She grabbed a bottle of water and chugged. Rein gulped down her drink a bit too quickly, and struggled to keep from coughing when it burned her gullet.

The Chain User.

He looked almost innocent in daylight, without foreign blood on his clothes or the torturing actions or the death threats. Without his red hands. Without those chains.

Rein found herself gritting her teeth, but she forced her jaw to relax. Not here. Not now.

Gon left Killua behind with his food-smeared face, and jumped up to greet the blond.

"That idiot," Killua growled immediately, and slid his hand under the cream pie. He got up and snuck toward the two. The glint in his eyes suggested he was out for revenge.

Well, so was she.

She found her face becoming a bit stony and veering toward hateful, and immediately slapped a smile back on; tried to. She brought the pizza to her mouth again just to have something to do with it, so she didn't have to force herself to smile or anything. For the rest of her face, she figured if she didn't look at the Chain User, she had nothing to hate. So she brought her gaze down to the grass and thought of anything else, of clouds, the nice smell of the bakery, of her rocks... her lucky rock...

She stopped herself before she could go down that path any further. Perhaps she could seriously consider taking the Hunter Exam instead, like Gon brought up. It certainly wasn't the worst idea. Even Shalnark had a Hunter's license, and it came in very handy. Hisoka had one too, but Rein doubted he would use it in any way that was legal. He might kill a few people with it in place of his cards. She had successfully manipulated her train of thought into imagining how he would look when flicking the card up to his fingertips before doing away with his victim, when she was interrupted.

"Kurapika, this is Rein!" Gon was in front of her now, pie crust and filling smeared on his face and some in his hair. Behind him, was a face she'd made sure not to forget.

Gon pulled her up by the forearm and she finally found herself face-to-face with him. His blond hair, those white clothes he covered with his tribal blue, those gray, empty, clueless eyes that were... underneath, the same as hers. A peculiar mix of anger, duty, and nostalgia overcame her before she quickly shook it away. If she tried to act all friendly now, either he or Killua would notice she was acting. 

She had planned ahead for this, at least. Awkwardness was easier to fake than amiability because everyone expressed it differently. No one would question if she didn't look him in the eye, or acted differently.

Awkwardness, right.

Rein drew into herself, hunching her shoulders just a bit. "H-hey! I am umm... that is to say, I... uh..." She pursed her lips and stuck out a stiff arm. "Hello?" she squeaked. She cleared her throat. "I've heard some things about you from Gon! So... y-you're Kuri... Kira... Kura...um."

"Kurapika," he said firmly, and nodded in greeting before taking her hand.

The lack of chains almost surprised her.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance."

A fire was burning in her, and he was only fanning the flames. How could he be so polite now? So calm? So not covered in thick blood? "I-it's nice to meet you, Kurapika." Yeah, sure, real nice. It was just great. Fantastic.

She tried to strike up a conversation about the weather, but Killua soon came along and dragged Gon into another food fight. The Chain User followed them with no intention of joining in, just observing and laughing. Thankfully, it left Rein alone.

The Chain User didn't seem to recognize her yet, which was a good thing. But he would remember her soon, and she had to figure out an excuse for then, one that was in harmony with what she'd told the others. She should probably say something from her end first, so it didn't seem like she had something to hide. 

Better to be vague with intent and reasons and just get to the point. The main problem here was why she would cry over Uvo if he was a kidnapper she absolutely loathed. It would be too suspicious if she said that he was the only one sympathetic to her during her captivity. It was too much of a coincidence, and she had to face it, it just wasn't Uvo to be like that. Perhaps she could claim that he had been around her the longest as a guard at first, and she'd grown attached to him. It certainly went along the lines of stockholm syndrome; it was a bit shaky, but it would have to do. It might even work in her favor if she claimed she was in shock and mistook Kurapika as a threat. 

Not a perfect lie, but pretty darn close if she said so herself. This would work.

She looked at the Chain User, laughing at Gon and Killua playing. Why did he look so peaceful, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders? How could he just stand there and be like that?

