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The nightmare always begins with that fucking smirk.
That aggravating grin that Kurapika so badly wants to wipe off Chrollo’s busted face. It taunts him, his sultry brown eyes and that twisted smile- inviting him to go for the kill.
Kurapika is straddling Chrollo’s stomach, his scarlet eyes glaring down at the enemy that he has chained onto the dirt ground. His hands are balled into fists in the air, ready for another strike to the face. Knuckles raw and bruised, the same colour as the lips of man beneath him. He can no longer ignore Chrollo’s growing erection pressing against his bottom.
“You sick fuck!” his fist connects with Chrollo’s cheekbone, sending his face reeling to the left, bloody spittle flying from his lips. In the seclusion of a dense forest, the sound of his chains rattling plays an eerie melody amidst the rustling of tree leaves around them.
Chrollo rolls his head back and looks at Kurapika mockingly with his one good eye- the other has swollen shut- and a bloody grin from ear to ear splits his face into two. Somehow, he manages to raise a suggestive eyebrow at the blonde.
“You fucking perv!” two more strikes, one on the nose, one to the jaw, and they connect with a rewarding crunch. Chrollo retaliates by thrusting his hips against his captor.
Repulsed, Kurapika rolls off the raven-haired man and doubles over, hacking up whatever is left in his gut onto the dirt. He is disgusted… at who exactly? Chrollo for enjoying this? Or did he take some pleasure in this too?
He had once felt revolted at the act of killing- disgusted by the sheer brutality of it. With each strike on his opponent, he loses a part of himself. The grating sound of his chains when it tightens around his advisory, whether it be preventing them from using their aura, or simply just squeezing the life out of them, the smell of blood in the air and the slimy feel of it when it splatters on his skin- all of it left him nauseous. Though it made him sick to the core, each act of cruelty he endured was necessary for his path of revenge.
And now, after years of violence, has he grown numb to that feeling? Has he come to enjoy it?
Chrollo has a knack for reading his thoughts.
“You’re just like me, you know,” he purrs, his voice raspy and tantalising. “It’s a necessity, a fundamental obligation to achieve our goals.”
He glares at his enemy, scarlet eyes ablaze with spite.
He really ought to kill him- this wasn’t like all those years ago in Yorknew, when it had turned into a hostage situation. And the times after that- close encounters, brief dances with the enemy, always ending with Chrollo slipping away. And now, he has finally caught the head of the Spiders. Kill the head, then go for the remaining legs.
But somehow, he cannot bring himself to. What the hell is wrong with him? Has Chrollo gotten under his skin? Isn’t this what he was truly after, to avenge his fallen clan? What is he waiting for? A part of him fears that if he were to kill Chrollo right here and now, there will be nothing left for him to do, nothing left to live for.
Uvogin and Pakunoda and all his other victims, they had a choice, hadn’t they? He didn’t kill them, he gave them a choice. Abide by his rules, and they could live. And yet, and yet they chose death, because of their ego, sheer stubbornness, or because of something bigger than them which they wanted to serve and protect. They brought it upon themselves.
He did not kill them.
Right?
“Your eyes are so beautiful when they glow red like that. To die by your hands, oh merciful Angel of Death, would be such an honour.”
“Will you shut up!” Kurapika yells, still hunched over to the side, still tasting the bile in his throat. He really should get going with his plan.
“Your talents are wasted on trying to kill us, you know? Why don’t you join us instead? To have Azrael himself among us would bring me so much pleasure.”
Groaning, Kurapika picks himself up and kicks Chrollo swiftly in the ribs. He hears a satisfying crack as his foot connects, sending him tumbling a few feet across the mossy forest ground.
“Actually, I think I rather keep you all to myself,” Chrollo grunts, shifting uncomfortably in his chains to meet Kurapika’s angry gaze with his own amused one. There is a devious twinkle in his eye.
Another hard kick to the ribs.
“Oh, just imagine, having my own little Kurta, the last Kurta in fact, as my personal plaything. What a luxury that would be,” Chrollo hums as blood dribbles down his lip.
