The Otonari's Last [Draft, Discontinued]

VIII - the End of the Third Phase

"He made a hole in the floor with his bare fist!" Leorio exclaims. The prisoner pulls his fist out of the ground and turns away from us. My eyes take in the shape of the black ink on his back, and the intelligent part of my brain shuts off.

I stand up, walking directly to the edge of our passageway and stopping next to Gon.

"A tattoo of a spider with twelve legs... That's..." Leorio trails off.

"Not another word, Leorio," I mutter. "Please, don't say anything else." I could feel tears streaming down my face, my hands clenched into fists. Rage builds up within me, threatening to spill over the edge at any moment.

"Ara...?" Gon calls my name, but trails off as he sees my face: pure hatred.

"Kurapika," I call out just loud enough for him to hear me. "I-It's not r-real, okay? He's a f-fake." My voice cracks and stutters as I try to hold in my anger. I watch his crouched figure, knowing that he wouldn't respond.

"Did... Did he tell you, Ara?" Leorio asks quietly. I angle my head toward him slightly.

"He didn't have to, Leorio. I know exactly what he's going through." Confusion spreads across his face, but he doesn't ask any questions. As his opponent turns back around, Kurapika stands.

"What's wrong?" Smurf asks, chuckling. "Cat got your tongue? I'm Majitani, one of the Phantom Troupe's four kings! Consider that first strike my way of saying hello. This is your last chance to surrender. I'm still willing to -" Majitani stops speaking as Kurapika lifts his head. Judging by the surprise on his face, I'd say it's safe to assume that Kurapika's eyes are scarlet.

"What's wrong with you?" the prisoner asks, taken aback. Kurapika suddenly rushes forward, his movement so quick that an average person wouldn't have been able to catch it. The Kurta grips Majitani's jaw and lifts him into the air.

"Oh, okay... Wait, I get it!" the blue man says frantically as Kurapika's other hand tightens into a fist. "I surrender!" Kurapika ignores this plea and instead releases his fist into his opponent's face. Jumping back and landing on his feet as Majitani smashes into the floor, Kurapika stands silent for a moment.

"Consider this a warning..." he says. "First, a real Phantom Troupe tattoo has the member's number on the spider. Second, they don't bother counting how many they've killed. Third, never mention the Troupe again. If you do, I'll kill you." I glance at the visible prisoners' faces. Written on them and my other teammates' faces was pure shock and fear.

"Wow..." I hear Tonpa's voice exclaim.

"Kurapika..." Leorio mutters.

"Well, I saw that coming from a mile away," Killua says.

"Yup..." Gon agrees quietly, glancing up at me again. The bridge reaches back out to the arena, and Kurapika grabs his belongings before walking back to us.

"You okay, Kurapika?" Leorio asks.

"Yeah, I'm not injured," Kurapika responds.

"Also, is it safe for us to be near you?"

"That's a silly question, Leorio," I say to him. "I'm assuming that Kurapika has the same problem I do. Whenever I see anything relating to a spider, whether a live one or a picture, I tend to loose control of my actions." The boys stare at me.

"So, you mean, when you see an actual spider, you go crazy?" Leorio asks.

"Something like that, yeah."

"You should have told us sooner..." Leorio says quietly. Kurapika moves toward the inside of the passageway. As he walks by me, he hooks two of his fingers around mine, pulling me with him.