001 | Jan 13 | Afternoon | Video

[heartlistens]

[As the communicator turns on, there is a girl...or is it a guy that shows up. With a smile, she waves to it]

It seems that I am not the only person who has appeared from another world. Although, I do not know how Death City functions, I do hope that I will learn and help them win this war. I have agendas of my on back home but I think it would not

Comments

[audio]

[ih8spiders]

[There's an in-drawn breath, a surprised sound, and the reply is audio at first, as if the speaker is afraid that using anything more personal might break this small hope and reveal it to be the illusion it might be.]

Senritsu?

[action]

[ih8spiders]

[It's not the Senritsu he knows. So far none of the people from their world have come from as far into the future as he has, except maybe Kuroro. It places him in an odd position--it feels lonely, almost, but even knowing that, he knows that this is his friend standing in front of him, one of the few people he'd trust with anything.]

Well... you probably have a lot of questions to ask. There's a nearby coffee shop. It should be more comfortable there than just standing here.

[action]

[heartlistens]

Ah, I wasn't aware there was one. [A light giggle]

Then shall we go? I don't mind going there.

[action]

[ih8spiders]

[That might be a hint of a smile playing around the corners of his lips. Her good humor is infectious, at least. Kurapika reaches into the deep pocket of his coat and pulls out a neatly-folded square of fabric, a spare scarf he dug out from his stash of winter clothes.]

Here, put this on. It's cold out.

[And then he'll be leading the way out of the lobby when it looks like she's ready to follow him.]

[action]

[heartlistens]

Ah, thank you!

[Senritsu was wearing a coat but she didn't expect Kurapika to bring a scarf for her. Either way, she followed Kurapika to their destination. She wanted to say something but perhaps it would be best to wait until they get there.]

[action]

[ih8spiders]

[Kurapika has a lot of scarves. Jackets, too. Winter in the desert kind of took him by surprise, so now he's armed to the teeth with the right clothing. He leads the way but keeps pace with Senritsu so she can walk by his side--it's a good thing that it stopped snowing weeks ago. The walk is a short one, just a couple of blocks, down a squat set of stairs and past a quaint alley. He points out the direction of a few random landmarks, or at least the ones he can remember, just to fill in the silence.]

This is the closest one to the Communal, but there are several all over the city. [He opens the door for her, pulls out a chair at their chosen table. Doing these things reminds him of their first meeting, when he helped her store her suitcase in an overhead rack to high up for her to reach.]

[action]

[heartlistens]

[Walking by this city kind of does remind her of how rare it was for the both of them to relax during their time in York Shinn. They were constantly being chased after they the Ryodan after all. She was listening to Kurapika's direction to the landmarks until they arrived at the store.

It was rather nostalgic, it did remind her of when they first met too]

Would it be okay if I asked those questions now or later?

[action] *too high

[ih8spiders]

[Kurapika had another motive for suggesting that they move to the coffee shop. The walk out in the cold air has done its job to calm him, and now he doesn't feel as jittery. He can't put the inevitable questions off forever, and it's as good a time as any for Senritsu to ask them.]

Go ahead. [He nods at her encouragingly, even as he raises a hand to summon a waiter and order tea for the two of them.]

[action]

[heartlistens]

[After he was done ordering, she paused. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him but there was one that out ruled them all]

Why did you choose Kuroro to be your partner?

[She had heard his side but she wanted to hear Kurapika's side]

[action]

[ih8spiders]

[Kurapika manages not to wince, but it's clear that he's very uncomfortable with the beginning of their talk. He shifts in his seat, hopes that his order will arrive soon so he'd have something to do with his hands.]

Well. How much as he told you? [It's no use pretending, in any case.]

[action]

[heartlistens]

He told me that he convinced you to join him. That there was no real reason to kill him now that we didn't have any ties to our world.

[Now that she thought about it, he did give her vague explanations]

[action] ugh my typo errors

[ih8spiders]

"Join"... [Kurapika's forehead furrows as he considers the word. It's not exactly correct, but... He can ask if that's really the word Kuroro used, but he might as well just clarify.] I agreed to stay as his permanent partner, while we're in this world, at least. It wasn't an easy decision. We got here June 19 last year. I only committed in September.

[action] That's fine!

[heartlistens]

I see.

[She paused. She wasn't happy with his decision but it was clear that he had put a lot of thought into it. Since he has, she couldn't really say no to such a thing]

Then I wish you would be careful around him.

[action]

[ih8spiders]

[That's difficult to promise. Kuroro has this way forcing him out of his comfort zones, pushing him into recklessness, leading him into making decisions he normally wouldn't be caught considering. His partnership with the man is one huge exhibit of all those things.]

Five times. [He picks at the sleeve of his coat, worrying at an imaginary wrinkle.] That's how many times I ran into him after York Shin. I was hunting him because I felt the seal I'd placed on him getting removed. That's how many times he could have killed me, but didn't. Then almost seven months here, without our nen...

[Kurapika shakes his head.] That's not being careful around him. I've never been careful around him, I think. [So many mistakes in York Shin alone... Senritsu should remember that it took her using her flute just to stop him from charging recklessly into battle against the entire Ryodan.]

[action]

[heartlistens]

But you are aware of the dangerous situations that you're in when you're with him. I don't want you to jump into recklessness again.

[She sighed. It was difficult knowing that without her nen ability, there was no way that she could fully protect Kurapika from Kuroro. She had a feeling that her weapon form would be a flute and maybe hoped that her abilities as a weapon were the same as using her nen. In addition, she had to find someone who knew how to play a flute too...]

I'll be watching if you do. [She doesn't want to scold you again!]

[action]

[ih8spiders]

I'm aware. [Meekly; he's surprised by her sudden vehemence.] I'll be all right as long as he is, anyway. He's the meister.

[Continued here.]