Many events took place in the last three days: Neon lost her Nen and had been hospitalised, the Phantom Troupe was claimed to have been killed and Kurapika was the one sent to retrieve the scarlet eyes for the Nostrades. It was eventful, to say the least.
I felt rather guilty for not contributing any help at all. My only job was to recover from the fatal blow I took on the day of the first auction. Luckily, my injury had pretty much recovered entirely, even one of the doctors at Neon's hospital had checked up on me and said she was surprised to see that a severe tear had been healed over only two days, whereas it would have taken a normal person months to recover. I had finally removed the bandages on the morning of the Fourth to see that what used to be the nastiest wound ever received by me was now only just a scar.
I chose to remove the bandage on this particular day because it was the day where I had planned to meet up with my old friends once more. I chose to wear a long skirt, a pastel pink one that ended at my ankles and tucked a loose white blouse into it. It was only a few days ago that I had worn an outfit similar to this but it somehow felt like so much time had passed.
As I did my hair, Melody entered the room. "You look rather dressed up today, are you going somewhere?" She asked with the most beautiful smile.
"I'm going to go see some of my friends." I answered while tugging at the knots in the bird nest that I wore on my head.
Melody walked over, taking the brush from my hands gently and began brushing my hair with more affection and kindness than I could and would ever show it. "Are you going with Kurapika?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Because he had the exact same plan."
"I see... was he- was he doing okay?"
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know, it's just- he's been really distant since yesterday. I'm sure you've noticed it too. Did you hear anything strange in his heartbeat?"
"I did. He's depressed and it feels although he's almost void of emotion. Make sure he has fun today, (Y/N). Make sure he has a good time."
"I will, you can count on me." I grinned at the woman as she placed the brush down onto the dresser and ran her soft fingers through my now silky hair.
There was a knock at the door of the hotel room that Melody and I shared. "Are you ready to leave, (Y/N)?" Speaking of the devil, Kurapika mumbled from outside.
I yelled back to let him know I'm coming. My knees almost gave in as I stood up from the chair. It was always like this when he was around- I would get nervous in his presence. Oddly enough, I didn't know what triggered this feeling inside me but I knew that I didn't like it. I just wished that things would go back to how they were, how we were.
It wasn't like the relationship between us two faltered or anything, it was the opposite in fact. Kurapika often came to check on me when I was still healing, he would forcefully observe my injury if I refused to give him permission to. There were other encounters too, like after I heard from Basho that he went to bid on the Kurta eyes; ever since that day he'd come back to my hotel room whenever Melody wasn't around and occasionally sit with me. Neither of us would exchange any words, we would just sit together until he decided to leave or start a meaningless conversation. It was never unpleasant, I knew that Kurapika just needed somebody to sit with and I was fine with being there with him to make him feel less lonely. Although he seemed like an unpredictable, quiet bastard he was still somewhat easy to read.
I waved goodbye to Melody and opened the door to our room to meet the lovely blonde. We strolled down the halls of the hotel.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
"How was your day?"
"Fine."
"Do you know how to say anything other than fine?"
"..."
Chuckling softly, I left the hotel with the stoic boy. We walked through the busy streets of Yorknew City. That was my first time walking casually through the wonderful place which wasn't for work reasons. It was a particularly nice day too, the sun shone more brightly than usual. I knew it was going to be a good day. All the factors only added to my excitement to see the boys who awaited us.
Kurapika's slow pace wasn't matching my energy. I leaned across him and took his pale hand in both of mine as I pulled him quicker along the pavement, "Hurry up, Kurapika! Those two are waiting for us!" I exclimated while grinning ear-to-ear.
The boy looked rather startled as I basically dragged him. But it backfired on me when I felt my heel kick into an upturned brick as I walked backwards, which caused me to trip and abruptly let go of his palm. I outstretched my hand while falling backwards as if it would stop be from landing on my butt and making a fool of myself in front of all these people.
And then, like a breathtaking prince in all those romance animes I had seen in my youth, Kurapika calmly took a hold of my wrist and pulled my arm above his head as my body collided with his. My face pressed into his chest before I felt his other hand place itself on the back of my waist to steady me. Time had stopped in that position.
And then it hit me: Kurapika caught me. He was holding me. In front of hundreds of people. Everyone was watching.
Embarrassed, I quickly pushed myself off the boy. I looked around to see all the strangers who were passing by us watching me with judgmental eyes. I met the stare of a certain young woman who gave me a wink and a smile which only further added to the humiliation.
Turning my flushed face back to the statue before me, I squeaked an apology. "Idiot, be more careful." He said, although there was no irritation or hostility in his voice. I still couldn't bring myself to look at his face as he led me to the park.
He walked closer to me after that small stumble which occurred on the previous road. I knew it was only to make sure that I don't fall again but it was actually almost comforting. We made our merry way along the path of D-Road Gardens, it was such a beautiful landscape. The neatly trimmed grass filled the large, delightful park as well as the flower beds filled with all sorts of colourful and lively plants. Many people sat in the aesthetic fields with their friends and families as they enjoyed wonderful picnics.
Like music to my ears, hearing all the joyous laughs and chatters of every soul in the area. Kurapika waited for me to catch up to him after I snapped out from my little moment of admiration. We continued strolling through the gardens while keeping a lookout for our trouble-makers.
