Dis Aliter Visum - Chapter 81 - 2,698 words
Note: Exhausted. Can't organize my thoughts properly, so I'm not even sure this chapter makes sense.
Beta-reader: ItachiTenshi and Lea Summers
Chapter summary: Human Consideration.
Chapter 81
Kurapica's mind was racing, putting together theories on the reasons for Kuroro's ludicrous suggestion, while trying to grasp the implications of the offer at the same time. Surely, it had to be a trap. There was simply no possible way that the Spider Head would trust him with such sensitive information, was there? Kurapica's eyes strayed towards the older man and he frowned, searching his face for hints as to what he was thinking. Kuroro's expression was neutral, nearly blank. It was almost creepy how he could just freeze his features like this. It looked nearly inhuman.
But why was he doing it now, when just earlier, he'd been so expressive? Clearly, he didn't want Kurapica to guess at what he was thinking, but why? Where was the trap? The Kuruta's mind turned to how things had occurred in York Shin. He couldn't count on seeing the Spider Head's expression back then and he had to rely strictly on his own powers of deduction and adaptability. This was just the same. He couldn't count on Kuroro's face to help him figure out what he should do. For now, he could only depend and trust in his own skills. He turned back towards the window, thoughts turning inwards.
So, what did he know about this situation? One, Kuroro had offered to give him information that he knew Kurapica would use to his own ends. Two, there was a trap. Three, Kuroro knew that he would be aware of the trap. Four, Kuroro would give Kurapica only information that he felt secure in giving, either because the intelligence was false, or because he knew he could counter any attempt Kurapica made to use it against the Spiders. So what should he do?
Kurapica frowned, analyzing each point one by one until he was fed up and irritated with himself. He wasn't usually so indecisive.
No, he knew what to do. It was simple, really. He'd only need to repeat what he'd done when he had dealt with Hisoka in York Shin: get all of the information that he could and trust none of it. His mind finally made up, he relaxed. Now, he needed to obtain as much knowledge as he could without Kuroro even realizing that he was giving it to him. The man wouldn't be easy to fool, but it was worth a try.
“You're an idiot, you know that?” he finally commented.
“I certainly am not,” Kuroro assured him.
“Insane, then,” the blond insisted. “It must be temporary insanity.”
“My mind is perfectly sound.”
There was laughter in Kuroro's voice and the blond turned his head to look at him straight on.
“Do you realize what you are suggesting?” he enunciated slowly, as if every word cost him tremendous will. Calculated hesitation.
“Yes,” Kuroro answered calmly.
“You would give information on the Spiders,” the young Hunter said. “To me, who has vowed to kill them? What are you playing at?”
“Playing?” Kuroro arched an eyebrow, his eyes flicking towards Kurapica before returning to the road ahead. “I'm hurt. I am not trying to trick you.”
“Then what?”
Kuroro took a moment to gather his thoughts and Kurapica mentally held his breath, waiting to see what the older man would say, careful to show no outward sign as to how much import he put on what would next come out of Kuroro's mouth.
“Consider things from my perspective,” the Spider Head finally said. “You know about our rules. You recognize that since you've defeated both Ubo-san and Paku, you have earned a place amongst us. You're aware that I need to replace three members of my team. You also should appreciate that you're the only person alive today who has managed to obtain a victory over me. You know all of this.”
Kurapica nodded in confirmation and the Spider Head continued.
“There is no one who better deserves a place in my team than you. Now, I know that you have no reason to join and quite a few not to. I gave you an incentive to be a Spider, although only in name for the moment.”
Kurapica opened his mouth to protest being called one of the Ryodan, but Kuroro didn't let him speak.
“Let me finish. So, I know you're against joining, and I see no one better than you for this position. We're at an impasse here. I did manage to get you to come with me, but you're only tagging along so long as I am helping you gather the Scarlet Eyes. After that, I'm not sure if you're going to stick around or be a bit of a loose cannon like Hisoka was. Still, as far as I am concerned, we have a contract. The Eyes for your loyalty. I could spend the rest of your life hiding the abilities of all of my Spiders, which would make you very unpredictable, or I could give you enough information so that you're a part of us, but not so much that you could defeat us. Does that make sense?”
Kurapica nodded, begrudgingly impressed with Kuroro's decision to take this risk. “Yeah,” he finally added, rather unnecessarily.
