Penalized, the brown-haired girl is to spend an uncertain hours, revealed to be a total of 50 hours within a room. Unknown, that she is to spend the same punishment with 5 other people. Who would have thought they'd be Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio.
"Nee- Killua." Gon called his silvernette friend with his hand cupped beside his mouth wanting to whisper something in his ear.
Killua seeing Gon's cupped hand leaned forward to him, "Nani?"
"The thing at the blimp last night. You think it's good time to ask her what her name was?" They turn to peek at the girl who's reading at a couch.
"I think it's alright." Killua whispered back.
"Then, should we also invite Leorio-san and Kurapika-san? They still don't know right?"
Killua in thought nodded, "I guess so..." He shrugged.
Gon called out to Leorio for his attention from one of the corners of the room, "Leorio-san!"
The said male looks up from his newspaper to Gon. "What is it?"
"Anone- Killua and I are going to ask her name." He pointed at the girl, "I thought you'll also want to hear it too, so I called you. Are you going to come with us?"
Leorio's eye trailed at the red hooded girl. She was reading a book quietly in between of Kurapika and the sole bookshelf in the room. He smiled.
"Why don't you go ahead." He flickered his newspaper to straighten it back.
Gon blink, surprise of his decision, "Don't you also wanna know her name? You seem really upset yesterday and even started avoiding her."
A resounding thunk fell to his head, "Was it that obvious?"
"The avoiding? It was."
And another resounding bang over the back of his head.
Leorio sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his head as if easing the mental attack from Gon's honesty, "I see. But don't worry, I already talked with her, so I've already known her name."
Gon's eyes widen in surprise, "Really?! What was her name?"
"Why are you asking me? Weren't you on your way to ask her for that?"
"Ah, that's right." Gon stood up, "Then I'll be back!" And off he went to Killua.
Once Gon arrived, Killua immediately looks for Leorio to find him still reading in the newspaper over the other corner of the room.
"Leorio isn't coming?" he asked Gon.
Gon shook his head, "Nuh uh, he said he already talk with her and already know her name."
"Huh. Ok then." He numbly answered.
'Guess he's done avoiding her.' Killua thought to himself.
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"Nee- nee-"
She turn at the voice to find both Gon and Killua, now settled in front of her to where she decided to settle down. Closing the book, she was reading taken from the lone bookshelf she and Kurapika have ransacked, she gave them her undivided attention.
"What is it?"
Both boys look at each other, "Back at the blimp, you didn't finish telling us your name. Is it alright if you tell us now?" Gon inquired for both of them. And hearing of this, Kurapika had also closed his book to listen to them.
Thinking back at the unexpected event last night, she nod, "I almost forgot about it."
"Then, let's start over." She held out her hand, "My name is Freyja. Freyja Asuna. Nice to meet you."
"Freyja Asuna..." Kurapika mumbled her whole name. "Frey...ja..."
"Freyja..." Killua mumbled over to test the water before he nodded, his finger at his jaw in thought.
Gon smiled brightly, shaking the girl's hand, "Freyja! I'm happy to finally get your name!"
Freyja return the gesture, nodding at him.
"Freyja..." Gon mumbled once more as if the word would be forgotten if he won't say it his own. He nodded to himself and smiled again, "Freyja! That's a cute name. I bet your mother gave you your name, it's beautiful." He finally said.
Her lips pursed into a small unseen smile, "It is beautiful."
"Freyja? How would you write your name?" Kurapika asked, passing her a pen and a paper from his bag.
She took both utensils and in hunter language, she wrote her name 'Freyja.'
Gon look at it with a raised brow and tried pronouncing it, "Frey-Ja?"
Killua spanks his head, "Idiot, it's not 'Frey-Ja'."
"It's 'FreY(j)a'." Freyja herself emphasized the 'y' letter.
"Why is it spelled like that?" Gon asked.
"Because-"
"Because the 'J' is a silent letter." Kurapika continued Freyja's word. She looks at him, "Right?"
She nods, "That's right. You don't pronounce the 'J'."
"That's kind of weird. Why would your parents add the 'J' if it won't get to be pronounced?"
"I- also don't know to be honest. But I do know it's how you spell my name."
"Huh... It's still weird though..."
Freyja simply chuckled at Gon's words.
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"Hey Freyja, can you show us some of your acting skills?" Gon seems to have been bored enough waiting patiently inside the room to have thought of the idea.
A hum, unexpected of Gon's question, "I- Don't know..." She nervously said.
"Please? Just this one Freyja, please?" Oh Gon, who could ever decline you with those puppy eyes of yours?
"Well... since there's only few people here..." She thought out loud, weighing the pros and cons with her anxiety in the line of the making.
Gon smiled ever so brightly if that's even possible enough, "Yatta!"
"Then, why don't you move the table for some spaces first." She instructed the oh so exciting green bean who immediately took action with the silvernette.
"Hm? What's this Gon, Killua? Why are you moving those around?" Leorio had ask, putting down the newspaper he had been reading after hearing many furniture scraping about here and there to find the two boys responsible of the noise.
"Freyja will show us some of her acting skill! Leorio-san, help us move the chairs too!"