“I said shut up! Disgusting scum!” Kurapika huffs, glaring at the man. With a flick of his fingers, Kurapika commands his chains to slither up Chrollo’s throat and wrap around his mouth, tightening it just enough so he doesn’t have to hear his sickening voice again. Chrollo’s eyes narrow with glee. He was clearly enjoying this, despite being bound and gagged, that sick bastard.
Kurapika spends a few moments catching his breaths, psyching himself up to follow through with his plan to kill the Head.
A rustling in the bushes catches his attention.
A couple of shadowy figures appear. Kurapika recognises them instantly.
“Hey boss! I hope you’re not having too much fun without us!” a muscular blonde man waves at them. Kurapika clenches his jaw and takes up a fighting stance.
“Well, that’s obviously not the case, Shal, considering that the boss is all tied up and beaten,” a voice comes from behind him. Kurapika spins around, trying to find the source. It is a woman with short black hair and large glasses. He flexes his fingers, painfully aware of the fact that his Chain Jail is currently occupied.
“I can fix him up real good. It’s not a problem,” a pink haired woman chimes up next to the woman with the glasses.
“I don’t see why we can’t just kill him right here and now,” another voice- this time from the treetops. Kurapika squints into the darkness, he can just barely make out a silhouette of a tall man with a topknot, with a sword at his waist.
“I vote we kill him too,” a short black-haired man emergers from the shadows of another tree, he twirls an umbrella in his hands.
Kurapika feels dizzy, the voices of his enemies resonate around him like a relentless birdsong, filling the once silent forest with a nauseating symphony of malice and derision. Each voice flutters around his ears like pesky bugs, increasing in cadence and varying in pitch, disorientating him, overwhelming him, knocking the air out of his lungs. He struggles to grasp at fragments of their chatter, all while battling the feeling of his lurching heart threatening to burst out of his chest. The ground is spinning beneath his feet, as the cackling around him grows.
“We can’t kill him, the boss said so. He wants the chain bastard alive.”
“Yeah yeah, I know. The boss is in love, that kinky bastard.”
Laughter.
“We did go through all that trouble stealing those eyes.”
“Took us months.”
“Stupid chain bastard. He’s smaller than I thought. Never actually seen the freak till now.”
“At least let me have a go at him. Machi can patch him up.”
“No way in hell I’m doing that.”
“Where the fuck are Phinks and Franklin, anyway?”
“I’m here, I’m here.”
Franklin is carrying a large wooden chest in his arms as he emerges from the trees surrounding the clearing. Kurapika tenses as he dumps the chest onto the ground carelessly. It falls on its side. The lid creaks open, and out tumbles several containers containing Scarlet Eyes.
“What the fuck is this?” Kurapika croaks. Immediately, he drops onto his knees and reaches for the eyes, his gaze flickering around each container to check for any damage. He feels the glares from the Troupe tearing into his back, digging into him, scrutinising him. They are the scuttling legs of spiders, crawling all over his skin.
Gritting his teeth, he picks the containers up, one by one, counting them and setting them back carefully inside the chest. These are the remaining eyes he has yet to collect, and now they’re here, right in front of him.
What kind of sick game is Chrollo playing?
He loosens the chains around Chrollo’s mouth, giving him permission to speak.
“Explain.”
“A fair exchange, don’t you think?” Chrollo smirks after spitting blood. “You get your precious clan’s eyes, and I get you, my darling Angel.”
“Not even close.”
Chrollo frowns. “Ah… Surely, I did not misunderstand your goal? Perhaps that will change your mind?” He looks behind Kurapika.
Kurapika follows his gaze. Another shadow appears. It was a blonde man in a green tracksuit, dragging a rather large object behind him.
“I suppose I can throw that into the bargain as well,” Chrollo sighs, the corner of his eye twitches.
The man drops the object onto the ground. It is a large red rug, rolled up tightly. The man gives it a kick, causing it to unfold towards Kurapika.
Out rolls a body.
