It had honestly been a while since Kurapika had done a stealth mission, it had been before he had met (y/n). It came to him naturally, to say the least, all he ever did was stick to the shadows and hide away till it was time for him to pounce.
It didn't take long before his grey eyes landed on Aureolin, it wasn't hard to miss considering that the much taller man was dressed in a bright yellow suit with odd green undertones causing it to be an off yellow.
He stood out greatly as he brought up his left hand to a stemless glass that was occupying a spot upon his cluttered desk.
Bringing the clear glass of white wine to his lips, the slender man took a gracious sip, the white wine gliding down his throat, bobbing his adam's apple ever so slightly.
Through his glasses, the male Kurta could see that the man was sitting upon his desk, reading what looked to be a folder full of several papers, the folder itself was blank, leaving several possibilities as to what he would be so focused on reading over.
The man looked too occupied to look around or to even be invested in the world around him, ultimately consumed in what he was currently reading.
Using this as a golden opportunity, the Kurta then decides to unsheath his chained right hand, adjusting the long sleeves to his blouse effortlessly.
Eyeing him once more, the grey-eyed Kurta then launches his chains out, instantly wrapping them around the man clad in yellow, yanking him from his previous spot upon the desk, papers flying around interrupting the brief silence that was previously bestowed.
The man hit the floor violently before being swung to a wall, hitting his head hard from the impact.
The wigged blonde then showed himself from beyond the threshold, his dress waving around slightly as he strutted towards the taller male, who in turn, oddly didn't seem stricken or shocked.
"The sun rises alone.
The stars burn quietly till death
The moon laughs in silence."
"Inevitable rest,
shall gain everlasting peace
The sun won't rise again."
"Never to recover,
once lost cannot be retrieved
Pain is unforgiving."
"As night becomes day
A star will give its last breath,
Yellow becomes blue."
As the blonde reaches the man, who in turn had just finished speaking, it was odd to the Kurta, how he had attacked his man and he gave no resistance, to give up so easily, so effortlessly.
It wasn't until the Kura looked into the half-lidded eyes of the man did he see something deeper within.
The blonde was able to see contentment.
Thinking back onto the several phrases that the man had spoken, a memory was triggered.
'He must have gotten a fortune from neon before her nen ability was stolen.'
The blonde concluded. It was true however, tonight wasn't the night where Kurapika was going to show any type of mercy.
Showing mercy doesn't get the job done.
It frustrated him on how long it actually took him to come o this conclusion, years and years of showing mercy and letting people off the hook or go unpunished, he was finished, he wouldn't let people take advantage of his kindness anymore.
He had someone to protect now, a future to actually look forward to, he couldn't afford to leave any loose ends that could come back and sabotage his plans for a future.
He couldn't do that to her, so for now on, it was for him and for her, and their future.
"I didn't believe that little girl before, I thought it was a bluff." The man coughed, blood seeping out from a wound from a hidden wound on his head, finally seeping down the side of the man's face.
"-But when I saw you for the first time I knew you were going to make it the last. You can't fake that type of resolve." The man in yellow paused before pointing to a stack of files that seemed prepared.
The grey eyes of the Kurta briefly left those of the man, gazing onto the stack of papers before returning his gaze once more.
Once the man had closed his eyes, the blonde then decided that mercy comes in different ways, some people must live their lives in for their crimes, giving them the mercy of sparing them of death. Yet in cases like this one, maybe mercy is the sweet release of death itself.
But who was he to give mercy out like that?
Once in a while, these thoughts will come from a dark place imbedded deep within his conscience, perhaps they would come out once he's ready to close his eyes to sleep, or maybe it would be when he would be halfway through a shower.
Or like now, they whisper, begging him to consider a different path, a change in fate, a change within the butterfly effect.
Yet unlike those times, the times where he would let an enemy go without finishing them off.
Just as he did with Chrollo.
No, he wouldn't let another string become loose, he had to end this, end this inhuman plot, this humiliation.
So he decided to give him his mercy.
The blonde, without saying a word, looked beyond the man in yellow, somehow seeming a bit duller, his grey eyes bore into the empty brown ones of Aureolin.
Closing his grey eyes, the Kurta rose his right hand, extending his dexterous fingers outwards, the faint rattling of chains hit Aureolin's ears, signaling him to close his eyes, his thin red lips twitching upwards a bit, aching for that sweet liberation.
𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱
𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱
𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘱
The black hues of Aureolin start to cloud as the blood leaks from his body, the crimson liquid oozing out of the man's chest, causing his yellow suit to become dyed with the red of his own blood.
