Runaway | Kurapika x Reader

Chapter 18 - Aftermath

For five minutes straight I sat there, knees imprinted into the rocks as Kurapika said nothing, his face resting on my neck. Although the rain had stopped far long ago, I could've sworn I felt something drop onto my sleeve.

Wait, is he... crying?

"Kurapika..? Are you okay?"

I lifted his chin so that his eyes met mine. A single tear lay on his cheek. I watched it roll all the way off of his face until he finally broke the prolonged silence.

"(Y/n)... I..." he started. "He's dead. My tormentor is dead. There's... I have nothing left."

"What? What are you talking about?" I inquired, solicitude in my tone.

"My revenge. It's all I had left. And now the catalyst of my sorrow is no longer alive. He didn't even suffer. He got what he wanted. He may be dead but the Spider lives on. The survival of the Spider was all he held concern for."

I knew what he meant. And I supposed I thought right when I pondered if completing his goal would result in Kurapika feeling empty. I couldn't even imagine what was going through his mind at that moment.

The perpetrator of Kurapika's pain was now gone. Chrollo was never afraid of his own demise; he didn't even care. He would feel no despair unless death fell upon his comrades.

You're extremely intelligent, Kurapika. But... did you really think this one through?

I shouldn't speak, though. It isn't like I thought of the matter until now.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Kurapika scolded himself. "The only way I could've brought the same agony onto him would have been to rid of those he loves."

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that Kurapika and I think so much alike.

"I have nothing left," he declared.

"Stop it, Kurapika! That isn't true in any way! You're so much more than your vengeance. I wish that you could see that," I paused and closed my eyes before sighing and continuing. "You're an incredible person with a kind heart and insane intelligence. You can't change the fact you didn't get to grow up like a normal kid, but that doesn't mean you should lose every part of yourself just to complete this goal of yours."

I brushed off my pants and stood up, holding my hand out to Kurapika. He took it and stood up as well, facing me, but his head hanging low.

Another fifteen seconds of silence passed before I felt the oncoming urge to voice something else. "Your only goal wasn't killing Chrollo, was it? Don't you want to exact revenge on the rest of the troupe and retrieve the scarlet eyes? You can still achieve that. And you don't have to do it alone. I've already told you: I'm not going anywhere. And once you complete what you want to complete, you can try to live as normal a life as possible. Leorio, Gon, Killua, and I will all be here to make sure that happens. You haven't been defeated in any way."

Kurapika finally lifted his head and met my gaze once again. Although I knew my sappy speech didn't cure the pain he was feeling, I noticed that Kurapika's eyes softened ever so slightly. He gave me the faintest smile I had ever seen and then when I least expected it, he slowly walked up to me and pulled me into an embrace. I was shocked, as he certainly did not seem the type of person to EVER initiate a hug. In the end, though, I hugged him back.

~

Once Kurapika and I finally got in another cab after a very long twenty minutes of waiting, I focused my attention on the satellite I had earlier placed on Machi. My eyelids fell over my sight and I took a deep breath, attempting to cogitate on nothing but that satellite. Because of how overwhelmed I was, it took a bit longer than usual. However, I was still able to reach the satellite's point of view.