A naked body, mangled with all sorts of horrid wounds and bruises, lying face down on the woollen rug. Kurapika feels his stomach churning. Blood from the various deep wounds on the back and limbs had soaked through the rug, dying it a dark maroon. The hands and feet appear to be crushed, digits bent at odd angles, and one of the elbows even looked to be dislocated. A strained grunt comes from the body, and Kurapika could see the faint rise and fall of the chest. They were still breathing.
“What the fuck is this?”
Phinks gives the body another kick, rolling it over so that it is faced up. It is someone he never thought he’d see again.
Leorio.
Kurapika convulses and staggers towards the body in front of him.
Snickering.
“Look at his face!”
“It’s what he deserves, after what he did to Uvo and Paku!”
“Man, I wish Uvo were here to see this.”
“Don’t worry, he’s probably watching us right now from above.”
More cackling.
“Leorio!” Kurapika cries, delicately taking the doctor’s face in his hands. Chain Jail rattles behind him, still wrapped around Chrollo. He feels Leorio’s neck for a pulse, sighing in relief as he feels a weak beat.
This… this can’t be real. A nightmare, that’s what this is.
He hasn’t seen Leorio for years. He had pushed him out of his life, after that stupid love confession years ago. There was no place for trivial things like love when he has yet to complete his life’s mission. Though there was no denying he felt the same about Leorio, and a part of him wanted so badly to reciprocate his feelings, it was for Leorio’s own good that he stayed away. Being with him will only endanger him. With his future uncertain and his jobs becoming more and more dangerous, his life was constantly on the line. He forced himself to let go of those feelings and took all the necessary precautions to cut all contact with his friends to ensure that they will never get hurt because of him again. So why is Leorio here now, beaten and bruised and injured and on the verge of death right in front of him?
“It’s a good deal, don’t you think?”
The reality of the situation sinks its sharp fangs into Kurapika as he stares at the man he had loved bleed out before him.
“Submit yourself entirely to me, and you can have your precious eyes. We’ll fix up your little doctor friend right now and send him on his way.”
“Why are you doing this?” Kurapika’s chest tightens with guilt and fear for Leorio’s life.
Chrollo chuckles. “Ever since that fated night in Yorknew, when I saw that exquisite scarlet in your eyes, such divinity… They piqued my interest, ignited a fire in my loins, you could say. The more I saw you, the more I wanted you, Kurta. I simply must have you.”
Kurapika’s heartbeat palpitates deafeningly in his eardrums. He feels dizzy.
“Don’t listen to that bastard, Kurapika,” a strained gurgle escapes Leorio’s throat. A drop of blood trickles down the side of his lips, adding to the pool of blood soaked up by the rug beneath him. “J-just get away from here, you can’t fight them all.”
“Leorio…” Kurapika takes Leorio’s broken hand in his. It feels limp and cold, like a pile of meat. His eyes are closed, brows furrowed in agony. He’s lost too much blood.
“Time is running out, my dear Kurta.”
He stares at the eyes, so neatly arranged in the chest, then back at his dying friend. The last of the eyes. That was all he was ever after, right? To honour his ancestors and to retrieve their eyes? But now Leorio is in this mess because of him. There is only one thing he can do.
“Fine.”
He gets up from the ground, defeated, and releases the chains on Chrollo. The raven-haired man slowly rises, rolling his shoulders and neck in an attempt to loosen his sore body after being chained up for hours.
“I want you to use your Stake of Retribution on yourself,” he commands, pulling out a book from his coat pocket.
“What?”
“Kurapika, no…” Leorio groans weakly behind him.
“Do it, or we crush the remaining eyes and kill your friend,” Chrollo strides towards him, flipping through the pages of the book.
Kurapika finds himself giving in. He prepares the chain.
“Surrender yourself entirely to me, or die. That is the condition.”
“I can’t… do that.”
If he surrenders, Chrollo can just go against his word and let Leorio die. He has to at least get Leorio out of here first.
Chrollo nods his head towards the trees. There is a rustling in the trees and suddenly the tip of a sword is pressed against Leorio’s neck, hard enough to draw blood.
