Itsy Bitsy Spider

18. The Morning Silence

Rein lay awake in bed at what the clock suggested was 7:02 am. She sighed. Finally, she could think in peace, her mind as clear as it could be with all the information swarming around in it.

She thought back to when she'd woken up with amnesia after falling unconscious. Her earlier memories tugged at her insides. All of them... they'd been nice. So nice.

Shalnark tried to explain as best he could when she was confused. Chrollo had bent down to look her in the eye when they talked. Phinks made her laugh for the first time. Pakunoda chided the others when they got too close to accidentally hitting her. Machi had sewn her new clothes, even giving her some old outfits she'd outgrown. Omokage complimented her eyes. Uvogin took the initiative to talk to her from his end. Nobunaga begrudgingly made a pun when Danchou told him to, and swore to never ever do it again under any circumstances, ever. Franklin told her why his earlobes were so long, which infuriated Shalnark and had Rein smiling with a smug, mischievous glee only a six-year-old could pull off. And Feitan had even gone so far as to tolerate her existence.

Thinking back, they'd also acted a bit suspiciously, but at the time, she didn't know that. She just thought they were nice people for taking care of her needs. But after what Gon told her today, she didn't know what to think. Breathing in deeply, she tried not to wake the others.

So.

She was Kurta?

The Kurta, a clan who, according to Gon, were famous for their Scarlet Eyes. Their eyes turned red. Rein pressed a palm against her eye. The Phantom Troupe attacked them years ago and stole all their eyes. All except hers? How long ago? Was she even from the clan, or did she just so happen to have the same genetic mutation?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, ruffling the pillow case.

Stars, she didn't know what to think. She didn't know how to want to think. Did she even want to have a want to think to... want to think to think... the want... Ugh. She couldn't even think straight.

Head still muddled, she stormed as quietly as she could to the window. She fumbled with the lock for a few seconds before sliding the window open, the first crack letting in a gentle breeze. The morning sun was still rising from behind the building, so the only thing bright was the sky. A calm, cool, whispering blue, unreachable but hugging the entire world.

She took in a breath, cold air stinging in her nostrils. The air frosted when she exhaled, clearing her mind.

The Phantom Troupe attacked the Kurta years ago, stealing all of their Scarlet Eyes, to admire them before selling them at high prices. All remaining pairs were now in circulation by the darker parts of society. This Kurapika, the Chain User, was the only survivor.

Believed to be the only survivor.

Sighing, her breath clouded the world before her before fading away to become one of the clouds drifting in the sky.

She lost her memory years ago. Five years, roughly. How long ago were the Kurta attacked? Rein wasn't sure, but she had a stinking suspicion that it was five years ago.

She hadn't asked much about her past. Now that she thought of it, any time she did ask, Chrollo would give her long and drawn-out explanations, giving her many details. But essentially, he told her nothing. How he managed to make unnecessary points sound so much like they were relevant, or how he spun entire paragraphs of information from a single vague detail, she had no clue. After, he somehow always managed to turn the topic back to the Troupe. He always brought it back to the here and now, the Spider. He never dwelled on the past for long. Now that she tried to dig deeper into what she actually knew about her history, she came up empty.