“I'm pretty confident that I can pull the next job alone,” Kuroro added after a moment. “But after that, things are going to get very hectic.”
“Iono,” Kurapica guessed, “right?”
“Iono,” the older man confirmed. “The fact that we're gathering all of the Scarlet Eyes has been observed, as Greenswold so graciously warned us. They must know that we are heading east, which would mean...”
“... That we're headed towards Iono.” Kurapica finished for him. “With the desert all around it and nowhere to camp close-by, it's the perfect place for an ambush.”
“Exactly,” the Spider Head said with a grin.
Kurapica mulled this over, slowly analyzing the situation. Well, if Kuroro was ready to wait until they reached Iono before he demanded that the blond make a decision, that would give the Kuruta ample time to come up with a plan. Kuroro could do the next burglary and Kurapica could....
Wait, Kuroro meant to go alone?
“So what is your plan for the next place that we're going to?” he asked.
“Meaning, 'Why do you intend to go on your own,' I suspect,” Kuroro said with a laugh. “I'll need you to provide references for me. How good are you at disguising your voice?”
“I've never really tried,” Kurapica admitted.
“You could pass for a woman when you were wearing a skirt,” Kuroro pointed out. His grin was teasing, and Kurapica refused to bite. Eventually, the older man continued, “I'll have you pretend to be three or four different people on the phone. The man who will call you will most certainly call each reference in a short period of time, so you'll have to fool him into thinking that he's talking to four people.”
“Won't the number be the same?”
“Worry not!” Kuroro's grin intensified. “We can make it so different numbers all connect to your phone. I've got it all figured out. I even have different area codes to make it more believable. It's not likely they will accept to do business with me just on my own good word, so you have the most important role. Think you can do it?”
“I'm perfectly able to sound absolutely respectable,” Kurapica sent back, turning away to hide how the corners of his lips tried to lift treacherously up, “since I am. Respectable.”
“Oh, you wound me,” Kuroro intoned. He even put a hand on his heart for a moment before returning it to the steering wheel.
“You mean you have a heart?” Kurapica teased, before he realized that his voice was just as treacherous as his lips. He cleared his throat and tried to look unconcerned with this latest mishap.
He wasn't supposed to enjoy his time with the Spider Head.
“Ooh,” Kuroro intoned. “Ouch. How you send those arrows at me! Have you no pity? No human consideration?”
“Show me a human and I might have,” Kurapica answered without missing a beat.
Damn it, he was not supposed to be enjoying his time with the Spider Head.
Just to make sure that he was not going to have anymore slip ups, he leaned forward and turned the radio back on. Rock station or no rock station, anything was better than... than this weird atmosphere they'd been having lately. Kuroro glanced at him as the blond resettled into his seat. He didn't comment, but turned the volume up, opened his window again and left him to his thoughts.
They travelled in relative silence for the rest of the day, stopping once for lunch and a second time for dinner. Having taken the time to eat a decent meal, they drove late into the night and finally stopped at an inn, in a small town somewhere on the mudflats that preceded the desert. Kuroro explained the plan while he was changing into his bed clothes, Kurapica lying on the bed with his back to the Spider Head, occasionally making soft confirmatory sounds to indicate that he was listening. They were to circle north, avoiding the sands for as long as possible. There was a greener country there, where one of their marks - the one they were aiming for next - had a summer residence. Once they'd gotten the pairs of eyes that the man owned, they would drive due south to a city on the very edge of the desert, where they would switch vehicles. The city car they were driving now would be absolutely useless in the desert. They needed something a little more durable.
They left early the next day and bought provisions to last a week. They travelled the entire day, stopping only to stretch their legs, and had to camp out as there wasn't any hotels in the area and Kuroro didn't want to make a detour. Kurapica didn't mind. Camping out in the wild had never bothered him.
Another day passed much like the first, with the exception that Kuroro parked the car a couple of hours after a cold and rather cheerless dinner. He left the engine running and took out his cellphone, to look something up. He made humming sounds as he read. Kurapica's gaze shifted from his book to the device, though he couldn't really see what was on the screen, and waited for the older man to explain what he was doing. Finally, Kuroro set the phone back down in the console between their seats.