Without looking at his quick and easy opponent, the blonde then turns around and swiftly walks to the desk where a heap of papers that were not so neatly stacked and placed.
His slightly shaking hands reach to grab ahold of a stapled packet of papers, his grey eyes gazing over them and already mentally placing them on levels of importance as he continues to skim through countless others.
The blonde had several papers and folders within his grasps, several tucked underneath his arms and several more in both of his hands, his brows focused and furrowed as he took in as much information as possible.
That is till his earpiece rang through, breaking every bit of focus he had gathered.
The hasty and firm voice of Killua broke that focus.
"The mission has been compromised. (Y/n) has been abducted, She's been cloned."
Kurapika froze for a moment, the words first not registering in his mind, a million thoughts and possibilities running around, he honestly had to hold back himself from panicking.
"Kurapika?" The cool and mature yet slightly worried voice of Leorio rang out, momentarily ceasing all worries and scenarios.
She wouldn't want to be a waste of a golden opportunity, he didn't want her to get upset about this when they would see each other again. He had to trust her and her abilities.
"We need to proceed as much as possible. Leorio, continue to lookout. Killua, resume position, Gon it's up to you to track her down. This will not be a wasted effort."
He knew he didn't have to say anything else, he had entrusted them and their judgment before and he would do it again. He would fully trust his friends.
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"So you're not really hands-on in this whole thing then?" The girl asked the much taller pale man who stood towering over her still seated figure.
"You know me too well to be truly invested in schemes like these, I don't work for things I want, I just take them, so don't consider me within the same caliber as these fools.
The onyx-eyed male spoke, sight humor laced within his tone, yet truth did as well.
The girl closed her eyes as she shook her head dismissing his words, of course not she knew how he was, how he worked.
He was smart and calculative, he knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it, no questions asked.
That was till he met her that is.
even when she was in her early teens he found her so impressive, how her brain worked, how she functioned as her own, never tainted with manipulated woes or influence.
To him, she was just a beautiful blank, white canvas aching to be ruined by beautiful marks and stories ready to be told.
Yet as he grew to know her, know who she really was, not as a fighter or a skilled nen user, but who (Y/n) was and how she was much more than a young lone girl.
Over the two years that she stayed beside him, he grew accustomed to asking 𝘩𝘦𝘳 her thoughts on events or situations, always giving him a new point of view on things, deeper sights and more thorough examinations, dissecting things down to its core.
Something that Chrollo wasn't used to having.
Of course, each member of the troupe brought something different and fresh to the table, each member with their own quirks and quips, yet she brought more.
She had become an odd inspiration to him, of course, he knew early on that she was a Kurta, a lone survivor at the time, something that he was able to radiate and connect with, along with several of the troupe members at the time as well.
Yet they were both on opposites of that coin.
While she was born into a loving and caring family, let alone a community. It was something that Chrollo and the troupe would never have the luxury to confide in.
Yet, that would also mean that they would never know what it's like to be raised and for everything they had ever known be stripped away in a matter of moments, just to be left with blood and memories.
They would never understand what it's like to lose everything, yet she would never understand what it's like to have nothing to the begin with.
Though despite this, she never saw them any less, she didn't mention it but once, a long time ago to Chrollo. Back when she was a fresh member, they were waiting on other troupe members and were talking about a philosophical scenario.
It was a moment where he had first begun to see her for someone more than just a troupe member, more than just an expendable leg.
"No, I don't think I agree with you on that. Though, I do see where you're coming from." The girl who stood freshly seventeen spoke, her much longer (h/c) hair blew past her face, swirling and moving lightly past her shoulders with the help of the wind.
Her reply caused Chrollo to raise his brows a bit as he continued to look beyond the dark skylight, looking into the not-so-sleeping city below.
"I don't believe that Judas was a true traitor, they say that he sold him out for thirty pieces of silver, I don't believe that at all."
This caused the taller man, clad in black to break eye contact with the sleeping city and look down towards the girl who sat on the edge of the building swinging her legs back and forth as she stared into the city below.
"What causes you to believe that?" Chrollo asked, he wasn't much of a talker, rather a listener, an observer if you will.
"Hear me out, Judas initially gave up his life to follow Jesus around, he left everything he had ever known behind to follow this man along with others. Jesus knew that one of his followers would end up betraying him, If you think about it, it would make sense for Jesus to know that it was mandatory for specific events to unfold, so it could be plausible for Jesus to ask Judas to 'betray' him to ensure that events that were being predicted would ultimately happen."
"So you believe it was a plot then?"
