[Close, but if you want to join, just say~] Round whatever, fight!

[alphaspider]

Characters: Kurapika, Kuroro Lucifer
Location: On the way to Casualty Communal from Shibusen, through the shopping district.
Rating: PG for violence?
Time: Day 19
Description: Kuroro and Kurapika just got out of being briefed by the Shibusen authorities. And the first thing they do is fight.

Comments

[ih8spiders]

Something was inherently--wrong about this place. The location, smack-dab in the middle of the desert, the color scheme and architecture of the city, and he'd looked up directly at the sun to see it jeering back at him. Then again - Another world, huh? - the notion was actually quite fascinating, if he could just forget about his own circumstances and focus on the scientific aspect of the situation, but--

Kurapika twitched when Kuroro's question drifted back to him. Now why did their abilities get left behind (sealed, he remembered those people said) if they were going to be fighting battles? It seemed highly counter-productive considering what they were here for. Oh, but that right hook had felt really really good, and his only consolation was that Kuroro couldn't use his skills, either.

He briefly considered ignoring the other man. They weren't together, okay. But practicality stated that he had to at least look at the bigger picture. Different world, different rules, he was going to have to change his mindset around to survive

[alphaspider]

"Unlike you, I do have some idea of social norms and whatnot to be able to at least initiate," he retorted mildly and with a smile, a little extra patronizing because Kurapika's attitude just called for it. The blond couldn't be blamed, of course, but Kuroro did not care about trifles like that.

What he was interested in instead was to see how far he could push buttons, and in this case, how easy. More importantly, if Kurapika was going to be making attempts at his life, Kuroro also had to know if the scarlet eyes still worked here. "Did you really think I spent all my time murdering and thieving? Of course, your tribe was a special case, but I do have other things to occupy myself with."

[ih8spiders]

And you clearly are a paragon of social etiquette and good behavior, he wanted to retort, but that second statement was more aggravating. He abandoned all pretense of scrutinizing the path from the school to their living quarters and stared at Kuroro's back.

"No," he said slowly, drawing out the vowel just to emphasize how stupid he thought the question was, "There are dozens of felonies other than murder and grand theft, and I expect that you've indulged in your fair share of each of those."

[alphaspider]

The boy had a penchant for taking things too literally, didn't he, and responding in kind. It was rather amusing and gave Kuroro enough ammunition for a particularly foul hit. They weren't quite on dangerous ground yet, with the Kuruta's patience as it was, but he was close. If he was going to find out if Kurapika still gained an additional boost from those eyes, then now would be the time, when they were fatigued from traveling and still recovering from shock. He might actually survive that.

"Yes, I admit to that. Actually..." And here, he threw a careless smile in the blond's direction, lip stinging in the process. "A lot of them were practiced raiding your clan. Tell me, how much torture can your body handle? Is it a Kuruta thing, to be so impressively steadfast?"

[ih8spiders]

If he were any less furious maybe he would have enough of his wits about him to start wondering why Kuroro seemed to be walking the line between fighting seriously and the usual play-mock-smirk-run away. The man wasn't attacking but he wasn't dodging either, and even though he wasn't doing any real damage, every hit was still going to leave a bruise.

So maybe Kuroro felt like playing the punching bag at the moment - Kurapika wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Don't mind if I do," he growled. He didn't resist the push, instead using it to get enough momentum to bring himself back to his feet without losing his balance. He attacked again, this time putting his weight behind a straight jab at Kuroro's forehead, which was as good a target as any.

[alphaspider]

"You know," he said as he ducked that attempt at hitting him, less because of pride and more because it would be impractical to block and limit his vision as a consequence.

The speed was still there, but now that Kuroro was prepared better, he could match it well enough. Kurapika was faster, but Kuroro was the more experienced fighter. Fine, then. Power wasn't really a consideration at this point, Kurapika suffering stunted growth because of too much Ten. There was a list of other things to test, like stamina, resilience and technique, but they didn't matter as much and he was fairly confident he still had it in him to have the advantage there. That only left one thing.

