Kurapika/Reader: Twelve Steps

Chapter 17: Malebolge

Another crash of lightning and earth should've drowned it out, but somehow the perilous snap of Camille's fingers rang undeniably clear in your ears. The mechanical beep and whirr that followed was feint, but it proved more than sufficient enough to fire a jolt of paralyzing fear through your chest. The Nen device had been activated...

Kurapika's head abruptly shot in your direction, face turning pale with dread. Your expression surely morphed to match his an instant later when the disquieting sensation began. Into your leg came a rush of warmth, like venom. It was just a simple tingling at first, its provenance blooming in your lower lumbar area. Then you felt it rising towards the base of your skull.

"Pika... I feel funny..." You reached out to him, terror evident in the quake of your voice, but he remained frozen in place, desperately wanting to rush to your aid but unable to break away from his target.

"Interesting choice of last words." Camille said callously, regaining Kurapika's full attention.

"Shut up, you bastard!" You could've sworn your partner's eyes blazed a shade brighter, but that was the last free thought you were capable of having before-

"AH!" A broken gasp flew from your mouth as you lost control of all voluntary movement. As if you'd just been struck by a rattlesnake your body collapsed in a violent sudden motion, a slap bracelet curling inward at breakneck speeds. "STOP!" You begged your captor for mercy. "IT HURTS!" The bubbling snarl in your veins continued to escalate, and you were thusly cast asunder into Dante's seventh circle, plunged and wallowing in boiling blood. There were sharp stings to accompany this rending, hornets swarming you along the sensitive parts of your spine, causing you to lurch and spasm at frequent random intervals in a futile attempt to escape the flaming tomb that your own body had become.

Upon witnessing this horrendous display Kurapika started spewing out words as fast as he could, the conditions necessary to arm his judgment chain.

"Listen! I've placed a conditional bond on your heart!" His voice broke from how ferociously he shouted it; he couldn't be bothered with false composure. Not now with his treasured companion spiraling towards a harrowing death. More devices manifested from thin air and began flying towards their opponent. Camille must've known that Kurapika would've snuffed out his life before his fingers snapped if his Nen abilities allowed him to do so. "If you break my rules it will activate – ah!" He narrowly dodged on of the artifacts pursuing him. "Killing you instantly!" Finally the aura on the tiny chain hummed to life, disarming Camille. "My first rule is this! Take the device off of her!"

By now your pain was so great that you could no longer make out words. Lightning. Thunder. Earthquakes. Falling Rubble. Helpless pleas from the one you loved. You would hear none of them, these faraway foreign tongues, nor would they mean anything to you in a state such as this. All you could comprehend in this world was just how desperate you were for this torment to end. It was excruciating. White hot. The sullen hatred you'd become was begging, and opened its mouth in a silent scream as its back arched on the pebble-laden cement floor.

SNAP

Camille conceded defeat, unbeknownst to you, and the device vanished from your leg. Kurapika was at your side in an instant, activating his healing chain and reversing the damage as it was being caused. But it was all for naught. Much to the absolute horror of you both the pain you were choking on did not ebb. His intervention had merely slowed your deterioration, prolonging your ongoing suffering.

"AAAAGH! IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP!" It was all you could do just to suck in air, as every nerve fiber in your body seemed to be on fire. Your spine felt as though it was being wrung like a tattered rag, twisting and squeezing and jolting. Kurapika's hands were trembling with fear and rage as he watched you writhe in agony, chest heaving, skin shining with a noteworthy layer of cold sweat.