The girl then gave him a curt nod, her brows slightly furrowed as she continued to think upon the subject.
"I think that Jesus had to reassure him to have faith in him and that it would be inevitable, and yet when Jesus died, he was conflicted and engulfed in guilt he didn't know how to cope so that's what led him to suicide, he had trusted his teacher just for him to die and so his faith was replaced with doubt."
"What if Jesus knew he was going to betray him and just let it happen instead?" The soft words of Chrollo sounded, tempting her ideology.
"Because, who in their right mind would purposely put someone's life at risk just for some silver? The amount wasn't even enough to become life-changing so what would have been the true motive?"
Chrollo hummed at this, his own thoughts rushing and pouring in, testing his own beliefs and assumptions.
Looking back into the skylight a small enough lift of his lips rose.
"If I asked you to betray me, for you to have your trust invested in me, yet all I would do would betray you in the end what would you do, (y/n)?" Chrollo asked, his tone was laced with slight amusement and something else hidden within.
It was now (y/n)'s turn to look up at him.
From the lower angle in which she was admiring him from, caused his jawline to look a bit sharper, his nose also seemed to be sharpened a bit. The shadows of the abandoned building really brought out usually hidden features, causing the girl to see him from a new perspective, a more true perspective.
"Of course, I would, after all, betrayal is a double-edged sword."
"-And so regardless, we would be both stabbed to death."
He had often thought of that encounter with the girl, it had made him think about himself and the rest of the legs of the spider.
If he asked any of them to betray him if it came down to it, would they? Or would they fight against him, trying to persuade him otherwise, despite the chance that the scenario wouldn't have it any other way, would all of them trust him to the end? Would they be selfish enough to still look for a way out? A loophole when all is inevitable?
Of course, they would, he was their boss, their order, and despite the off chance of the head of the spider being dismantled, the spider should continue on to search for a new head, yet he knew deep down that his dear spider legs would be too stubborn to move on. He had seen it first hand after Uvogin was removed, it just proved his hypothesis on how his legs wouldn't move on without its head.
All except her.
She understood, she understood the reasoning and effects of the things that must happen in order for life to move on, she wouldn't hesitate.
So, therefore, she was the first and only person to who he would trust and give his entire being to, life and all.
She knew it too.
Yet she didn't want it, she wanted one thing.
The spider's head.
It didn't take her long to figure out that it was the Phantom Troupe behind the Kurta massacre, it was all in due time before she could connect those red strings of hers, he knew it too but alas, he wasn't afraid, if anything it was welcomed.
It was known that the head of the spider walked every day beside death, welcoming it whenever or if ever it decided to come.
So within those two years, the head walked alongside willingly, with its body.
To say the least, within the two years of her being a part of the spider, she had grown to be more than just an admirable member, she was more than just an expandable leg.
She had become the body of the spider.
Of course, Chrollo didn't see it right away, hell, it wasn't even when she was a part of the troupe. It was the mere effect that she had on the group just from her absence alone that reached the onyx-haired male to his conclusion.
When she left the troupe, just one day out of the blue, just the toll it had on the entirety of the troupe, including himself was almost enough to give him goosebumps.
The physical feeling that she left behind was embedded into each and everyone who she had come into contact with. Himself of course was included.
It wasn't anything too particular, however, it wasn't the fact that she was strong and far too advanced for what she should have been.
Thinking back on it, it could be the fire of aching for something lingering in the reflections of her cornea every time he stared a bit too long in them, or the firmness of affirmation she had when she was way too determined to complete a given task, a determination to prove herself.
Like many things, he didn't realize that she did those things for no one but herself.
He had compared herself to Hisoka once before, on how they were only a part of the troupe to gain something for themselves, to fill an unclaimed goal.
It wasn't a thought that stayed within his mind however, she was completely incomparable.
She needed to prove herself for herself, to have respect for herself, and to prove to herself that she herself deserved to live that she herself had what it takes to reach her goals, that she herself was unstoppable.
She had even formed her Nen around these points of affirmation, she knew what she wanted when she was in battle, she knew how to win every single time, she planned for the worst and was ready for the worst.
It took him nearly a year to conclude her reasoning for abandoning her position of number eight, though unconfirmed he was more than 98.9% sure.
"You found what you were looking for then?" The closed eyes of the pale male began to open once more, landing his onyx hues straight into her (e/c) ones.
"Of course, I couldn't stay forever, you knew I had unfinished business elsewhere." She tilted her head ever so slightly, her eyes glimmering slightly at the new way the bright LED lights hit them.
"I knew you would."