“First time I come this way,” he explained. “I think I've found a motel that will be decent enough for our purposes.”
“What are those, exactly?” Kurapica wanted to know. He lowered the volume on the car radio - back to classical music, thankfully - and closed his book.
“I have to look somewhat respectable,” Kuroro said, then sent him a grin when Kurapica scoffed. “Respectable,” he repeated, “but not overly rich. Upper middle class, that sort of thing. You, on the other hand, have to be invisible.”
“Invisible? I don't have such ability.”
“You're so damn literal sometimes, you know that?” Kuroro was chuckling as he said this, and the blond wasn't sure how to take it. “I just mean that people shouldn't see you. We can do this in two different ways. You could sneak in at night, but -”
“There might be cameras,” Kurapica interrupted.
“Precisely what I was about to say. It's unlikely anyone would check the tapes if nothing happens, however.”
“What is the other way?”
“Fun Fun Cloth,” Kuroro answered.
“No way,” the blond categorically refused.
“You'd rather risk the cameras?”
“I'd rather risk the cameras.”
“Suit yourself,” Kuroro said with a shrug.
He put the car back in drive and navigated through the winding streets until they reached a motel that, oddly enough, looked nearly posh. It was a modern building that had a central lobby flanked by two wings, with glass elevators at each corners. The ten or fifteen floors had exterior porches with maybe twenty doors on the lower levels, ten on the middle ones and five on the upper stories, attesting to the size of the suites at the top.
“Hide,” Kuroro told the blond, parking near the central lobby.
The command was totally unnecessary, to Kurapica's mind, but he didn't comment. He lowered the back of his seat and hunkered down against the seat. It wasn't the safest position he'd ever been in, but with the tinted windows, someone would have to be standing by his door and looking directly at him to see him. The older man got out of the car and went into the lobby. Minutes trickled by. Kurapica yawned and fiddled with his book. The sun had gone down and there was no light to read by. He glanced at the upper floors, wondering who would come to stay here and if some of his former mafia associates ever had. Clearly, the owner had spared no expense on the larger suites. Kuroro would probably take one of the single rooms on the ground floor, as he was supposed to be alone and living well, not travelling with someone and filthy rich.
Kurapica started tapping his fingers on the cover of his book, closing his eyes, trying to remember the melody of a piece of music that he'd heard for the first time a few hours prior. After a moment, he took out his cellphone, turned towards the car door and clicked the screen on, keeping it low so the light wouldn't be seen from outside. He quickly typed in the name of the composer, intent on looking up what other pieces he'd composed. Eventually, he put the phone back to dormant and closed his eyes. Where was Kuroro? This was taking forever.
When the car door on the driver's side opened, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He waited until Kuroro had sat and closed the door.
“That took forever,” he commented softly.
“Yeah,” Kuroro agreed. “Chatty clerk. I figured I might as well get some information on the town from her.”
He drove to the end of the left wing and parked in front of the very last door. Smart.
“Okay,” he murmured, grabbing his phone, “wait until I tap on the window twice.”
“All right,” Kurapica agreed.
The older man got out of the car and walked to the door of their room, judging by where he was looking before he got out of view. He was probably going to unlock the door so Kurapica could sneak in quickly. After a moment, the Spider Head reappeared on his side of the car. He tapped his window twice, then went to open the back door to grab the bag of food that was on the seat. Kurapica quickly got out and walked into the room, making sure not to run as that would look suspicious on the off chance that someone was paying attention to the cameras at the very moment where he was trying to sneak in. There he waited for Kuroro to return, which the older man soon did.
He took his shower first, and when he came out, Kurapica quickly followed suit. Washing away the grime and fatigue of the trip felt heavenly. He dried his hair and walked into the bedroom, where he was met with an oddly domestic scene; Kuroro was ironing a dress shirt, humming softly. The absurdity of what he was seeing stopped Kurapica cold in his tracks. The older man glanced at him.
“What?” he asked, half laughing, half defensive. “I need to dress like a business man. That means suits for a few days. I can't really just take them out of my luggage and wear them as is!”
“Yeah, I know,” Kurapica answered with a shrug.
Feeling rather awkward, he walked to his bags to put away a few things, then he grabbed his book and settled on the bed. As he read, he was half aware that Kuroro was humming the very tune he'd been wanting to remember. Without noticing when it happened, his eyes fell closed and he slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Beta-reader: ItachiTenshi and Lea Summers
Chapter summary: Human Consideration.