Kurapika forces his eyes to turn scarlet, speaking quickly. “I set a binding rule on myself. I will submit myself fully to Chrollo Lucilfer, or I will lose my life.” He tenses as he feels the tiny nen blade pierce through his skin, the chain coiling around his heart. He glares daggers at Chrollo, before continuing, “in exchange, you promise to let me have the rest of the Scarlet Eyes, and you will heal and free Leorio.”
The corners of Chrollo’s lips curl in satisfaction.
“You can only use that ability when your eyes are scarlet, yes?”
“That is correct.”
Chrollo strides up to Kurapika, and takes his right hand, the hand with the chains, in his. He entwines their fingers and brings Kurapika’s hands to his lips. He kisses each knuckle with depraved affection, causing the bruises on them throb. He then slowly guides Kurapika’s hands to the book he is holding, positioning it so that it is barely hovering over the white handprint on the cover. He contemplates for a moment and pulls the book away, leaving the conditions for the theft unfulfilled. The act clearly a taunt, meant to tease Kurapika for what’s to come.
“You plan to steal Judgement Chain,” Kurapika mutters, “which is counterproductive, because the moment you steal it, the condition I set upon myself will be voided, and I will be free.”
“Do you see me as a fool, my little Kurta?” Chrollo’s breath is hot against Kurapika’s ear. He feels ill. “I can just as easily use Judgement Chain on you myself to reset the rule.”
“I don’t see how this ability is useful for you, considering that it can only be used in conjunction with Emperor Time, when my eyes turn red.”
“I’ll have my methods,” Chrollo smirks and leans down, bringing his face close to the blonde. Kurapika flinches as Chrollo presses his bruised lips onto his eyelid. Kurapika feels his eyes burn with revulsion behind his eyelids when he feels the warm wetness of Chrollo’s tongue glide over his lashes, prying them open slightly. He forces himself not to gag, not to give any sort of reaction that will please Chrollo.
“Besides, I predict, that once I break you in, I will no longer have any use for that binding rule of submitting yourself to me.”
Kurapika shivers.
Chrollo pulls away. “Let us depart, shall we?” he smiles, appeased. He gestures for Kurapika to follow him.
“Wait. The eyes, and Leorio.”
“Franklin, carry that chest, will you? And Machi, do what you must do,” Chrollo has already started walking away from the clearing.
“I won’t go with you until I see Leorio healed and returned safely,” Kurapika grits his teeth as he feels the chains tighten around his heart. He is playing a dangerous game, sitting on the verge of breaking the rule. He feels himself balancing on the fine line between life and death.
Chrollo stops in his tracks, and looks back at Kurapika, arching a brow.
“Tsk. Here I am, kind enough to let you bury the eyes next to all the others you so painstakingly collected. Now be a good little Kurta and surrender yourself fully to me. We are leaving.”
“But Leorio-”
“Franklin, crush the eyes.”
“Okay! Okay! I’m coming,” Kurapika gasps. He must comply, at least until the eyes are safe in his possession and he can give them their proper burial. Maybe then his ancestors can forgive him for the sinful act of surrendering himself to the enemy.
“Marvelous.”
Kurapika follows Chrollo through the trees begrudgingly, looking back at Leorio. He can vaguely see Machi bent over his body, and he can only hope that the Spiders will keep their promise. The chains around his heart grow tighter the longer he looks at the friend that he is leaving behind.
Chrollo pauses and sighs in irritation. “I so wish you can forget about that pathetic doctor. You should only be thinking about me right now.”
“I’d rather die than forget him.”
Chrollo looks back at Kurapika, his eyes unreadable. There is a twitch in the vein on his temple.
“You’re so silly, my dear Kurta. Saying words you don’t mean. Are you that forgetful? What about your precious clans’ eyes which you have yet to bury?”
Kurapika doesn’t know how to respond. He sneaks another glance at Leorio-
“Feitan!” Chrollo barks. “Kill that doctor, and make it hurt!”
“Leorio!” Kurapika gasps.
