Leopika Oneshot||Second Book Published

-Lonely-

Children AU
About two weeks (I'll say 10 days) before the Kurta massacre
TW: Mentions of abuse

Leorio sat against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. He wiped the tears from his eyes and the blood from his nose. People walked by, stealing glances at him. But no one stopped to ask if he was alright. He saw someone make a disgusted face and he let out a broken sob. Why did he have to be like this? Why did he have to be so thin and broken? Why did his dad hate him? Why was he covered in bruises and scars? He was disgusting.

Leorio pressed his back to the stone as more people passed. He saw someone his father knew and covered his face. They didn't notice him.

A few minutes passed before Leorio felt like someone was looking at him. He looked up and spotted a boy, about his age looking at him. He was blonde and short and his clothes were covered in weird patterns. He held a small brown bag and Leorio couldn't tell what might be in it. The boy eccentrically waved. Leorio gave back a small wave.

The boy walked over to Leorio. It was a shock, to say the least. "Hi," the boy said. He sat next to Leorio, crossing his legs. "H-hello," Leorio replied. The boy smiled. "What's your name," he asked. Leorio was a little confused, who would want to talk to him? "I'm Leorio," he said. "What's your name?" "Kurapika," the boy replied. "Are you alone?" Leorio nodded. Kurapika scooted closer. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm alone too."

"How old are you," Leorio asked. Kurapika paused. "I'm twelve years old," he said. "You?" Leorio pulled his knees closer. "The same," he said. "Twelve." "Why are you hiding half of your face?" Leorio didn't know how to respond. There was more than one answer. He didn't like strangers, he was scared, his had an ugly bruise and a broken nose? Which one? Before he could decide, Kurapika spoke. "Do you not speak a lot of English," he asked. "Don't worry. It's not my first language either."

Leorio gulped. "That's not it," he said. "I mean, my family is from Spain but I know quite a bit of English. I can understand what you're saying." "Then why won't you answer?" Leorio glanced at Kurapika. He was pouting and looked serious. He must've been immature for his age.

Leorio turned his head. "I look bad," he said. Kurapika frowned. "I'm sure you don't look that bad," he said. "You are a little thing though. Don't you eat at all?" Leorio gulped. "My family doesn't have the money for food," he said. "We rarely get three meals a deal. Sometimes we only have one meal a day. Or nothing."

Kurapika felt a bit guilty now. "Oh," he said. "I'm sorry." There was a short silence before Leorio could hear the sound of a bag. "Here," Kurapika said. Leorio looked back. Kurapika was handing him half of a sandwich. It was cut in a triangle.

Leorio hesitantly took it. "What's on the sandwich," he asked. Kurapika responded, "Turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar." Leorio lifted his head and unwrapped the sandwich. He heard Kurapika mutter an "oh" at seeing his face. Kurapika reached out and lightly touched Leorio's bruise. "There's a big bruise on your face," he said. "And your nose... What happened?" Leorio gulped. "My pa," he said. "H-he hit me. A few times." Kurapika pulled back. "Oh," he said. "Why?" Leorio shook his head. "I-I don't know," he said. "He just did. And I decided to run away." "Is that why you're alone?" "Yeah. Speaking of which, why are you alone?" Kurapika smiled. It looked like he'd been wanting to talk about it. "I'm looking for a doctor," he said proudly. Leorio chucked. "Good luck with that," he said. Kurapika furrowed his brow. "Why do you say that," he asked.

Leorio glanced at him. Was he not from around here? "They'll ask you to pay," he said. "You probably don't have money. And there's no way you'll be able to collect enough money in time. It'll be like a thousand dollars! What do you even need a doctor for? You look fine." Kurapika sat up straight. "I'm going to help my friend," he boasted. "He can't see very well! If I get a doctor, he'll be healed!"

Leorio actually laughed this time. Kurapika, once again, frowned. "Why are you laughing," he asked. Leorio responded, "I-it doesn't work like that, like I said you have to pay. You have to pay a lot of money." Kurapika scoffed. "What would you know," he asked in a snobby manner. "You said that you barely eat at home." Leorio frowned. "I know because I don't have money," he said. "My friend is dead because we couldn't pay for his surgery." "My friend is going to die?" "That depends. What's wrong with him?" "Well, he can't see too well. He says everything is blurry except for close things. He has special eye drops that he uses."

Leorio smiled. "Your friend won't die," he said. "He just needs glasses." "Glasses," Kurapika questioned. "Like a cup? Or a bowl? A window? That's so weird." Leorio laughed again. "No, silly," he said. "They're circular and made of glass. They curve in or out depending on eyesight. Your friend will probably need the ones that curve out."

Kurapika looked confused. "That's...weird," he said. "And confusing. How does it work? Is it...that thing the witches do? What's the English word for that?" "Magic?" "Yeah! Is it magic?" "No, it's not magic. They work by reflecting light into the retina. That's where we see the clearest image. How we see is cool too. When we see, our eyes actually bend light to focus it on our retina. The word for that is refracting. That's why vision problems are often called-" "How do you know all this stuff?" "I'm going to be a doctor!" "That's so cool!"

Leorio nodded. It was cool. To him, at least. His dad wasn't so supportive. "Yeah, it's cool," Leorio said. "My dad says that he's going to kill me before I turn eighteen though." "I'll kill him," Kurapika said. He sounded completely serious. Leorio looked up at him and jumped back. His eyes were scarlet.

"What is it," Kurapika asked. Leorio pointed to the boy's face. "Your eyes," he said. "Th-they." Leorio couldn't finish his sentence. Kurapika took a moment to understand but then quickly covered his face. "Did anyone else see," he asked. Leorio shook his head but then realized that he couldn't be seen. "N-no," he said. "Why are you hiding them?" "People will hurt me." "What?" "They'll either want my eyes or hate my eyes. I'll get hurt by them." Leorio frowned. "I won't hurt you," he said with a grin. "I'll keep you safe!"

Kurapika peered through cracks in his fingers. His eyes were now back to being a bright blue. He laughed. "You look goofy," he said. Leorio laughed too. "Well, your clothes are weird," he said. Kurapika giggled. "They're cultural, you idiot," he said. Leorio looked up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. "I should go," he said. "Will you be here tomorrow?" "Always." "Okay. I'll try to meet you." "Oh, just remember, if you're lonely come be lonely with me!"