With the fog hanging thickly in the air, obscuring your vision, you knew you were at a disadvantage. You weren't disillusioned enough to believe you could hold your own in a head-on match with Kurapika. His nen skills were almost legendary, and his quick thinking made him a formidable opponent. Factoring in that he knew you well and had constantly and consistently kicked your ass at your internship with Hawks... Well, you were definitely in for a rough time.
You couldn't sense Kurapika at all. No doubt he was concealing his presence with zetsu, and with you only able to see less than a full meter ahead of you, finding him would be difficult. If his eyes turned scarlet, it'd only be worse for you. Considering how strong he already was... He didn't need that extra help. Making him use his specialist abilities was downright suicidal, and you figured it would be safer to just not.
What all had you learned? You had trained under Biscuit Freaking Krueger, yet you could remember nothing. Your brain had gone completely blank, and for a moment you turned around in circles, trying to regain your composure.
Unlike Gon, you couldn't smell people out. Well, you could, your sense of smell was still above others, but nowhere near Gon's level. You accepted that, usually - your hearing was better than Gon's, his sense of smell was better than your own. It was a fair trade-off, right?
Didn't matter right now, though, because dwelling on it was not going to help your predicament.
Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes. You had this in the bag - you just needed to stay focused. Unknown to your examiners, you were placed in the perfect environment to test out your new hatsu, and you were going to prove once and for all that you were not to be underestimated. If Kurapika thought he knew exactly what you were going to do, then you can use that to your advantage, right? Lure him into a false sense of security?
With your nerves calmed, you opened your eyes again, using gyo immediately. He can hide his presence, but you didn't think he could hide his chains since they were conjured with aura. However, you were either wrong, or he didn't have his chains out yet.
"Are you even around here?"
Your exasperated tone must have triggered the start, because as soon as you spoke you felt the air shift around you. Turning on your heels, you brought your arms up just in time to take the brunt of Kurapika's kick. It certainly saved you the pain you would have felt if his foot had connected with your stomach, but it was still strong enough to knock you off your feet. Tumbling backwards, you skidded across the grass. You were definitely going to have grass stains on your outfit, great. Mei had just made this for you!
"Are you planning on fighting me head-on like always?"
His voice wasn't condescending; just thoughtful. Standing up, you looked around - once again, he had disappeared into the haze.
What would Izuku do...? He always had a knack for getting himself out of precarious situations, and you thought hard about it before taking in a deep breath. If you can't see, get rid of the fog! You had copied Izuku's moves before, so it's not like it was a first, anyways!
Gathering your ren, aura gusting around you, you made sure to focus it around your fist with ko. Enhancer you may not be, it was an easy enough technique you had done many times as you punched the ground. Immediately, wind gusted upwards, and the ground beneath you cracked, leaving a small crater around you.
And more importantly - the ever-present mist had dissipated, going upwards before vanishing. It wouldn't be long until it was back, but you were able to take in your surroundings better.
As thought, you were in a small clearing surrounded by trees and various flora. Kurapika, who had sensed your intentions right before you had punched the ground, had jumped back. You could see him perched in the tree, and with another quick assessment of gyo, you confirmed he was currently not using his hatsu. He was blocking your path to the exit, however, but that was fine. Hopefully.
"This reminds me of the Milsy Wetlands. From the Hunter Exam."
Kurapika hummed, gray eyes watching you warily. "In the Visca Forest Preserve. Thankfully, without the magical beasts."
You weren't sure what the Visca Forest Preserve was, you hadn't really paid too much attention to the examiner, Satotz, but considering Kurapika's knowledge on almost everything... Well, you were just going to have to take his word for it.
He jumped down from the tree, coming back into the clearing in a languid manner. Despite the ease of how he moved, though, you knew his guard was still up. You got into a fighting stance, and he let out an almost inaudible sigh at your actions. "You're really going to fight me?"
You grinned, tensing up all of your leg muscles. "Hm... Nope!"
With that said, you vanished, darting off to the side as the fog started to condense near the ground again. Soon, it would build up, and that was fine - you needed the cover, more so than what the trees could provide you.
With the fog obscuring your vision, especially with your feet, you hadn't seen the gnarly tree root sticking out, and you tripped, face planting with your mouth open. Standing up and shaking your wrists in pain, you spluttered and spat out grass and dirt, proceeding to wipe your mouth on your shirt. That was disgusting. At least the fog was so thick that you were sure nobody had seen that in the monitor room. Nose still scrunched up in distaste, you swung yourself up into the trees, figuring it would be safer and your view would be better up here as you activated your zetsu to conceal your presence. This should be good enough, and soon, you began to weave your own trap, all while looping around, hoping fruitlessly that you may be lucky enough to sneak around Kurapika.