He jolts upright, shivering in a cold sweat. The room is dark, quiet, apart from his heavy breathing.
There is not enough oxygen in his lungs.
He hears a rustling beside him, followed by a click of a switch. The lamp by the bed is turned on and suddenly the room is too bright.
“Kurapika? What’s wrong?” he hears a familiar husky voice murmuring beside him. “Another nightmare?”
The room is spinning around Kurapika. He tastes acid in his mouth and hears a pounding in his ears. He clasps a hand tightly around his mouth and staggers to the conjoined bathroom, then collapses by the toilet bowl and empties the remnants of dinner from his stomach.
The image of Leorio’s corpse flashes behind his eyelids. He hyperventilates and digs his nails into his scalp, a pathetic attempt at clawing the image out of his mind. He continues to gag into the toilet. There is a sour taste on his tongue.
“Kurapika! You’re okay, you’re okay,” he feels large hands wrap around his wrists, pulling his grip away from his head. “Shh… it’s okay, sunshine. You’re okay.”
“L-Leorio…” Kurapika’s eyes widen at the sight of Leorio in front of him. “You… You are dead.”
“No I’m not, Kurapika,” Leorio brushes the sweaty strands of hair away from Kurapika’s eyes. Kurapika trembles at the touch, his face pale like he’s just seen a ghost. “Hey, look at me, I’m right here.”
“N-no. I saw them k-kill you. You were right there. You were right there on the ground and they killed you.”
“Can you take some deep breaths for me?” Leorio take’s Kurapika’s face into his hands.
Kurapika gulps erratically, his eyes searching Leorio’s face and neck for any signs of injury.
“You’re dead… you’re dead...”
“It was a nightmare, Kura,” Leorio pulls Kurapika into his arms, pressing the blonde’s head against his chest. Kurapika’s breaths start to slow down as he listens to the steady tempo of Leorio’s heartbeat. “I’m right here, sunshine. I’m safe.” Leorio’s whispers vibrate against his ears.
“B-but it was all so real, Chrollo, the Spiders-”
“They’re dead, love,” Leorio takes Kurapika’s hand in his gently, running his fingers reassuringly over his knuckles. “Gone.”
“Killed?”
Leorio hesitates for a while, frowning slightly. “Yes… You defeated them.”
Kurapika winces, struggling to remember. Had he defeated the Troupe? He can still feel tiny spider legs crawling under his skin, tormenting him. He looks down at his and Leorio’s entwined hands and notices a wedding band around their ring fingers.
Yes, that’s right.
The Spiders had been defeated. I killed every last one of them. The eyes have been buried. I am married to Leorio Paladiknight. I live with him. We are a family together. The Spiders had been defeated. I killed every last one of them. The eyes have been buried. I am married to Leorio Paladiknight. I live with him. We are a family together. The Spiders had been defeated. I killed every last one of them. The eyes have been buried. I am married to Leorio Paladiknight. I live with him. We are a family together. The Spiders had been defeated. I killed every last one of them…
He replays the facts in his head, the mantra that brings him back to reality, as he stares at the silver ring that circled his finger. The ring that now replaced his chains.
Leorio follows his gaze and draws circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. “I’m right here, sunshine. We’re safe.”
“Safe,” he repeats, finally starting to believe the word.
He hugs Leorio tight and cries into his arms. Leorio shushes him, caressing his back gently.
“The Spiders had been defeated. I killed every last one of them. The eyes have been buried. I am married to Leorio Paladiknight. I live with him. We are a family together,” he says the mantra one last time out loud just to make sure.
“Yes, that’s right, Kura,” Leorio plants a soft kiss on his forehead. “We’re just fine. It was just a nightmare, and I’m right here.”
Kurapika nods shyly and meets Leorio’s gaze. As he stares into those soft brown eyes, he feels himself gradually relax, his worries melting away. Yes, just a nightmare. His husband is right here. Everything is fine. Everything is good. There is nothing to worry about.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and back to bed, okay?” Leorio rises from the ground, carefully picking him up. Kurapika lets himself be wiped down with a wet towel. He rinses his mouth with mouthwash and lets Leorio change him out of his soiled pyjama top.