Leorio widen his eyes, piquing its interest, "Oh? Really? Should I help then too." He stood up from his seat, helping the two kids.
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After putting the table and chairs away, the middle now empties of anything, Freyja took out her cloak and her rapier, finally freeing herself inside her own cocoon.
She was wearing a long white sleeve turtleneck as her top. It was tucked inside her red mini skirt for agility with black tights over her legs for more cover up. She has a leather belt around her waistline where her rapier always rests upon with her dagger at her back.
Her light brown hair swayed along her body that reached till her hips, as she readied herself with few small stretches here and there. Her hazel eyes seem to have showed her nervousness through her lip biting, as she, after so long will once more will have a direct audience for her acting.
The five audiences sat at one side of the room, waiting for the girl to act. She lifted her hand to her chest, her eyes close, and took a breath.
After few more seconds, she lifted her shut eyes, opening them with such affection they couldn't decipher. Her brows frowned in worry, her lips were closed tight into sadness, and her eyes hazed into close tear. Who would have known behind such a poker face is an emotion hidden inside her depths.
"O, Romeo... Romeo!"
That lone word perk everyone's attention. Not just because of where she took the reference of her line from, but because of the sudden intense pressure from the change of her voice. Her once monotonous voice that surprisingly could held many emotions at once with one breath, delivered such deep intense feeling of longingness.
"Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet!"
Her eyes glazed as they settled to look at Kurapika who was standing beside the children who were seating with Leorio and Tonpa. Both made an eye contact and this action caught Kurapika off guard as he saw her eyes molten into a sad frown.
A line struck within Kurapika's head at remembering this scene from the same novel he had read years back.
'Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?'
With a slowdown cast glistening eye, she continued her lines.
"Tis but thy name that is my enemy, Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What is a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor any arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title."
She rose her hand at the same direction of Kurapika beckoning him to come and step forward.
To take her hand and join her.
And as if to push this suggestion unto him, she called him with the use of her next line.
"Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee and take all myself."
Entrance of her beauty and her acting skill, he took the bait. With both eyes not wavering as they lock unto each other. His feet found themselves firm in the floor before the girl that drew all the surprise gasp from the other audiences.
"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo."
With an act of gasp of surprise at the sudden appearance of 'Romeo' in her supposedly 'balcony', she grasp both her own arms.
"What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night, so stumblest on my counsel?"
"By a name, I know not how to tell thee who I am: My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee; had I it written, I would tear the word."
"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound: Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"
"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike."
"By whose direction found'st thou out this place?"
"By love, who first did prompt me to inquire, as that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise."
"Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay'. And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st, Thou mayst prove false."
Freyja took a few steps closer towards Kurapika with hope,
"O gentle Romeo, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully: Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse and say thee 'Nay'. So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world."
Kurapika also took a step closer in respond of her words,
"Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear, that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--"
Freyja cut his words at the last second of his words as written at the novel,
"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable."
"What shall I swear by?"
She shook her head,
"Do not swear at all; Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, and I'll believe thee."
"If my heart's dear love--"
"Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract tonight: it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; too like the lightning, which doth cease to be. Good night, good night! As sweet repose and rest come to thy heart as that within my breast!"
With a step taken aback from Freyja, Kurapika stepped forward,
"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?"
And as if to take her back away from Kurapika, she stops herself and faced him sideways,
"What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?"
"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine."
She turn her heels to face him again,
"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it. And yet I would it were to give again."
"Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?"
"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."
She pause for a good second and face at the other side of the room,
"I hear some noise within,"
She turn back to Kurapika,
"Dear love, adieu! Sweet Montague, be true. Stay but a little, I will come again."
Freyja stepped aside from the audiences, leaving Kurapika behind for a mere second to utter his lines,
"O blessed, blessed night! I am afraid, being in night, all this is but a dream. Too flattering-sweet to be substantial."
"Romeo!"
Kurapika, down cast, turn to look towards the girl who ran towards his body to lean on him,
"My dear?"
Shock at the sudden action not written within the novel they were acting, he stuck within his acting with Freyja until the end.
"At what o'clock tomorrow shall I send to thee?"
She separated from him with slight inches apart, her eyes only to him.
"At the hour of nine."
"I will not fail, 'tis twenty years till then. I have forgot why I did call thee back."
"Let me stand here till thou remember it."
"I shall forget, to have thee still stand there, remembering how I love thy company."
"And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget, forgetting any other home but this."
She took his hand, entwine them with both of their hands, speaking of her next line,
" 'Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone: And yet no further than a wanton's bird; Who let's it hop a little from her hand. Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, and with a silk thread plucks it back again, so loving-jealous of his liberty."
She led one of his hand, letting him caress her cheeks as she lean on them affectionately.
Both feels like they were trapped in their own world. And still inside of that world, his thumb caress her cheek, and with the same level of affection, he said,
"I would, I were thy bird."
She smiled at him with a gentle hue.
"Sweet, so would I: Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing."
She carefully put down his hand and step back from him.
"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow."
Before she could exit once again, however, a hand pulled her back to which she was clearly taken a back. Facing back at the one responsible, caught off guard at the unexpected action from the male, she hid her genuine shock as a part of her acting and used it to rebound her smile.
