You could feel the cool air prickling into the tips of your toes and the tops of your ears.
You hook your leg around the other to sustain some type of warmth.
You have his blue tabard wrapped snuggly around your hips while he stood with a mere training suit barely keeping him warm in the crisp morning air.
"Are you alright? Sorry, the tabard is all I've got at the moment."
"No, it's more than enough." You smile softly.
The two of your gazes return to the dark waters in front of you.
You hear the sound of waves colliding onto one another along with the docks rattling and bobbing up and down.
The sound of one's ship horn startles the two of you as a boat begins to signal its boarding.
You board the ship, quick to get away from the cold as fast as you can.
You sit uncomfortably on a barrel- adjusting yourself constantly due to the empty fishnet just underneath of you.
You turn to Kurapika who his head pressed up against the hood of the navigator room.
He slept quietly.
You let your mind at ease as you fasten your eyes shut, allowing the sound of crashing waves to drown out your consciousness.
-
You feel your body jerk forward and with an abrupt stop, you fall to your knees.
The wooden deck scrape at your knees and you pick yourself up from your fall.
The man just behind the helm of the ship waved off to the two of you, signalling your arrival.
You thanked the local fisherman and followed closely behind Kurapika.
The harbour was lively and filled with merchants desperate for customers.
The smell of fish was foul and you were quick to move further into the city.
The two of you walk on a cobblestone path, snaking through the crowd easily.
Kurapika comes to a stop. With his eyes elsewhere, he pulls you in closer by your shoulder and beckons for your full attention.
"There are many scammers and thieves in these parts. Be careful and stay close to me." He mumbles.
The sun was hot against your face though you were able to bear it. It's been quite some time since you were able to come in contact with the outside world and really cherish it. You were long overdue to touch grass. And it showed.
Yorknew had been quite different from the rest of the islands and you hadn't even reached downtown yet.
You stop in your tracks along with Kurapika who had his hand draped over his eyes to block the fluorescent sun from getting in the way of his vision.
He has a smile on his face. It's a radiant smile. So much so it's blocking out the sun. One you wish you were able to take a photo of and keep it in your pocket. A shot so memorable you wish you could photoshop cat ears or a frog hat on and replace it as your profile picture.
And it turns out you weren't the only one admiring the blond's infectious smile.
"Well good morning, sunshine~."
Kurapika turns around and instead of suppressing his smile it only widens.
You knew all too well who it had to have been for there was only one man who referred to Kurapika as sunshine.
He stands with his arms folded, a cocky ear to grin taunting at you and small rimless glasses sit at the bridge of his nose.
"Mm? And who's this? A plaything? Kurapika~ I didn't know you were the type." He chuckles.
His laugh is loud and triumphant.
"Leorio. It's been a while." Kurapika clears his throat.
"And whose fault is that. So what are ya up to huh Lil guy?" Leorio scoffs nudging his elbow into Kurapika playfully.
"Restoring balance in the world by killing each of the troupe members one by one so that we may finally prosper and I am able to avenge my clan... you?" His voice is shaky and you can ear the pain residing in him.
"Aight, edge lord. Well, I be out here." Leorio pushed the bridge of his glasses with his middle and ring finger.
The glare in his glasses sting at your eyes.
He once again nudges Kurapika. This time, much more gentler.
"Whose that?" Leorio stares blankly.
"Y/n. We're coworkers. I've told you about the Nostrade family and my recent employment. She and I work together as their bodyguards." Kurapika lied.
You didn't bother asking why Kurapika lied since... you understood quite well that your situation was hard to explain to another.
"Hello~ foxy." He grins.
"Hey! Huge fan of your 1999 work." You greet him with a smile.
He looks over to Kurapika who seems just as confused.
"Right... well we should probably get going. We don't want to get caught up in the huge auction today. We're picking those two idiots up from Heaven arena and leaving as quickly as possible."
Both you and Kurapika nod before following the raven-headed man toward the tall skyscraper.
Upon walking inside the tower, you feel an immense amount of power surging all throughout the building.
Contenders walk among the lobbies along with their trainers.
You groan at the sight of a long-waited line just before the ticket booth.
"Don't look so sour, sweet cheeks! I was able to hassle a few tickets beforehand. Best seats in the arena as well." He beams.
They definitely had to be expensive because when you held the thin piece of paper to read its seating information, the words level 251 were bolded in black ink.
Kurapika looks over to you and as if he could read your mind he responded. "Considering how powerful those two boys are, it's likely they're already on that floor. Otherwise, we wait."
You waste no time finding your seats. You were the third row closest to the ring so although you scored one of the best seats in the house, there was still a bit of a distance between you and the contenders.
The stadium grew cramped quickly. With hundreds of watchers ready and cheering on the contenders, it was quite hard not to get in the mood.
You sat at the edge of the seat- hands gripped around the seat arm-rests and your eyes following the spotlight closely.
The mic rings in your ears and as if on cue, the crowd before you quickly settled down.
"I think I speak for all when I say I'm quite excited to see the newbies face each other so let's get on with it shall we?" The spectator calls out, excitement shrilling in his voice.
The crowd roars before you- a couple of watchers absolutely losing their cool upon hearing the spectator's voice.
"Newbies huh. So is it possible that Gon and Killua are competing against each other?" Your eyes travel to each end of the arena desperate to locate the two boys.
"The match is set to begin. Can we hear some noise for our first contender, ladies and gentlemen!" The spectator beams to which the crowd immediately stands to their feet- yelling and screaming.
"Gon Freecs- steps into the ring!"
Your eyes light up when you see the small boy approach the center of the ring. His walk is almost heavy as if he had been in a bad mood or highly determined. The crowd goes wild once again. He readies himself, picking his legs up and down in a slight jog to stretch his joints. Both Kurapika and Leorio stand to their feet, fists pumping in the air and a cheerful grin wiped across their faces. You bring your hands together to form a clap when your eyes dart elsewhere.
A striking set of white locks, pale complexion, and eyes blue and feline-like catch your attention.
Killua!
Except he wasn't approaching the ring... he was seated in the crowd of watchers.
And then your clap comes to a steady stop.
Now- this turn of events did in fact take place in the anime.
You remember it vividly. Killua watching from the stadium seats and Gon- fighting.
But who was he fighting with?
"And our second contender- a newly legend in our arena~ now infamous for being the fastest contender to have ever reach level 251 in all of history~ with the record of beating all 250 levels of fighting in a matter of just 12 hours, Hisoka Morow!"
The crowd goes absolutely feral. But both you and Kurapika manage to tune it out.
"What the fuck did he just said?" Kurapika freezes in place, slouched over, his hands balled up into fists, sweat running down his forehead, and a blank expression. His lips are contorted in a frightful smile wide yet insincere.
"How is that even possible-" There's a lump in his throat and he's starting to look a sickly pale.
"This- cannot be good for the economy." Leorio winced, in a humourous tone.
"Oh, you think so?" You turn to face the raven-haired man, panic riddled in your face.
-
N/A: streaks suffering from lethal 1999 leorio brainrot dsb