"No luck this time huh," Leorio said as they returned to the room.
"I wouldn't say that," she replied and they laughed.
She stopped when she saw the boy she ran into before had taken a spot in the corner of the room.
"Hey, you're the guy from before. How come you get a hammock?" Leorio said jabbing a finger towards him.
He ignored him for a second, staring at Y/n from behind his book, then turned to Leorio.
"Is there a problem?"
Leorio jumped onto his cot to continue reading his magazine.
"Tsk, whatever."
Y/n sat on her mat, legs crossed.
"Er... My name's Y/n. It looks like we'll be roommates for the remainder of the trip."
"Which will only be about a day, Y/n just forget it."
Y/n didn't give up.
"This is Le- uh, Mr. Leorio."
He saluted a little. "'Sup."
"It's... nice to meet you," she said with a little smile, apprehensive from his glare.
He shifted his gaze between the two. Y/n could see him finally relax a little.
"My name is Kurapika. It's a pleasure to meet you both," he said.
Y/n couldn't help but smile.
Kurapika blinked in surprise and dug his nose in his book once more.
When Y/n awoke in the morning, she felt such an odd sensation from sleeping at sea. She shook her head to shake off the wavy drowsiness. She almost missed the manor. Leorio was gone but had left a note next to her. She smiled. He had adopted her form of communication.
"Gone out to scope out more hotties. - L"
Y/n took out a small comb and began to style some hair back into place.
"You're awake," a voice said. It was the blonde boy, Kurapika.
"Oh, good morning," she said.
He looked a little hesitant, then smiled back.
"Good morning. Why do you sleep there?" he said, pointing.
"It's an old habit from my tribe."
"Tribe?"
"The Eastern Emerald Tribe," she replied, wanting to change the subject. "It looks like Leorio went to get some light."
"I suppose. You two seem pretty close."
She mentally cringed.
"Eh no- well, sure, though we met just yesterday. He's a funny man."
"He seems to be."
For some reason, Y/n didn't want him to think they were together. Usually, she was immune to caring about what others thought, but not now.
You're losing your edge, Y/n, she thought.
"You've read a lot," she said, looking at the pile of books under him.
"I'm a fast reader," he said, with a little smile on his face.
Y/n could feel him feel less and less hesitant around her like he had trust issues or something.
"Research can be a lot of fun. So you're trying to become a Hunter?"
Before Kurapika could respond, Leorio swung open the door, to the annoyance of other passengers.
"That's my friend Y/n and that over there... I forgot his name, but it's not important."
Y/n saw a child standing next to Leorio who was beginning to smile widely. She could tell he was a hyperactive, crazy kid. Y/n didn't particularly like kids, but she smiled anyway.
"It looks like you've made new friends already!" she said.
"Hiya, I'm Gon!" he said.
"Hi, I'm Y/n."
"My name," he said, glaring at Leorio, "is Kurapika. Nice to meet you, Gon."
"Nice to meet you both!" he said. "You guys wanna go outside? The sun's calling!" Gon said, running out.
"Why do you kids always run?" Leorio whined, going after Gon.
"Finally, something fun!" Y/n said, shooting up. "Coming?" she said, turning to Kurapika. He stared at her silhouette at the doorframe.
"Eh- sure," he said, placing his book down.
✨Did you know?✨
The Emerald Tribe is based on stoic philosophy, Buddhism, and Mexican cultures! It is also a microcosm of the real world.