Chapter 81
Kurapica's mind was racing, putting together theories on the reasons for Kuroro's ludicrous suggestion, while trying to grasp the implications of the offer at the same time. Surely, it had to be a trap. There was simply no possible way that the Spider Head would trust him with such sensitive information, was there? Kurapica's eyes strayed towards the older man and he frowned, searching his face for hints as to what he was thinking. Kuroro's expression was neutral, nearly blank. It was almost creepy how he could just freeze his features like this. It looked nearly inhuman.
But why was he doing it now, when just earlier, he'd been so expressive? Clearly, he didn't want Kurapica to guess at what he was thinking, but why? Where was the trap? The Kuruta's mind turned to how things had occurred in York Shin. He couldn't count on seeing the Spider Head's expression back then and he had to rely strictly on his own powers of deduction and adaptability. This was just the same. He couldn't count on Kuroro's face to help him figure out what he should do. For now, he could only depend and trust in his own skills. He turned back towards the window, thoughts turning inwards.
So, what did he know about this situation? One, Kuroro had offered to give him information that he knew Kurapica would use to his own ends. Two, there was a trap. Three, Kuroro knew that he would be aware of the trap. Four, Kuroro would give Kurapica only information that he felt secure in giving, either because the intelligence was false, or because he knew he could counter any attempt Kurapica made to use it against the Spiders. So what should he do?
Kurapica frowned, analyzing each point one by one until he was fed up and irritated with himself. He wasn't usually so indecisive.
No, he knew what to do. It was simple, really. He'd only need to repeat what he'd done when he had dealt with Hisoka in York Shin: get all of the information that he could and trust none of it. His mind finally made up, he relaxed. Now, he needed to obtain as much knowledge as he could without Kuroro even realizing that he was giving it to him. The man wouldn't be easy to fool, but it was worth a try.
“You're an idiot, you know that?” he finally commented.
“I certainly am not,” Kuroro assured him.
“Insane, then,” the blond insisted. “It must be temporary insanity.”
“My mind is perfectly sound.”
There was laughter in Kuroro's voice and the blond turned his head to look at him straight on.
“Do you realize what you are suggesting?” he enunciated slowly, as if every word cost him tremendous will. Calculated hesitation.
“Yes,” Kuroro answered calmly.
“You would give information on the Spiders,” the young Hunter said. “To me, who has vowed to kill them? What are you playing at?”
“Playing?” Kuroro arched an eyebrow, his eyes flicking towards Kurapica before returning to the road ahead. “I'm hurt. I am not trying to trick you.”
“Then what?”
Kuroro took a moment to gather his thoughts and Kurapica mentally held his breath, waiting to see what the older man would say, careful to show no outward sign as to how much import he put on what would next come out of Kuroro's mouth.
“Consider things from my perspective,” the Spider Head finally said. “You know about our rules. You recognize that since you've defeated both Ubo-san and Paku, you have earned a place amongst us. You're aware that I need to replace three members of my team. You also should appreciate that you're the only person alive today who has managed to obtain a victory over me. You know all of this.”
Kurapica nodded in confirmation and the Spider Head continued.
“There is no one who better deserves a place in my team than you. Now, I know that you have no reason to join and quite a few not to. I gave you an incentive to be a Spider, although only in name for the moment.”
Kurapica opened his mouth to protest being called one of the Ryodan, but Kuroro didn't let him speak.
“Let me finish. So, I know you're against joining, and I see no one better than you for this position. We're at an impasse here. I did manage to get you to come with me, but you're only tagging along so long as I am helping you gather the Scarlet Eyes. After that, I'm not sure if you're going to stick around or be a bit of a loose cannon like Hisoka was. Still, as far as I am concerned, we have a contract. The Eyes for your loyalty. I could spend the rest of your life hiding the abilities of all of my Spiders, which would make you very unpredictable, or I could give you enough information so that you're a part of us, but not so much that you could defeat us. Does that make sense?”
Kurapica nodded, begrudgingly impressed with Kuroro's decision to take this risk. “Yeah,” he finally added, rather unnecessarily.