Soon, they’re back in the warmth of their large king-sized bed, Kurapika nestled comfortably in Leorio’s arms. Leorio runs a thumb over his brow, smoothing the frown he didn’t realise he had. There is still that sinking feeling of uneasiness deep in his gut- the scenes from the nightmare still bubbled inside him, lying in wait like a dormant volcano.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Leorio suggests.
Kurapika shakes his head. “It was only a stupid nightmare, Leorio. I’ll get over it.”
“It’s not good to bottle things up, you know.”
“You sound just like my therapist.”
“Well your therapist is right,” Leorio pouts, earning an eye roll from Kurapika.
Leorio turns off the lamp and they lie in silence for a while, listening to each other’s breathing. Leorio’s was calm, while Kurapika’s still trembled slightly.
“You know I love you, right?” Leorio whispers, shifting onto his side to face Kurapika.
“Yes, it’s why we’re married.”
Leorio chuckles and brings his face close to Kurapika’s, his breath hot on his lips. Kurapika closes the gap, pressing his lips onto his husband’s, hoping that this will make the anxiety in his gut go away.
Leorio gets the hint and deepens the kiss, pulling Kurapika even closer to him. He runs his fingers up the base of his neck, tangling them in his soft blonde hair. Kurapika shivers at the sensation, a tingle running up his spine. Leorio knows he loves that feeling. He wraps a leg around his husband’s waist and parts his lips, exhaling softly.
“I love you too, Leorio.”
Leorio smiles through the kiss and moves his hands down Kurapika’s back, slipping them under his shirt. The touch feels warm and safe but electrifying at the same time. The feeling of uneasiness gradually dissipates and is replaced by another, a much more desirable one. He lets Leorio’s hands travel around his body, exploring every inch of his hot and flushed skin. He moans softly at Leorio’s playful pinches, his heart pumping hard, directing blood to somewhere lower down.
“Leorio…”
“Shh…” Leorio breathes, peppering kisses all over Kurapika’s neck. He sucks on the skin behind Kurapika’s ear, causing the blonde to arch his back, yearning for more.
“Mmm,” Kurapika hums, moving his own hands too. He pulls on Leorio’s boxers. Leorio moves his hands away while continuing to trail kisses along his collarbone.
“Just let me make you feel good, okay?”
Kurapika nods, closing his eyes, fully yielding himself to Leorio. His husband’s hands work their way lower and lower, eventually stopping at his heat.
He lets himself melt away, like tender meat on a bone, falling apart in his lover’s arms.
The morning sun filtering through the curtains wakes him. Kurapika throws an arm over his eyes to block out the light, yawning daintily. He smells the faint scent of breakfast- bacon and pancakes, wafting in from the kitchen outside. The blissful life of domesticity comforts him.
He smiles to himself, a blush creeping to his cheeks as he remembers the events of the night before, the residual feeling of Leorio inside of him, and a hotness grows between his thighs.
He hears the bedroom door creak open behind him and footsteps approach the bed.
“Breakfast smells lovely, Leorio,” he mumbles. He doesn’t open his eyes, his eyelids still heavy considering what little sleep they had after the night’s activities.
A rustling of the sheets and the creaking of the bed, he feels Leorio slip under the covers beside him. A warm arm snakes around his waist and a hand wraps around his thigh, a thumb brushes briefly over his erect member.
But the hand feels… different from the night before.
“It’s rude to bring up that name, Kurta,” the voice is not Leorio’s.
Immediately his eyes fly open and his breathing halts. Instinctively, he flexes his fingers to conjure his chains, but nothing appears. His heart drops into the pit of his gut as terror spreads across his entire body, scorching hot, like cracks along the surface of hardened magma.
“I’ll have to punish you for that. Especially when you and I both know that he is long dead.”
Kurapika flips over so that he is facing the voice. He finds himself staring at a pair of glowing red eyes. The volcano erupts.
The nightmare always begins with that fucking smirk.