His duck turned into a full crouch, faced sideways in relation to Kurapika, and he lashed out to slam a hand to the blond's chest, palm out. "You should pick your targets better. There's much to be said about targeting something at least half a foot above your eye level."

[ih8spiders]

Even though he wasn't moving as fast as he would be with full access to his nen, adrenaline and his eyes still made Kuroro look like he was moving a tad slower, slow enough for him to see that open-handed smack coming. He skipped back a step to avoid it, and then brought his foot up for an axe kick - Kuroro had no idea how tempting a target the top of his head made right at that moment.

"Thank you for bringing yourself down to my level, then," Kurapika ground out.

[alphaspider]

And that was a good test as any to the boy's reaction time. Quick eyes, quicker reflexes. It was a pity the eyes didn't work for anyone but their owners, though Kuroro supposed he'd look weird(er) with red eyes.

"Sure," he said, and brought up his left hand from where he'd kept it from view, to smack Kurapika's calf that was bearing down on him with a lead pipe. Piles of debris. Good stuff. Did Kurapika think he went down all the way there just to make eyes at him better? He put enough power to make it sting, the calf full of conveniently sensitive meat, but he didn't expect it to slow Kurapika down. Kuroro braced his right hand against the ground in the next instant, twisted so his hips would follow the direction his upper body was taking, and lashed out with his right foot this time, aiming still for the blond's chest.

[ih8spiders]

So it was all an experiment. Kurapika didn't know whether to feel even angrier, or mortified that he'd completely walked into it. It didn't help that Kuroro's tone reminded him of how Leorio would scold his more stubborn patients for failing to follow his instructions. Of course, Leorio's concern was worlds away from Kuroro's arrogant curiosity.

But prompted by Kuroro's question, Kurapika quickly took stock of his own physical condition. His breathing and heart rate were both a bit faster than normal - which wasn't really odd considering the level of provocation he'd received. He couldn't tell, though, if the exhaustion that was only hitting him now that he wasn't fighting was from his anger, or from being plucked out of his own world and deposited in another, or if it was being caused by him using his eyes.

Kurapika blinked and focused on bringing his temper under control and wondered if he could get away with not answering. He'd already given too much away.

[alphaspider]

"I take it you don't know?" he asked with some amusement, although he was mildly disappointed at the lack of verification of his theories. They seemed to be in for a long stay, though. There would be other times to observe. For now, it was fine to take jabs at the blond's substantial pride.

Kurapika was trying to even out his temper, he could tell that much from the way blond had stopped focusing on him and started focusing on himself. Gathering his wits about him, was he? Kuroro had half the mind to make it harder for the boy, to know what the cost of staying in his enraged mode an extended time could do, but refrained from making more quips. Kuroro had found out enough for the day.

Without waiting for Kurapika to return to normal, he stood up and stepped away from Kurapika, dropping the pipe carelessly on the ground and walking away.

[ih8spiders]

"You could have just asked nicely, you know," Kurapika grumbled at Kuroro's back. He kicked the canvas sheet off and carefully got up, and waited to see if he still felt like kicking Kuroro's spine through his ribs.

The urge was fading - just the knowledge that Kuroro had provoked him on purpose just to test his limits was making it easier for him to resist doing exactly that, but there was still a red haze over everything he looked at. He was most definitely still furious about the torture comment.

The blond ran a hand down his face and wondered if he should check himself into the infirmary just in case, but then decided that he'd be better off passing out in his own quarters.

[alphaspider]

"First, I doubt if you would have answered me," he replied without bothering to look over his shoulder, instead sticking his hands in his coat pocket. "And second, I wanted to know of your maximum strength, which involved the use of your eyes. It required the use of certain methods."

He didn't lie about the torture, though, and he was aware that Kurapika must know that. End justifies the means, etc. Still, Kuroro didn't worry about a second attack, the Kuruta's pride being what it was and all.

