"Wait, so you have a friend who's searching for the Scarlet Eyes so that they could be put to rest?" said Raven in disbelief.
Gon nodded.
"Kurapika became a hunter just to find them," said Gon.
"Small world...My friends recently came into possession of four sets of those eyes," said Raven shaking her head.
Killua stared at her.
"What exactly do your friends do that they would come into possession of body parts and keep them?"
Raven snorted.
"The last idiot they took out while trying to find me had a weird habit of collecting 'pretty' body parts. He used magic to acquire them illegally and disappeared before the mafia could take offense to what he did, which is how my friends were able to track him down once they knew who to look for. Since he was one of the main conspirators, they were able to torture my actual location out of him before he was tossed to the family he stole from," said Raven bluntly. Her face screwed up a bit in disgust. "Apparently he considered me his most prized possession...thank Merlin he wasn't into anything akin to necrophilia."
"What's..." started Gon.
"If you can figure out how to spell it without me telling you, then I won't stop you from looking it up," said Raven a little too quickly. Gon looked to Killua who shook his head.
"I am not explaining that one."
"So what did you do with the eyes?" asked Gon.
"My friends are still trying to go through everything they found in his manor, so I have them in my vault. You'd be surprised how many people are into that sort of thing..." said Raven shaking her head. "I plan to sell them in York Shin, because I have no use for any of it nor do I care for it."
There was a lot of things she planned to dump at York Shin, partially because it was taking up space, but mostly to fund the unofficial group that her friends (spearheaded by Hermione) had created to track her down.
A group she fully planned to make official once she had shaken off the worst of the rust. There was no point in disbanding such a group, and it was nice to know who was on her side.
"Do you have any way to contact him?" asked Raven.
Gon shook his head.
"We need to fix that. Phones are ridiculously useful in keeping in contact with each other," said Raven. "Can you give me a general description of him?"
Killua knew what Raven was doing, but didn't feel like enlightening Gon about it. It was clear she was a very... driven...individual.
It was no wonder she caught his family's interest. It was hard to find quality assassins these days.
Kurapika was a rather cautious person by nature. He had to be, in order to track down the group that killed his entire clan.
So you could imagine his suspicion when he receives a call out of nowhere regarding the Scarlet Eyes. Especially since he had a lead to a group that dealt with body part trafficking.
"You're looking for the Scarlet Eyes of the Kurta clan, as well as information on the group collectively known as the Phantom Troupe."
The voice was female, he could tell that much at least.
"How do you know that?" he asked, his eyes cold.
"The how and why are unimportant. I have four sets of those eyes in my possession. The question is, what are you willing to do in order to reclaim them?"
"What do you want?" he asked calmly.
This was a major lead, as it was nearly impossible to get even hints of a single set, much less four.
He was given a location, as well as a time and date. He memorized it, and would be there if it killed him.
Four days later, in an undisclosed location
There was only one woman at the cafe. The very aura she gave off told him to take her as a serious threat. She had a metal container next to her, one that looked like it could take a heavy duty hit.
"Are you the woman who called me?"
"I am," she agreed. "I heard from a mutual acquaintance that you were interested in the items my colleagues have...acquired."
The moment she lowered her glasses to stare him down, he felt a shiver run down his spine. This was not the sort of person to cross, and she felt as dangerous as Hisoka in a killing mood. If not more so.
She handed him a key. He opened up the case briefly, saw there was only one set, before closing it.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, dead serious.
She smirked at him.
"It takes a certain sort of person to create false chains and keep them manifested with their Nen at all times. And with such stringent conditions to boot," she said.
Kurapika felt another chill down his spine. The fact she knew the chains were conjured, and not just manipulated was beyond his expectations...and to know that he had strict conditions on their use. Her skill level must be boggling.
He stayed silent.
"I'll be blunt. Our mutual acquaintance spoke highly of you, and his companion seemed to think well of you. You're the sort who won't think or care about the consequence so long as your self-imposed mission is completed, regardless of the cost to yourself or others."
"You keep mentioning an acquaintance," said Kurapika.
"I'll not spoil things by revealing his identity. Knowing you, I'm guessing you have a lead already besides myself on other sets," she replied. "Which is why I'm here to give you an offer. Join my group and I'll allow you to use our resources to track down not just the Scarlet Eyes, but also the Phantom Troupe as well. It's been far too long since I've taken one of those idiots out."
"You've hunted them before?" said Kurapika, in shock.
"It's difficult, but not impossible," she replied. "I was young, foolish and bored. Hunting one of them sounded like a fun exercise at the time."
Bringing that fool in had risen her status as a hunter to the point she met Ging while on her vacation. It was also the main reason the Zoldyck family considered her worthy of marrying into the family.
