room, Clandestia took a side glance at Kurapika who was currently busy receiving Light's orders. Noticing her uncle's expression, she grimaced. Seems like the sly old man has found a new target. She briefly closed her eyes and focused on her senses for a moment.
The vacant look on Kurapika's face instantly vanished. His eyes widened as his gaze darted to the doorway but Clandestia was already out of sight. The blond Kuruta knitted his brows in contemplation. The words he heard were still fresh and ringing inside his head.
Be careful of my uncle's offers!
It wasn't his imagination.
That was another one of Clandestia's abilities that he had already heard about: telepathy!
7 P.M. Every road of Yorknew city was crammed.
There was a terrible traffic jam at the northern border of the city.
Roadblocks and police appeared everywhere to guide the hectic flow of vehicles.
The majority of the traffic was heading in one particular direction: the underground auction avenue. The knowledge of a black market auction was exclusive to only the mafias. However, the presence of police everywhere was apparently fishy.
"The police are working with us?" Kurapika came to a quick conclusion after observing the traffic flow through the limousine's windows.
"60% of the election campaign of Yorknew mayor was financed by the mafia community. Plus the chief commissioner is loyal to the mayor." Light Nostrade explained. "-But within 1 km parameter from the auction building, there will be only our men."
"Anyone entering without authorization won't get out." He added confidently.
Kurapika shifted his gaze to the flow of cars in front. There was a road sign directing to Yorknew airport in the North East of the city. At this hour, Melody and Basho should have already boarded the flight back to the Nostrade estate with the two Ladies.
He's suddenly reminded of what Clandestia warned him through telepathy earlier. She must have seen through Light Nostrade's intentions and got worried about him.
His mouth curved up into the ghost of a smile. She knows her uncle well. But she was wrong about one thing: He did not mind being exploited by her uncle. Rather it was part of his plan. In fact, Light Nostrade brought him a golden opportunity of joining the group of killers in search of the Phantom Troupe. He didn't think the chance would come this fast. Working with the mafia and professionals like the Zoldycks is going to give him an advantage.
A distant airplane taking off into the night sky caught his attention.
What will become of them now?
With him fully engaging with the Nostrades' businesses and Clandestia returning to her university after Neon's birthday is over, either they won't meet again or they're going to lose contact for a long time.
The ringtone from his phone suddenly snapped him out of his trailing thoughts.
"Melody?"
"Ah, Kurapika, we've got a big problem." His short little colleague was squeaking in panic on the other end of the line. "-The boss gave us the slip."
Two hours ago…
Neon and Clandestia, escorted by a convoy of bodyguards and maids, arrived at the airport two hours before their flight.
Neon was busy shopping again which was practically killing Melody and Basho who became her porters.
"God, another shopping spree in just three days." Basho was sweating hard. He slumped into a seat in front of a perfume store. "-And why me, again?"
"It's killing me, too," Melody admitted weakly. Her little arms are going to fall out soon.
Yet they're apparently not the only ones that were suffering.
"Neon, you already picked a foundation at the last store." Clandestia rolled her eyes the umpteenth time. It never occurred to her that the airport could possibly be shopping heaven for anyone. Apparently, she was wrong. Even though they only have 10 minutes before the boarding time, her dear cousin is still here busy grabbing everything in her sight.
"I'm gonna ask again… Are you done yet?" Clandestia threw her hands up in exasperation. "- If not, I. WILL. DEPART. ALONE."
"Ok, ok. I'm done!" Neon smiled ingratiatingly. "Let's just sit down to catch our breath first."
The pink-haired young girl cheerfully pulled her cousin to a row of seats and their maids promptly followed them.
"I've had enough of your damn shopping sprees, you crazy shopaholic!" The young, slender professor confessed agonizingly. Her energy level had dropped to the bottom.
"You are really no fun, Tia." Neon pouted which earned her a glare from her brunette cousin. After a brief silence, she suddenly asked: "-By the way, did you get to say goodbye to your favorite bodyguard?"
Clandestia scowled at her annoying little cousin: "What bodyguard?"
"You know… that blonde... What was his name? Oh, KURAPIKA!" Neon winked, followed by a suggestive smile.
"What exactly are you talking about?" Clandestia raised an eyebrow at the young girl. Then she suddenly remembered what happened a few days back. Ah, that's right. She almost forgot! Everyone totally believed the rumor she brought on herself.
"You meanie! You never told me. I had to extract information from Eliza." Neon scowled.
"Ha!" Clandestia sighed. Holy crap, this can't go on!
Since Kurapika and she have cleared things up between them, she'd better quickly get rid of this rumor. It was not that she was uncomfortable with it. But considering how uptight Kurapika is, the poor guy wouldn't be happily tolerating this kind of joke around him.
"Do I have to say more? You two were acting really weird around each other." Neon grinned mischievously. "-The way you two stare at each other was so fishy!"
"Ha, Neon, I admire your imagination." Clandestia tiredly rubbed her throbbing temples and said, "- But sorry, I have to disappoint you. There's nothing between us."
"Aw… really?" Neon squealed in apparent disappointment. "Like... really really?"
"Yes, Neon. We are not even qualified as acquaintances, I guess." Clandestia sighed. Somehow she felt quite dejected from realizing the fact. "-What kind of relationship could we have if I don't even exchange numbers with him?"
"Hmmm…" Neon put a hand on her chin in contemplation. "-So that's it. Eliza must have misunderstood the whole thing."
"Indeed," Clandestia said, her voice coming out a little more upset than she expected.
They were going to lose contact for a long time. At least until the next time she visits the Nostrade, she wouldn't meet him again. Maybe she should have said goodbye to him earlier. She hoped he wouldn't get into any danger because of her uncle's greed.
Suddenly reminded of the events that happened in the past four days, she felt a little silly for overthinking. Kurapika was an extremely smart and capable man. He'd be just fine by himself.
While she was occupied with her own musings, Clandestia was totally unaware of Neon slipping to the toilet all by herself.
Unbeknownst to them, it was the beginning of the Nostrades' downfall.
A/N: Ofcourse, KuraxTia will have to say goodbye at some point but not now. The real business is just starting =)
YumexHime: I guess you're Kurapika's simp as much as I am. I'm so happy I've found a comrade lol. And again, thanks for reading, guys!
p/s: There's an expression in animes/ mangas that mushrooms grow out of a depressed or sulking person's head. So I hope that line did not confuse you :)