Chapter 23: The aftermath

September 6.

It was unusually hot for a mid-autumn day. No clouds in the sky. No sign of wind.

The sun was cruel, burning everything on its face. The intense heat made all the previous rainy days seem like a distant memory. Even the trees were looking for shade.

Leorio wiped his drenched forehead with the back of his hand. His gaze fell on the comatose young man lying limp on the dusty mattress. He reached out a hand but immediately retracted it as soon as his fingers grazed the guy's pale skin.

So hot. Ridiculously hot. Just like the sun itself.

"Gosh. Could fry some eggs on your face, man!" He winced, the crease on his forehead deepened. Humans can't survive this kind of high fever, he mused as the common medical fact crossed his mind. Of course, Kurapika wasn't any ordinary human so it did not apply.

Leorio took out a cigarette. He had a habit of smoking when he felt uneasy. He found a sense of comfort in this little hobby. The tobacco roll was almost happily touching his lighter's red flame when he abruptly changed his mind. He threw the unlit cigarette to his feet, completely losing interest. The poor tobacco piece rolled a few inches over and was left forgotten on the moldy floor.

"Hurry up and wake up, smart ass. Kinda boring without your insults here." Leorio murmured to his blond friend as he plopped down onto the side of the makeshift bed. They just barely escaped death the day before and now Kurapika had fallen into a deep coma.

The sound of footsteps approaching them instantly derailed Leorio's train of thought. Melody entered through the doorway, followed by Zeipairu.

"How's Kurapika's fever?" Zeipairu asked as he approached the young doctor.

"It hasn't gone down. Not even a bit!" Leorio shook his head.

"My flute has no effect at all. So this can't be a normal fever or an issue of fatigue!" Melody sighed heavily.

"If he doesn't show any improvement by tomorrow, we should send him to the hospital," Zeipairu suggested. "If it's too dangerous to go to the hospital, I can call a friend of mine to check on him."

"Thank you." Melody smiled softly. Even though they were just barely acquainted, the antique collector was really helpful and generous.

Just what is happening to you, Kurapika? The music hunter thought as she quietly observed her comatose colleague with an uneasy feeling tugging at her mind.

Unfamiliar white ceiling. White bed sheet. The intense smell of soap and disinfectants.

This was, no doubt, a hospital room.

Yet she couldn't recall why she was here. In her hazy mind, Clandestia remembered someone called her name, arms caught her and a pair of gray eyes bored into hers before everything faded to black.

She cupped her forehead with her palms as a migraine hit her. That's right. She fainted after the hostage exchange. That's what happened.

"TIAAA!" A girl squeaked. Slender arms flew to Clandestia's neck as she was pulled into a tight hug. Well… a little too tight for her comfort! And as if on cue, she felt torrents of tears drenching the crook of her neck. Ah, the feeling was awfully familiar!

"Neon… please…" Clandestia sighed, tiredly patting the girl's back. "I'm not dead so don't cry like I'm dying! And you're… actually choking me!"

Her words effectively broke the girl's tearful trance. But after releasing her, Neon started crying again.

"You meanie! I was so worried. You passed out for two days." Neon hiccuped. "No matter what I did, you didn't move a finger. Wahhhh!"

Two days? Clandestia repeated the words in her head. The last time she borrowed the Grim reapers' power, she was bed-ridden for two weeks. Should she be grateful that they went easy on her this time? She scoffed.

"Just where have you been, Tia?" Neon sniveled. "When they carried you back, you coughed up so much blood and you were dead as a log."

"Sorry for worrying you, cousin." Clandestia smiled grimly and patted Neon's messy hair. The gentle gesture steadily subdued the girl's frenzied crying. "I'm fine now, aren't I?"

She did feel bad for making Neon worried but she could never tell the girl what she had been doing with Kurapika and the gang the day before. They would be in serious trouble if her uncle got a word of it.

"By the way… who sent me here, Neon?" Clandestia asked as her gaze briefly wandered across the hospital room.

"Basho and Lissen." Neon replied, wiping her wet eyes with the back of her palm.

"Where are Kurapika and Melody?" The young professor asked.

"Who knows? Daddy said they're on leave." Neon shrugged. "Maybe they have some acquaintances in Yorknew?"

Clandestia furrowed her brows. On leave? She frowned. She'd love to believe that they were simply laying low somewhere until the Phantom Troupe left town. Unfortunately, it's not Kurapika's style to lay low and be idle.

"Anyway, I don't need those two for now." Neon said. "I already gave up on the auction since I got my hands full with both you and Eliza…"

"Eliza?!" Clandestia promptly cut her off with a worried expression. "What happened to Eliza?"

"She broke down after learning of Scuwala's death." Neon bit her lips. "She had a miscarriage, too."