“I'm pretty confident that I can pull the next job alone,” Kuroro added after a moment. “But after that, things are going to get very hectic.”
“Iono,” Kurapica guessed, “right?”
“Iono,” the older man confirmed. “The fact that we're gathering all of the Scarlet Eyes has been observed, as Greenswold so graciously warned us. They must know that we are heading east, which would mean...”
“... That we're headed towards Iono.” Kurapica finished for him. “With the desert all around it and nowhere to camp close-by, it's the perfect place for an ambush.”
“Exactly,” the Spider Head said with a grin.
Kurapica mulled this over, slowly analyzing the situation. Well, if Kuroro was ready to wait until they reached Iono before he demanded that the blond make a decision, that would give the Kuruta ample time to come up with a plan. Kuroro could do the next burglary and Kurapica could....
Wait, Kuroro meant to go alone?
“So what is your plan for the next place that we're going to?” he asked.
“Meaning, 'Why do you intend to go on your own,' I suspect,” Kuroro said with a laugh. “I'll need you to provide references for me. How good are you at disguising your voice?”
“I've never really tried,” Kurapica admitted.
“You could pass for a woman when you were wearing a skirt,” Kuroro pointed out. His grin was teasing, and Kurapica refused to bite. Eventually, the older man continued, “I'll have you pretend to be three or four different people on the phone. The man who will call you will most certainly call each reference in a short period of time, so you'll have to fool him into thinking that he's talking to four people.”
“Won't the number be the same?”
“Worry not!” Kuroro's grin intensified. “We can make it so different numbers all connect to your phone. I've got it all figured out. I even have different area codes to make it more believable. It's not likely they will accept to do business with me just on my own good word, so you have the most important role. Think you can do it?”
“I'm perfectly able to sound absolutely respectable,” Kurapica sent back, turning away to hide how the corners of his lips tried to lift treacherously up, “since I am. Respectable.”
“Oh, you wound me,” Kuroro intoned. He even put a hand on his heart for a moment before returning it to the steering wheel.
“You mean you have a heart?” Kurapica teased, before he realized that his voice was just as treacherous as his lips. He cleared his throat and tried to look unconcerned with this latest mishap.
He wasn't supposed to enjoy his time with the Spider Head.
“Ooh,” Kuroro intoned. “Ouch. How you send those arrows at me! Have you no pity? No human consideration?”
“Show me a human and I might have,” Kurapica answered without missing a beat.
Damn it, he was not supposed to be enjoying his time with the Spider Head.
Just to make sure that he was not going to have anymore slip ups, he leaned forward and turned the radio back on. Rock station or no rock station, anything was better than... than this weird atmosphere they'd been having lately. Kuroro glanced at him as the blond resettled into his seat. He didn't comment, but turned the volume up, opened his window again and left him to his thoughts.
They travelled in relative silence for the rest of the day, stopping once for lunch and a second time for dinner. Having taken the time to eat a decent meal, they drove late into the night and finally stopped at an inn, in a small town somewhere on the mudflats that preceded the desert. Kuroro explained the plan while he was changing into his bed clothes, Kurapica lying on the bed with his back to the Spider Head, occasionally making soft confirmatory sounds to indicate that he was listening. They were to circle north, avoiding the sands for as long as possible. There was a greener country there, where one of their marks - the one they were aiming for next - had a summer residence. Once they'd gotten the pairs of eyes that the man owned, they would drive due south to a city on the very edge of the desert, where they would switch vehicles. The city car they were driving now would be absolutely useless in the desert. They needed something a little more durable.
They left early the next day and bought provisions to last a week. They travelled the entire day, stopping only to stretch their legs, and had to camp out as there wasn't any hotels in the area and Kuroro didn't want to make a detour. Kurapica didn't mind. Camping out in the wild had never bothered him.
Another day passed much like the first, with the exception that Kuroro parked the car a couple of hours after a cold and rather cheerless dinner. He left the engine running and took out his cellphone, to look something up. He made humming sounds as he read. Kurapica's gaze shifted from his book to the device, though he couldn't really see what was on the screen, and waited for the older man to explain what he was doing. Finally, Kuroro set the phone back down in the console between their seats.
“First time I come this way,” he explained. “I think I've found a motel that will be decent enough for our purposes.”
