Discord's Requiem

Chapter Fifteen

"I swear, they're always going and leaving me behind! And Kurapika is nowhere to be found." Leorio pulls away from the computer, which he had been using to see if any news of Kurapika had been uploaded to the Hunter Website to no avail.

Damascus sits right beside him, her hands folded neatly into her lap.

"You said Kurapika was coming to this city specifically to kill the Phantom Troupe who is also in Yorknew."

"Yeah, and maybe we would be able to find him if we knew where the Phantom Troupe was, but we don't," Leorio says, referencing the moments before where he had posted to see if anyone had seen the Spiders strolling around town.

"From what I've heard, Kurapika is smart. He wouldn't just charge into fighting the Phantom Troupe by himself."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Perhaps he has found another way to come into contact with his enemies. The only reason I can think of the Phantom Troupe being in Yorknew during the auction times, is that they plan to take something from the Underground Auction. This means that Kurapika has probably found a way to work where he might be able to encounter the Phantom Troupe."

"Like what? A guard?"

"That would make the most sense. He might be working as a bodyguard for one of the gang bosses."

"So how would we find which one?"

Damascus stands up, resting her hand softly on her new sword. "We'll have to go to a popular hangout of many of Yorknew's lowlifes."

"You know where it's at?" Leorio asks, raising his eyebrow in surprise.

"I believe I saw it as I was walking last night," Damascus says, referring to the group of men betting near where the prostitutes were working.

"Alright! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Leorio quickly grabs his briefcase before marching down the stairs to the exit, followed closely by Damascus. He hated having to rely on others to help him out, like when he relied on Kurapika and Gon to help him out during the Hunter Exam, and now he was relying on Damascus to help him track down Kurapika. It all didn't sit right with him, but he had no other choice. He didn't know how Kurapika would react alone, seeing his reaction to that prisoner in Trick Tower was more than enough to cause Leorio to worry.

Leorio follows Damascus to a street corner near where they had stayed the night before, finding the city somehow even more crowded than the prior day.

Today was the start of the auction. Leorio thought with a shrug.

As they approached the area Damascus had seen the group of men before, Leorio looked around at the alleyways, seeing spray painted walls that suggested different street gangs roamed the area. As he keeps examining the wall, his attention turns upwards to see a group of kids looking down at him from a catwalk that connected the two buildings they were passing between. Their feet are bare and dangling over the sides, showing that they are too familiar with the catwalk to even be terrified of falling.

Suddenly, Damascus stops, causing Leorio to bump into her. The unexpected contact sends Leorio spiraling into a blushing mess as Damascus apologizes and acts as if nothing had even happened.

A crowd has gathered around an entrance that looks like it goes below ground. The crowd looks restless and many are shoving past each other to go inside, which not only peaks Leorio's interest, but Damascus' especially.

"I assume that's where we have to go," Damascus mumbles before continuing her walk towards the entrance.

Leorio did his best to follow behind her, keeping an eye on her thanks to the swords that sit high on her back. She is thankfully tall, attractively so. In fact, it causes some of the people in the crowd to eye her as she passes, inches away from their bodies in the tight space. However, somehow she manages to squeeze through the crowd, which barely clears a path for Leorio to follow through.