But when he continued his next line, her mask she had been using through the duration of her life closely, almost slipped up, as it did just that. Shock now evident in her eyes to which she tried hard into hiding once more with a smile, only failure was upon her as red hue blush envelops parts of her cheeks.
Kurapika bent, leaning into her body,
"I love you, Juliet..."
With a gaping, and absolute stun at these bold remarks not included at the original novel or at least at the chapter they were reenacting at, she bowed her head in attempt to calm her own beating heart. Once composed enough, she lean forward towards him, propping her feet to reach his tall height, both faces now inches apart. And with a high bar acting skills, she used her blushed cheeks as her advantage and prepped a smile to him.
"I love you too, Romeo..."
She whispered enough for the audience to hear her.
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A loud clapping sound soon erupted in the room after silence prolonged for more than a minute as both Freyja and Kurapika look at one another. They tore their eyes apart to look at their audiences clapping with all their might.
Tonpa's eyes and mouth were wide open, his brain still processing of what had come, his hand clapping doing the action of awe still in shock.
Leorio was bawling in tears with no limited tissues to wipe them off as he gave them both a standing ovation, whistling high even.
Gon was watching them with his sharp eyes and just as he thought, Freyja's acting is the same level amount as the one he had seen in that one drama! She might even be better! He clapped alongside the others until it became a full out loud one.
And Killua- he was very still. He- did not expected that. More than that, what he did not expect was for Kurapika to join in the girl. He was sure no one, even the person himself had expected doing that. But he couldn't deny it. That was hecking AWESOME. He was too shock to even move or clap his hand, remaining still in his chair.
Might I also add a certain someone who had forgotten their job into monitoring the other applicants and instead had watch the short play with a chips at hand, clapping at the beautiful play he had seen. (To which by the way was the very main cause why over 20 applicants have met their own doom's door)
He was thinking how many jennies he could get from selling the video record he had been able to take with an accurate angle from one of his camera place in the room to Chairman Netero and perhaps to his other fellow examiners of this year. Oh, the money he could collect from this video was a solid straight to a billion jenny.
"That was awesome! Both of you are so amazing!" Gon went to them with his oh so brightly smile, his hand up in the air, "Your acting is so good Freyja! And Kurapika too!"
Smiling bashfully, she nod, "Thank you."
Soon after that they were bombard with compliments and little did the little girl know, Kurapika's eyes linger on her more than once.
"Killua, weren't they spectacular?!" Gon turn at the silvernette.
Killua look away, "Y-yeah, I guess they were amazing..."
"Desshou? (Right?) And Kurapika, you surprise me! You knew how to act and even know the line! Were both of you planning this behind our back?" Gon's eyes sparkled.
She shook her head, "No. I didn't know Kurapika-nii-san knows the next line, but base from his nature of reading books, I did hope he knew 'Romeo and Juliet'. But I never expected him to join me like this..."
"Really? That's amazing!" Gon turn back to Killua and Leorio to continue his praises, comically reenacting some of the parts he seem to have liken at the small drama he watched with them. Killua and Leorio shared the same and were now talking to one another.
Now left for themselves, Freyja turns to Kurapika, "Kurapika-nii-san..."
The said male hummed in response.
"Why- Why did you do that?" Freyja bashfully asked Kurapika.
"Did what?" The older male innocently asked.
"T-The l-line... It sh-shouldn't be part of the scene we were ac-ting-"
"What line was it?"
Freyja blowed air inside her cheeks at seeing Kurapika's innocent teasing smile, "Mmmnnggg."
Kurapika chuckled.
"Stop teasing me!"
Kurapika laugh at this.
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After laughing out loud, Kurapika rested his hand on Freyja's head. She look at him.
"Why don't we go back?"
Blinking, she nodded. And with a shared mutual love in reading, both sat together to one of the corner beside the shelf, to continue their reading.
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"Romeo and Juliet"
Really?
Oh well, this little one's job is but to only give you the hints and nothing more.
Imma find my way out here.
A/n
Note: I got the Romeo and Juliet line from the manga "Nisekoi: False love" chapter 49 for their School festival.
"O, Romeo... Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo. Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not. Be, but swore my love. And I'll no longer be a Capulet."
"I swear thee by my name. But call me your love and I'll no longer be Romeo. I love you Juliet."
"I love you too, Romeo."
These were at least the original line I'm going to use, but it really bothered me that this chapter has the lowest word count chapter (1800+) compared to the now average word count I've been making which were over 2k words, so I skimmed some of the line from Scene 2 of the actual Romeo and Juliet Script to add in the fun!
ANDOHMYGHAD THE STORY WAS SO SATISFYING! I CAN'T STOP SMILING!! EEEIIIIII!!! DAMMIT! XDDDDD
I know this is not xKurapika, but oh the temptation to write a story about it is just so- but then again, I haven't read much xKurapika to be much intimate to his character so- it's a far fetch dream- unless- unless I do start reading more of them 7w7
Well then...
See ya~
-Reintroduce oneself and reveal ones that's been concealed for long. To know one another, don't forget to show your special talent...