I could hear two children yelling happily up ahead and upon further inspection it appeared those children were none other than the ones we had been seeking. Gon spat his food onto Killua's face when he saw Kurapika and I. He rushed over yelling our names, "Kurapika! (Y/N)!"
Standing before him in real life was so much better than just having a short conversation over the phone. He began exclaiming things to Kurapika, yelling and flailing his arms around as he spoke, but instead of listening to him my eyes were glued to the other boy in the pink sweater who was sneaking up to his friend with a rather tasty looking strawberry tart in his hands.
Gon's sentence was cut off when he received a face full of cream and strawberry jam. He dropped his conversation with his older friend and instead began chasing the albino for revenge. I snickered at the kids. And then I heard a laugh so gentle emerging from the serious, cold, brown-eyed being who I was convinced had lost all forms of emotion. I stared at him with my mouth agape, surprised that I was there to witness the rare sighting of the Kurta expressing joy. It was pleasant. His smile made my stomach hurt, but in a good way.
The four of us began walking back into the city to meet up with Leorio as planned. Kurapika and Gon walked more farther ahead as they were engrossed in their own conversations, most likely about Gon explaining his training. I could feel Killua's stare burn into me but I didn't say anything about it until he spoke. "How come you came here with Kurapika? Did you guys meet up beforehand or something?" He asked.
I looked at the young boy beside me. "Gon didn't tell you? Kurapika and I ended up working the same job together."
"I do remember Gon telling me about what you guys were talking about over the phone one day but I wasn't really listening. I was busy buying a whole ton of Chocolate Robots!" He giggled with his cat-like grin. His laugh made me laugh. And then he went quiet as his eyes trailed to the two that were walking way ahead of us and asked, "Are you in love with him?"
It was embarrassing to admit I almost tripped again. Killua halted quickly and held out his hands as if to catch me if I were to fall but thank God I managed to balance myself or else it would have been incredibly shameful. I cleared my throat, the air suddenly feeling tighter and hotter as I averted my gaze from the boy's blue ones. "Of course not, idiot." My voice came out as a tremble.
"Huaaaa" Killua opened his mouth and let out a sound implying he didn't believe me. "I was just messin' with you. You didn't need to get all flustered- it's almost as if you DO like him." A shit-eating grin spread across his face as he studied my expression.
Blushing, I reached out to hit the boy but he ducked out the way, flashing me a smirk. That damned evil grin made me want to smack his stupid face off so I began chasing the boy jokingly (although it wasn't much of a joke for ME) while he kept avoiding me with laughter.
"What are you two doing back there?" Kurapika asked with a sigh. Gon and him must have stopped and waited for us to catch up because they were no longer two miles ahead of Killua and I.
Gon jumped up to the sky with a smile so wide, "I want to play too!" And he joined the Killua, who was now seriously running for his life, as I chased him hauntingly with my shoe.
After we had calmed down we made our way to a small diner across the road. It wasn't too crowded, there were only four or five other groups of people in the homely cafe. The first thing I noticed when we entered was it had a very warm and comfortable atmosphere, it reminded me a lot of my own home. A petite waitress led us to a booth near the back, one fit for a group of people. I sat at the end of one of the sofas next to Gon, who was now inbetween Killua and I. Kurapika sat opposite us, a space beside him for Leorio.
It wasn't long until the man himself entered the diner, looking around before spotting us and jogging over. He hadn't changed at all. The same blue suit, same dark, circular glasses and the same sparkle of ambition in his eyes. Looking at his cheesy smile brought one to my own face.
"Kurapika! (Y/N)!" He practically screamed.
I stood up and walked to him with extended arms as he returned the tight hug, lifting me off my feet and twirling me around. Then he slid into the seat next to the silent boy and slapped his back continuesly while laughing greatly, "I missed you both!"
We ordered our dishes and began catching up, all exchanging our exciting stories as we shared food among ourselves. It wasn't long before the subject of the Phantom Troupe came up.
"Let's make the first move," said Killua. "We have Kurapika now. And they don't know about (Y/N) nor her ability so we can use that to our advantage. Plus we know where their lair is- but of course they may have left already. The more time passes, the more the possibility of that happening increases." He paused. "We need to move now."
Silence settled among us as the young boy's words lingered in the air: we knew he was right. We had to act soon if we wanted to take down the Troupe.
I looked to Kurapika who held his hand to his chin in deep thought. "True," he started. "The woman who can read minds is a huge threat to me. I'll do as Gon said and retrieve my brethren's eyes." Gon smiled as Kurapika spoke.
"Seriously!?" Killua jumped from his seat.
"Yeah." Kurapika said.
Leorio laughed, "Kurapika's made up his mind now. We can't force him to change it."
Killua's cat-like eyes softened as he sat back down. "Sorry, Killua," Kurapika smiled. "Thank you for the information."
Before anybody could say anything else, a phone began to ring. The blonde took out his cellphone and observed the screen. "It's from Hisoka..." he mumbled. A gasp escaped his lips and his eyes widened in horrific shock. Lightning struck outside as the boy stared down at the small device with a glare that could kill.
"What did it say?" I asked, now on the edge of my seat.
"The dead bodies were fake." He muttered.
"What!?"
"The corpses of the Spiders were fake!"
The tension built up as Kurapika's pupils trembled in rage. At that moment I knew that shit was about to get real.
~