“What are those, exactly?” Kurapica wanted to know. He lowered the volume on the car radio - back to classical music, thankfully - and closed his book.
“I have to look somewhat respectable,” Kuroro said, then sent him a grin when Kurapica scoffed. “Respectable,” he repeated, “but not overly rich. Upper middle class, that sort of thing. You, on the other hand, have to be invisible.”
“Invisible? I don't have such ability.”
“You're so damn literal sometimes, you know that?” Kuroro was chuckling as he said this, and the blond wasn't sure how to take it. “I just mean that people shouldn't see you. We can do this in two different ways. You could sneak in at night, but -”
“There might be cameras,” Kurapica interrupted.
“Precisely what I was about to say. It's unlikely anyone would check the tapes if nothing happens, however.”
“What is the other way?”
“Fun Fun Cloth,” Kuroro answered.
“No way,” the blond categorically refused.
“You'd rather risk the cameras?”
“I'd rather risk the cameras.”
“Suit yourself,” Kuroro said with a shrug.
He put the car back in drive and navigated through the winding streets until they reached a motel that, oddly enough, looked nearly posh. It was a modern building that had a central lobby flanked by two wings, with glass elevators at each corners. The ten or fifteen floors had exterior porches with maybe twenty doors on the lower levels, ten on the middle ones and five on the upper stories, attesting to the size of the suites at the top.
“Hide,” Kuroro told the blond, parking near the central lobby.
The command was totally unnecessary, to Kurapica's mind, but he didn't comment. He lowered the back of his seat and hunkered down against the seat. It wasn't the safest position he'd ever been in, but with the tinted windows, someone would have to be standing by his door and looking directly at him to see him. The older man got out of the car and went into the lobby. Minutes trickled by. Kurapica yawned and fiddled with his book. The sun had gone down and there was no light to read by. He glanced at the upper floors, wondering who would come to stay here and if some of his former mafia associates ever had. Clearly, the owner had spared no expense on the larger suites. Kuroro would probably take one of the single rooms on the ground floor, as he was supposed to be alone and living well, not travelling with someone and filthy rich.
Kurapica started tapping his fingers on the cover of his book, closing his eyes, trying to remember the melody of a piece of music that he'd heard for the first time a few hours prior. After a moment, he took out his cellphone, turned towards the car door and clicked the screen on, keeping it low so the light wouldn't be seen from outside. He quickly typed in the name of the composer, intent on looking up what other pieces he'd composed. Eventually, he put the phone back to dormant and closed his eyes. Where was Kuroro? This was taking forever.
When the car door on the driver's side opened, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He waited until Kuroro had sat and closed the door.
“That took forever,” he commented softly.
“Yeah,” Kuroro agreed. “Chatty clerk. I figured I might as well get some information on the town from her.”
He drove to the end of the left wing and parked in front of the very last door. Smart.
“Okay,” he murmured, grabbing his phone, “wait until I tap on the window twice.”
“All right,” Kurapica agreed.
The older man got out of the car and walked to the door of their room, judging by where he was looking before he got out of view. He was probably going to unlock the door so Kurapica could sneak in quickly. After a moment, the Spider Head reappeared on his side of the car. He tapped his window twice, then went to open the back door to grab the bag of food that was on the seat. Kurapica quickly got out and walked into the room, making sure not to run as that would look suspicious on the off chance that someone was paying attention to the cameras at the very moment where he was trying to sneak in. There he waited for Kuroro to return, which the older man soon did.
He took his shower first, and when he came out, Kurapica quickly followed suit. Washing away the grime and fatigue of the trip felt heavenly. He dried his hair and walked into the bedroom, where he was met with an oddly domestic scene; Kuroro was ironing a dress shirt, humming softly. The absurdity of what he was seeing stopped Kurapica cold in his tracks. The older man glanced at him.
“What?” he asked, half laughing, half defensive. “I need to dress like a business man. That means suits for a few days. I can't really just take them out of my luggage and wear them as is!”
“Yeah, I know,” Kurapica answered with a shrug.
Feeling rather awkward, he walked to his bags to put away a few things, then he grabbed his book and settled on the bed. As he read, he was half aware that Kuroro was humming the very tune he'd been wanting to remember. Without noticing when it happened, his eyes fell closed and he slipped into a dreamless sleep.