It sounded almost as if it were a praise as if he were expecting her to do as such, much like a parent would to their child passing a test they were so worried about.
Yet this wasn't a test at all, this was her goal for revenge.
She was facing her end game much sooner than what she'd hoped for.
She had actually wanted to wait till she had all the eyes back in her possession before she would go after the head of the spider, before the final chapter of her resolve.
She could wait. She would wait.
She forced herself to remember that this isn't just about her anymore, this included Kurapika as well.
This caused her cheeks to warm a bit.
That's right, Kurapika is still completing the mission, was he worried about her? Did he call off the mission just because a piece was stolen off of the chessboard?
Closing her eyes, she shook her head. He knew better than to do that. If not then she would have to punish him later for it.
She couldn't refrain herself from letting a smirk reach her lips.
"They'll be coming soon, It was interesting seeing you again (Y/n) I'm sure it won't be the last."
Before the girl could speak once more, Chrollo vanished in a mist-type way.
Her eyes widened a bit at this, it wasn't his Nen, there was no aura seeping off of him, even if he was using In, she would have still been able to sense him.
This also wasn't a specific Nen ability that he had stored in his book, unless he was able to steal another one that is.
Furrowing her brows, the (h/c) looked around the white stale room, finally taking in everything, the white staleness of the room almost sends a headache her way.
If his associates were involved with this then he wouldn't have left like that, perhaps his associates resigned elsewhere, perhaps his associates were separate from the team that created the artificial Scarlet Eyes.
If he was teaming up with someone else with his own hidden agenda then perhaps he really did drop by to speak to her out of his own curiosity.
No matter, she's awake and capable now.
Sliding off the gurney, her bare feet give a soft pat at the cold tiled floors. Standing up, her eyes fall back onto the sensor machine, beeping lowly into the background, keeping track of her heartbeat and pulse among other things.
Carefully removing the cuff on her upper arm along with removing the few needles embedded into the ditch of her arm, her (e/c) roam the white room for a door of some kind, something she could kick out or at least use a form of Hatsu on.
Circling around the room, her eyes don't fail to notice a rather large mirror staring right at her and her former resting place.
She wasn't stupid, she knew what it was.
Holding up her dominant fist, she then proceeds to use Ko, bringing back her fist then swinging it towards the refection, vibrations course their way up her curled fingers up her arm then pass through the rest of her standing body.
"What the hell?" She couldn't help but mutter when her advances didn't work.
Humming to herself the girl then proceeds to use Gyo and look closer towards the mirror.
Of course, it was enhanced with Nen, and just from the fact that her Ko didn't affect the double-sided mirror only meant that the person using their nen wouldn't be a person to be taken lightly.
That is unless this was their only skill, which could but most likely not be the case.
Still using Gyo, her (e/c) roamed around the white room looking across every little detail, or in this case lack thereof.
The entire room was laced with nen, the walls, and even the floors. Was this a space created by nen? Or was it a room that was just being hosted by a person with Nen?
"Dammit!" The girl couldn't help but mutter under her breath as her eyes flew towards every single corner of the room over and over again.
The beeping of the monitors didn't cease, however, instead they were blaring now, probably due to the lack of connection to a live being considering they were now empty of such and thrown onto the freezing floor.
Upon the violent and much louder beeping, a sound went off, causing the female to turn and look towards the source.
Her eyes fix themselves on three people, two of which were of a familiar face, being bald and dressed in suits that is, standing behind an older man who happens to have a red scar slashed through his left eye aiming down towards his neck, which happened to be cut off by a white shirt and a lab coat.
He had seemed as if he were older than anyone who she had seen being involved with this, he had slight wrinkles folded across his forehead as his brows lifted. He also donned circular glasses that reflected too much for her to be able to see his eye color.
He had a mop of black hair along with random strips of white coming through in a rather straightforward matter, bits falling past his ears in a shaggy style.
He looked rather unimpressive and original.
"Are you going to be the one trying to take my eyes?"
The voice of the girl croaked, her determined smirk spreading across her lips as she tilts her head slightly, analyzing her newfound opponent.
The smirk of the man grew exponentially as he bent over, the refection in his glasses now subsiding as he bent down.
His eyes were an electric green.
"Trying? Don't you mean 'Are you the one who took my eye?'" His voice was accented a bit, his grin was odd and large, almost enough to be concerning.
She refused to falter.
"You should look at yourself in the mirror sometimes gorgeous. I think you'd personally look good in an eye patch."
Her eyes dart back into the mirror that hid behind the three men.
Her blood runs cold as her sight lands upon her face, a gaping void where her right eye should be.