Any idiot could be an assassin...it took real skill to kill someone on the level of the Phantom Troupe and come out almost entirely intact.
It took him all of a minute to come to a decision.
"What do I call you?"
"My name is Lady Black. If you're the sort of person I know you are, then you'll use your license to get all you need to know about me before I dropped off the map."
She slid a bracelet over to him, which would mark him as one of hers to the group her friends had created.
"What is this?"
"If you accept my offer, keep this on you at all times. It will identify you to the others so you can access our resources."
Kurapika took the bracelet and without hesitation put it on. It felt strangely warm against his wrist...but not as heavy as he expected.
"You may keep this set for yourself as an initiation bonus. Prove yourself as one of us and you'll receive another set," said Lady Black.
"Understood," he replied. He had a death grip on the case, for obvious reasons.
The two parted ways, and it didn't surprise her in the least it took Kurapika less than a week to prove himself as one of them to get the second set she promised.
She wondered how he would react if he knew their 'mutual acquaintance' was actually Gon.
Nevermore. It was the name chosen by her friends for the group to find Raven, based off the famous poem. It had grown into an organization that even the bigger players had taken notice of.
Now that Raven had been located, and her son retrieved, she saw no need to disperse such a useful group.
Sitting behind the ostentatious desk her friends insisted on now that she was back and officially instated as the boss, she stared down the stone-faced Kurapika.
"I've successfully infiltrated the group you asked me to," said Kurapika.
"I see my expectations of you were not misplaced. In that case, I'll give you some good information," said Raven. "The Troupe is on the move again."
"What?" said Kurapika in shock.
"Before I killed one of the Troupe, I got some information from him that he would have died to keep if he had known. My friends have been keeping track of them ever since, and anyone else brazen enough to wear that mark upon learning what headaches they are to dispose of. I prefer to minimize potential threats," said Raven.
She pulled out several folders. Kurapika opened them up to examine them, his heart racing.
"These are the known members of the Phantom Troupe and what little is known about their abilities and possible specialties. I am aware you've had a run-in with one of them," said Raven calmly.
He didn't ask how she got this information.
"Knowing your type, you plan to go after them one on one to deliver personal justice for your clan," she said, calmly. "I can't allow that."
Kurapika had a mutinous look on his face.
She gave him a flat expression in return.
"Do you think your clan is the only ones to have suffered at the hands of these...people?" she said, glaring at him. "Do you think you are the only one who understands the sort of pain of losing everything at the hands of those who thought nothing of the suffering they've caused?"
He wisely stayed silent.
"I know your sort. You will go after them alone, without a second thought purely to satisfy your own sense of justice."
"What do you expect me to do?" he demanded.
"Which is more important... personally satisfying your sense of revenge, or seeing the Phantom Troupe permanently destroyed?" she asked seriously. "Bear in mind this has nothing to do with your quest to lay your clan's spirit to rest."
Kurapika thought it over seriously.
"I want to see them dead and their group destroyed," he said finally.
"Good. That means you still have some sense. I'm not telling you to put aside your personal hatred of the Phantom Troupe. I know from experience how powerful a motivator that mindset can be...even if the crash is a bitch and a half to shake off. Never mind finding a new purpose to keep you going," said Raven.
It was that drive that had resulted in her being trapped for over ten years in a medically induced coma the first chance they had. Attacking her head on was suicide, but keeping her out of the way while they rebuilt their power was doable.
Kurapika remained silent. He still didn't know what her endgame was or who the 'mutual acquaintance' she made passing mentions of was.
"When you finally have a chance to confront the Phantom Troupe, report it immediately to me. I'll make sure you at least survive your vendetta long enough to see it through."
"You're not going to stop me?" he asked.
"People like them have an annoying habit of ganging up against their enemies. I'll ensure you have your chance to fight them on even terms, but I will not interfere in your personal grudge unless asked first," she said flatly. "Some matters should be handled by those who have invested the most into it."
Before Kurapika could reply, there was a knock on the door. He sensed her using Nen, before there was a mischievous smirk on her face.
"I'm sure you've been asking yourself who our mutual acquaintance is, correct?"
Kurapika nodded slightly. He wondered why she had a camera in her hands aimed at him.
"Come in!" she called out.
The look on his face when Gon walked in was absolutely worth keeping silent on who it was, in Raven's opinion. The expression on his face when he introduced her as his mother, more so.
Kurapika's face was utterly gobsmacked.
"You're Gon's mother?"
"His birth mother, yes. I might have only recently tracked down where that idiot Ging left him, but when he told me about your motivations for becoming a hunter there was no way I could leave it alone. Especially when I saw the determination in your eyes. You reminded me too much of myself at that age," she explained cheerfully.