"Mis…carriage? But…how…?" Struck by the sudden news, Clandestia murmured incoherently. She quickly dropped her gaze to the ground as she felt the heat steadily sting her eyes.

"They were really in love." Neon continued. "She just couldn't cope with it."

"I need to see Eliza!" Clandestia said shakily, digging her fists into the white bedsheets. When she lifted her gaze up at Neon, her expression was desperate. "Where is she?"

"She's already gone back home." Neon said. A hint of confusion flitted her eyes as she watched Clandestia's peculiar reaction. "The first thing she did after she recovered was…begging to go home."

"I did not wanna force her so..." The young fortune teller sighed. "Guess it was too much for her to take."

Clandestia was overcome by lethargy that she could not utter another word.

The rest of the day went by quietly as Clandestia buried her head into the hospital bed. She couldn't take her mind off of Eliza and… Eliza's unborn baby. In between her dozing offs, she saw her phone screen flash a couple of times but she was reluctant to stay awake.

When she finally came around, the sun had already set. There was an unexpected guest quietly waiting beside her hospital bed.

"Melody?" The young professor uttered as she groggily sat up to take a look at her visitor.

"You shouldn't get up yet, Milady." The music hunter smiled tenderly. Then came a melancholic silence between them.

Noticing her bodyguard's moodiness, Clandestia gulped.

"Ah… something happened to Kurapika, didn't it?" The young professor whispered, just enough for Melody to hear. It wasn't a question. Kurapika was not here with Melody. There was only one possibility. Judging from Melody's attitude, it didn't look like the guy was fatally injured or anything serious but bizarrely… Melody seemed hesitant about what she was about to say.

"Lady Clandestia." Melody sighed. "I know that you're still unwell and I must sound selfish to ask for your help now."

"But Kurapika's in a deep coma." The music Hunter said. "And we don't think it's a simple medical condition. His heartbeats are too disturbing for someone in a deep sleep. As if… he's fighting something invisible in that state!"

"It's been 3 days and he's not showing any improvement. But we can't bring him to the hospital, with the Phantom Troupe still lurking around." Melody said. "So… If there's someone who could reach his subconsciousness, I think it might work. For that, I could only think of you!"

Melody finally looked at Clandestia in the eyes with a contrite expression.

There was a belief that gemstones reflected the soul if kept inseparable from their owner.

The earliest Egyptians even kept them as talismans. Some races from the East believed that they have the power to influence one's luck and health.

There were countless books venturing into the superstitious link between gemstone and its owner's wellbeing, power, and even life force.

Clandestia settled into her own musings as she caressed the piece of jewel dangling on Kurapika's left ear. She remembered the first time she got a glimpse of it, she couldn't tear her eyes away because of its peculiar color. It was always a brilliant shade of red that could even shine in the dark, unlike any other red gems.

If there was anything close to resembling that unrealistic red hue, it would be Kurapika's scarlet eyes. Obviously, he never took the earring off. It was always there, shining at his side like a faithful companion.

But at this moment, the jewel had turned black. A thick, ominous shade of black. Like the darkness surrounding the half-demolished building that they were in. And being this close, she finally got the chance to observe the exotic symbols imprinted on the earring's stud and its threader. She had no idea what they meant but they were pulling her in like magnets.

"Can you reach him, Lady Clandestia?" Melody asked hesitantly.

"I've never tried telepathy on an unconscious person. It might not work. But I'll try." Clandestia said as she smiled weakly at the rest of the gang.

Leorio, Gon, and Killua were watching her with expectation. But she was not confident.

"Could you all leave us alone for a while?" The young professor said with her back facing them this time.

"Of course, take your time, Clandestia." Gon nodded as he followed the others out of the room.

When Clandestia thought everyone had already left, she suddenly heard Killua's words.

"Don't knock yourself out again." The ex-assassin said.

Her eyes widened as she turned around and found him at the doorway, looking at her over his shoulder. A warm smile instantly bloomed on her face as she met his blue eyes.

"I won't!" The young professor replied with a slightly upbeat tone. She knew that when Killua showed his concern, he wouldn't want anyone to point it out so she just silently appreciated it.

Soon Clandestia was the only one left tending to the blond bodyguard.

Under the flickering light of candles and Leorio's reading lamp, Kurapika's face looked so pale that it was almost transparent. Clandestia's fingers traced a line from his cheek to the corner of his mouth. His lips were white. And even as the late night's air got colder, his skin was still burning to the touch. He looked preternaturally refined, like a vampire in his deep slumber.

If you could hear me somehow, give me a sign, Clandestia whispered as she fondled the tainted-black gemstone on his ear. Her purple eyes shone intensely in the dark. As if to answer her, the gem flickered for a brief second.

The corners of her mouth turned up as she felt the exotic jewel slightly tremble at her touch.