Past To Present (And Hunters In Between) (HxH GonKillu)

Fractured

The view, ignoring the courtyard seemingly infested with Hunters, was almost normal as Kurapika held his arms against his chest. With the window having a large enough scope, pretending he wasn't locked inside was easier to achieve, his eyes fallen over the horizon as Palm said, "You guys are insane if you think I'm going anywhere after everything that's happened already."

"That's fine," Leorio scoffed from against the wall to Kurapika's left. "Stay here by yourself and see how long you make it. Knowing you it probably won't be long."

And it was from Kurapika that he received a look of annoyance. "Leorio..."

"What?!"

Miss Krueger had reclaimed the teacher's desk, leaning against the front of it as she took peaceful initiative. "I think we should first start by recognizing the facts in front of us," she stated, eyes closed ahead of her with a finger pointed to the air. "If there are too many infected students outside for us to just waltz out, then who's to say the others aren't in the same position. From where I've been told that you came from, they wouldn't have had anywhere to hole up besides this hall. Unless they retreated down the stairs, but that's for you to tell me. I wasn't there."

"They couldn't have," Zushi nodded from one of the front desks. "The staircase was full of Hunters when we tried."

"Who's to say they even made it out of the classroom," Palm continued complaining. "I'm telling you, right now, it's not worth risking the lives of people that we already know are alive to go after stragglers that should've stayed with the group to begin with. Why is it our responsibility..." She leaned against the back of her chair with a pout.

"Because they're our friends," Leorio began raising his voice, pulling himself off the wall with a point. Had Kurapika not been prepared to hold him back, Palm would have been met with an aggressive hand or two to her shoulders. And it was clear, by a jolt of shock, that she knew it, too. "Get over yourself, Palm. You may not know what it feels like to actually have friends, but that doesn't give you any right to say their lives are less important than yours. I would choose them over you ANY day."

"Leorio!" Kurapika repeated his words with a shock much like before, the response paired with a final push from his own hands. As Leorio fell back into the wall as a result, Palm was already standing and shouting her retort.

"I don't give a shit about your feelings, asshole," she yelled, pointing to Kurapika with a step forward. "Blondie over here said it, himself. You're incapable of being anything but an asshole unless it conveniences you."

Kurapika shook his head in turmoil. "No, I didn't say-"

"Not everything is about gushy friendships. I'm thinking about the safety of this group. Not just myself," Palm articulated, a finger falling to the floor where a certain person had been jolted out of sleep at the initial raise of voices in the room. "Just look at Knuckle. He is in no condition to be traveling anywhere, which you would understand if you sat and used your insignificant little brain for once."

As the yelling continued, Kurapika's gaze fell to the only person that he felt could truly pull the group back together. 'Stop being selfish.' he heard Leorio yell. Miss Krueger met his eyes fast and it was clear by the shrug she reciprocated that the turbulence on his face was prominent. 'Stop being stupid.' Palm yelled back. The last thing Miss Krueger did before pulling herself away from the desk was roll her eyes, both hands finding themselves over her hips.

"Alright, we get it," she finally yelled. The resonance of her voice was harrowing, and with it being the first glimpse of attitude from the teacher, the room couldn't help but still like a paused film. "You're being selfish, you're being stupid, and you're both right, because it's impossible for either of you to be wrong. I've seen it so many times before." The sarcasm behind her words was piercing enough to cause both Leorio and Palm to drop their gazes to the floor in embarrassment. And at the sight, Miss Krueger turned and enforced sudden eye contact with Zushi, who startled as the attitude continued to batten over the room. "Zushi," she said briskly. "Is this something that happens a lot in this group? Snapping at each other like unhinged crocodiles?"