You were genuinely excited to finally try your new hatsu in an actual, combative setting. That rat of a teacher had left you believing you had been an enhancer, and so all of your techniques, your abilities, your style - it was all based off of that fact that you were an enhancer. In the end, it had only been a detriment to your progression. Your new hatsu, would have never been possible if Kurapika hadn't opened your eyes.
You really owed him.
Inhale.
Exhale.
At once, you dropped your zetsu, feeling out with your en. You weren't planning on fighting fist-to-fist - but you weren't going to run, either. Within moments, Kurapika would be able to sense you out, and that was fine. Perched up in the tree, sitting cross legged on a particularly thick branch, you closed your eyes and waited. Keeping an eye out was useless. The fog had already begun to settle again, obscuring the ground before fading only half a meter below you. If Kurapika was on the ground, you'd have to hope you could detect him, because you sure as hell weren't going to see him.
He was using zetsu. You knew he was nearby, but where? Kurapika wasn't the type to run in reckless, he would think out every possibility. Opening your eyes and peering down in the fog, you saw the dense air shift just slightly. Swinging backwards - and almost rocketing off the branch you were on in the process - you dodged the chain that shot out. With a grip so tight that the bark of the tree dug splinters into your gloved fingers, you swung yourself down.
Maybe Mei was right in making sure your gloves weren't fingerless.
Just barely could you make out the outline of Kurapika. This meant he could probably see you too, and if not, he could certainly sense your presence considering you weren't trying to hide it at all.
"What happened to not fighting head-on? Do you really not learn from your mistakes at all?"
Kurapika's voice sounded more disappointed than anything, as if he had expected and hoped better of you.
Snorting, you both started to circle each other, almost completely obscured by the fog. "Come on, have more faith in me, Pika," you said, the blond choking for a moment at your nickname. God, you wish you could see his face - no doubt, he was probably flushed. "You think that I don't learn from my lessons?"
Kurapika hummed. "It certainly doesn't seem like it. So if you're not going to fight, what do you plan on doing? Trickery won't work, and if you run again, I can just as easily catch you."
He was confident, almost arrogant, but it was easily hidden by his deadpan tone. Honestly, he sounded too cool for you to be irritated.
"I never said I wasn't going to fight you," you pointed out, eyes narrowing in on his figure. Or more importantly, at the ground beneath his feet. "I just said that I had learned from my lessons."
Before he could question it, you had made your move, knowing there was no way for Kurapika to dodge it. You had already, figuratively speaking, planted the seeds of your trap.
Well, literally, too, you guessed.
By infusing your nen in plant seeds, and scattering them across the ground, Kurapika had unknowingly stepped into your trap, and at once vines sprouted, the branches winding around Kurapika and effectively creating a sturdy cage. Even better, was that you had done plenty of research about plants for your nen - the vines around Kurapika, unfortunately (for him), were made from a Virginia Creeper. The perfect plant for capturing somebody, considering their branches secreted an adhesive that allowed for them to stick to everything.
With the sudden burst of plant life, the fog had parted, and you quickly dashed forward with the handcuffs you had been given at the start of the exam. The look on Kurapika's face...
It was priceless. You had never seen him look so shocked before! Unfortunately, he was a pro at quick thinking, and you had to slide underneath a cluster of green leaves as chains shot towards you. Funneling your nen into the ground, the grass around Kurapika's ankles crept up his legs, weaving together to create stronger blades of grass and to prevent him from moving. Not having suspected that, Kurapika had tried to take a step back at the same time, winding up toppling backwards from the nen-infused grass.
You wasted no time. Grabbing the wrist with the chains, you had reached over to put the handcuffs around his wrist. Immediately, even though he was still trying to regain his balance, he had whipped his arm up, pulling you over his head in an arch. Your back broke through some of your vines before hitting the ground roughly, a loud grunt of pain escaping your lips. That one definitely was going to leave some nasty bruises.
Letting go of his wrist, you managed to roll to the side just as more chains shot out. He had regained his balance but couldn't fully turn around with the grass-rope still confining his legs. Before he could break out or attack again, you kicked a leg out, kicking him right behind the knee. His legs immediately folded in on themselves from the force, and you launched yourself off the ground. He was already on his knees, but had no time to get up as you had literally tackled him. The force of your little stunt had sent you both skidding across the ground as the blades of grass finally snapped, with Kurapika underneath you.
