Dis Aliter Visum

Chapter 60

Kuroro paused just outside of the house they had spent the night in. He took a moment to focus on en and try to get a feel of their pursuers and how far (or close) they were. They had a whole forest to search, after all, and there was little chance that they would stumble upon them without Kuroro sensing their approach in the first place. Beside him, Kurapica stood, eyes scanning the woods in a circle before returning to him. He'd noticed the boy's stares had changed, recently, though he wasn't sure what it all meant just yet.

The area around them seemed to be clear, but he could sense faint traces of nen in a few places. These were still far enough that he felt confident they could shake the little army of goons. Perfect. He motioned for Kurapica to precede him, and the blond sent him a questioning look before turning around and starting off due south. Kuroro followed behind, ruminating over all that had happened so far since he'd captured the last of the Kuruta.

On the one hand, he'd manage to break through the antagonistic attitude and defensive bravado, to a point where things were nearly comfortable now. Kurapica certainly seemed more subdued. He thought he could discern a certain attraction in his gaze as well as in his actions. The blond had initiated things twice now, and that was certainly a good sign. He doubted the younger man was ready to actually sign up (so to speak) as one of the Spiders, but things were definitely progressing well.

He allowed himself a small, victorious smile as he watched Kurapica walk in front of him. The boy chose the easiest path where there would be significantly fewer traces of their passage. He walked steadily, his steps confident where so many would have hesitated. He was definitely very much at ease in the woods. It made sense, considering where the Kuruta village had been. Kuroro mentally added this to the tally of Kurapica's talents versus the difficulties in converting him into a proper Spider. Yes, he was rather pleased with himself at the moment, but he had very good reasons to feel this way.

They trekked that morning through, keeping a rather quick pace while making sure to leave as few traces of their passage as possible. They paused by a small brook in early afternoon, taking the time to refill their bottles. They might have a long road ahead, and though Kuroro had been in the general area, he wanted to cut through to the road, and he'd never actually gone that way before, having usually preferred to head straight to Gorei. Still, as loathe as he was to admit, while respecting Kurapica's ridiculous wish to keep the men who were after them alive, they were as a disadvantage. It wouldn't take long for them to realize that they hadn't been using the road, whereas their search would spread to the woods. If they fanned out, they might actually, eventually sniff them out. So, although they were sticking to the woods for now, they would better be using the road the next day, when their pursuers' attention would turn to the forest. Of course, the road would still be watched. Kuroro needed a plan. Maybe he could carjack a family wagon or something. Preferably with a family inside.

He glanced at Kurapica, sitting across from him, finishing up his meal. The boy would object, no doubt. In any case, Kuroro preferred persuasion over violence. It was far less messy to get people to give you things voluntarily than to use force to take it from them. Not that he was above such things. But he had the charms and charisma to get away with a lot of things, and he had no qualms about using it to his advantage.

The blond sat with his back ramrod straight, something that made Kuroro pause and observe his body language a little better. He didn't look upset or offended, but rather seemed to be feeling pretty relaxed. Still, he sat as if there had been a severe headmistress standing right next to him with a whipping stick. Hadn't he grown up in the forests of Lukso? Kurapica glanced up at him and tilted his head. He was obviously curious about the stare, but Kuroro didn't feel like explaining himself, so he finished his meal and got up. He stretched his limbs, then walked over to the edge of the water to rinse out his hands. Waiting for the blond to finish as well, he looked over to the woods on the other side, wondering how much more of a push Kurapica would need to fall right into his hands. Granted, the boy was opening up to him, but he still insisted on non-violent actions and borderline honest transactions throughout their trip so far. Kuroro thought it was kind of ridiculous. After all, they didn't know those people, so why was the Kuruta taking this so personally? There was no point to any of it.