And then, still keeping that light, friendly tone: "Let's find ourselves a place to live, shall we? If there's anything to be said about this place, it's that I don't have to hole up in any abandoned warehouses, at least."

/feeling the lack of appropriate icons :(

[ih8spiders]

Kurapika blinked. And blinked. And wondered if he'd heard wrong, but no, his hearing was fine and that was definitely Kuroro suggesting that they should partner up, and he blinked again and laughed, because that was the funniest thing he'd heard in months and--

"What makes you think I'd want to partner with you, even if we really are what you're suggesting?"

[alphaspider]

Kuroro had to pause at that. He'd expected some violent reaction or even incredulity, but not laughter. Probably, this was because he'd never seen the boy laugh (or smile) ever, and had assumed the kid wasn't capable of it.

Instead of being flustered or embarrassed, he only cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Because you'll be hard pressed to find a better partner than myself among the guests." He thought against saying something along the lines of and don't you want to get home as fast as possible to continue your scavenger hunt?. "And I know you rather well."

He did want that room at Death City Heights, though. It sounded like a better location than this Casualty Communal.

[ih8spiders]

Ahahahaha--

"No. No you don't," he said flatly. "In your dreams, maybe. You'd have a better chance of convincing me that you screwed up teleporting us both somewhere and that we're actually dead and that this is a really weird version of hell."

Hard-pressed to find a better partner, honestly. Oblivious to Kuroro's amusement Kurapika snorted again and blinked when he realized that the red was slowly bleeding out of his eyesight, Kuroro's outrageous claims doing something good for once. They were stupid enough that his first reactions were strong enough to override his anger.

[alphaspider]

His other eyebrow rose, and Kuroro blinked. He hadn't really said anything worth laughing about, but he was finding out that the Kuruta had an odd sense of humor and sarcasm.

Well, he couldn't begrudge the blond some amusement. After all, he couldn't be the only one being entertained here. Kuroro shrugged and continued on his trek. He was usually right, and there was no reason to be wrong on this one. After all, the guests seemed to have weak children among them, if what he was observing was correct.

"The last time I teleported something was actually you over that river," he grinned in remembrance.

[ih8spiders]

Finally. Kurapika quickened his pace and overtook Kuroro, stomping into the apartment lobby first in his pressing need to get as far away from the other man as soon as was humanly possible. In retrospect he realized that he should have stopped somewhere to calm down; he probably wasn't presenting a good picture to the people who might see them. But then all the more that he needed to get somewhere he could knock himself out just to let his anger run its course.

He randomly picked a unit, not really caring anymore if the person manning the desk did a double-take at his glowing red eyes. He did remember to mumble his thanks when he got the keys.

[alphaspider]

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Kuroro laughed, quickly taking note of Kurapika's choice of unit and picking the one right over it. 6H. Not bad, convenient location in relation to the stairs and at a decent height. He gave the receptionist a charming smile, picked up his key, and briskly caught up to the boy.

"What room did you take?" he asked, all innocence.

[ih8spiders]

"You're daft if you think I'm going to tell you," Kurapika threw over his shoulder as he headed for the stairs. He'd wondered if he should take the elevator - but then Kuroro would just shoulder his way in and he'd be forced to endure the man's company inside an elevator car, and in any case, he could use the stairs to work off his temper.

The man will probably just find out for himself, anyway. Kurapika had started to wonder if maybe Kuroro was actually worse than Hisoka when it came to stalking people.

[alphaspider]

"Perhaps an optimist?" he suggested, smile still in place. "Surely you'd know what the word meant." It was his theory that survivors were always optimists, to a degree. Criminals, too, somewhat.

There was nothing more to be had here, though, and he didn't fancy a six-floor trip up the building when he was beat. Dimension-hopping was tiring work, etc etc. At least it was a fairly productive day. Who knew that contemplating stealing some cash from a small store would lead to something this interesting? "I'll see you later," he said as he made for the elevator, hand up in the air.