You were reminded of Eijirou in this position, when you had been training with him. Unlike Eijirou, though, Kurapika gave himself no time to fully comprehend the position, shoving you off him aggressively. Putting a hand on the ground, you tried to do the same thing earlier with the grass, but Kurapika was one step ahead of you, rolling over on top of you in an attempt to pin you to the ground.
For a moment, the two of you grappled fruitlessly, and you jerked your head forwards, headbutting him. Trying to ignore the throbbing in your own head, as Kurapika recoiled you shoved him off. With the moment of freedom, you stood up at the same time as Kurapika, only for his chains to shoot out and swipe your legs out from underneath you.
Your back and head collided hard with the ground behind you, and for a moment, your vision tinged black, growing lightheaded. No. No. You were not going to lose when you were so close, had gotten so far! Squinting blearily, Kurapika blurry in front of you, you heard him speak. Your ears were ringing too loudly though for you to fully comprehend.
"-ve up?"
At your lack of response, he had started to cautiously approach you. In a split second, you force your leg up, kicking at his shins to knock him down. Instead of going backwards, Kurapika had staggered forwards, and you instinctively flinched as he fell down on top of you. When you didn't feel the impact, you opened your eyes to see that he had caught himself - just barely. Both arms were braced on either side of your head, holding him up inches above yourself. Your eyes immediately met his, and for a moment you froze at his expression. His face was a brighter red than you had ever seen his eyes, completely freezing up. His lips parted to say something, hot breath fanning over your face, but words didn't come out.
Any closer, and you two would....
You blinked, breaking out of the trance moments before Kurapika did. In a moment of sheer desperation, you rolled over so you were on top of Kurapika, capturing his wrist in an iron-like grip as the clink of the handcuffs echoed off the trees.
Panting and tired, you grinned triumphantly down at Kurapika, who still seemed dazed but at least a bit more aware as his eyes slowly left yours and trailed over to his wrist.
"Victory, I believe," you started, out of breath, "is mine."
—·—·—
"Did you seriously have to pull a trick like that?" Grumbling beside you was Aizawa, looking less than pleased by the fight. Honestly, in your defense, you thought the thick fog was going to prevent people from watching it. You hadn't realized that the cameras could pick up through the mist for the most part, so everybody in the monitor room saw it all. Including you eating grass.
Laughing sheepishly, you gave him an abashed smile. "I mean, I won, right? And it's not like I meant for him to fall on top of me like that."
Aizawa fixed you with a gaze that made him seem somewhat dead inside, but before he could continue to berate you for putting yourself and Kurapika into such a suggestive position, Recovery Girl came into the infirmary, looking you over once.
"I'm surprised you're not as injured," she said wryly, and you pouted at the rebuke. At least you weren't as bad as Izuku! And speaking of which... His and Katsuki's fight against All Might should be going on right now. And knowing those two...
"Am I free to go, then?" You asked Recovery Girl. You had a feeling she was going to need the infirmary space for those reckless idiots, and she seemed to think the same way as she sighed.
"Go on, dearie. I'm sure I'll have my hands full in a bit, anyways, those two..."
She trailed off, and you couldn't help but feel bad for the old lady as you hopped off the bed cheerily, following Aizawa out of the infirmary. Waiting outside the door was Kurapika, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The moment you two stepped out into the hallway and his eyes met yours, he had immediately turned red, coughing into his sleeve and looking away.
Why did he have to be so embarrassed about what happened? You two were fighting, nothing was off the table when it was life-or-death (even if your fight hadn't really been life-or-death). Unless he was embarrassed he got his ass handed to him?
"I just wanted to congratulate you. That was... Unexpected."
Aizawa had shot Kurapika an inscrutable look that you couldn't decipher, but you didn't care. Instead, you grabbed his hand, starting to drag him to the monitor room, knowing that's where everybody would be to see the most interesting fight of the exams.
"Come on, Pika! It's time for you to meet my friends!"
Giving him no time to protest, you dragged him along, a new and optimistic fervor in your step at the thought that you did it.
You actually passed your exams.
—·—·—
hey y'all! just letting y'all know i published a kurapika x kurta!reader that's already finished and i'm working on the sequel! it's called vermilion tears, so please check it out if you love kurapika!
on another note, i have two other stories i could publish, but it's up to you guys! the first is a trouble trio (shalnark, feitan, and phinks) x reader called curse of the spider!
the other one is a bnha main three (todoroki, midoriya, and bakugou) reader insert called future nostalgia where the reader winds up in the future due to a quirk misfire and winds up attending UA!
both are ready to be published, so let me know which one y'all would love!