When she gulped, it felt like she was swallowing her own heart. The lie was easy. It was her actions that would be difficult. In place of all those true emotions... awkwardness. Right. She could do this.

*     *     *

Gon made plans with Leorio to meet up as soon as possible back at the hotel, and they were off after they painstakingly ate what was left from the bakery. What they couldn't eat, they threw at each other, much to Rein's quiet dismay because that was food and didn't deserve to be destroyed in such a way. They were walking back, on a street with a combination of pavement and pebbles which Killua found mildly bothersome.

"Hey." Killua walked up next to her, hands deep in his pockets. He decided to get straight to the point. "Why are you acting so weird? You've been strange ever since Kurapika came."

"Oh. Was it that obvious?"

"You were stuttering non-stop and one time accidentally inhaled milk when he started to talk to you," he deadpanned. "So a bit, yeah."

She buried her face into her hands. "How could I forget." Rein ran her fingers through her hair, trying to come up with a way to explain. "See, I... get awkward around new people." She paused. "I was fine around you and Gon, because you were both kids, and, well, so am I. It's usually adults I have the most problem with. But Leorio and Zepile were both drunk when I met them, so the uncomfortable factor kind of disappeared. Kurapika is the first adult I'm meeting under normal circumstances since I escaped, so I got really awkward. It's a problem I'm trying to get rid of."

Killua shook his head. "Kurapika is a teen."

Her eyes went wide. "He's a kid?"

"He's legally considered an adult in some countries though."

"But he's a kid."

"I just said—"

"There is no difference," Rein enunciated, still somewhat in disbelief. "Stars," she breathed.

Suddenly, something came to Killua. Something so obvious, he was a bit embarrassed at why he didn't notice that hiccup in her lie before. "If you were held captive by the Phantom Troupe, why were you in a place with no locks and virtually nothing to stop you from running off?" A bit sudden and a while change in topic, but he didn't know how else to bring it up.

She seemed taken aback and pondered this herself for a moment before answering. "I don't think kidnappers normally tell captives the 'why' for everything," she told him for clarification. "But I think... I mean come on, they're the Phantom Troupe! You must have seen how strong they were. Even if I ran off, I would've been immediately recaptured. Believe me, I tried. But then I was able to escape with you and Gon while most of the Spiders weren't in the building. They can't have been right? Otherwise we wouldn't be here. "

He shrugged. "Yeah."

She nodded, and brought her palms to the sides of her head. "I'm sorry, I'm still getting over the fact that your Kurapika is a literal child—"

Killua left her in her confusion and her very odd way of acting. Moving forward, he narrowed his eyes. Again with her lies. It made sense. It made perfect sense. But that was what bothered him. He didn't know why he just knew this girl didn't speak the truth. But she was lying, and he didn't know why. Which meant he had to figure it out or she could turn out to be dangerous.

He was absolutely sure she was simple minded. So why was she so confusing? It was annoying.

He went up to Gon and started to strike up a conversation with him. Kurapika fell back, letting the two boys walk ahead to talk without him.

Kurapika turned his attention to the girl, taking in her bouncing hair and the plaid skirt. She was strikingly similar to the one who tried to fling rocks at him, the one with Scarlet Eyes. Was she...?

"O-oh, hi, Kurapika," the girl said upon noticing his glances.

He dipped his head. "Rein, correct?"

"Um, yes. Yes!" She fell quiet, mulling over something.

"Have we met—"

"Um!" Her voice was a bit too loud for such a meaningless word. "So I wanted to thank you for... I mean yes, we meet. Met. We've met." Groaning, she shoved her head into her hands, muttering a barely audible "I'm a mess".

Kurapika didn't disagree. "We've met," he echoed to prod her on.

"Yeah. Re-remember when you killed that Spider? I was there. Sorry I, uh, you know, tried to kill you and all. I thought you were a threat, cuz you... I mean you sort of committed, well, murder before my eyes, so I sorta went into self defense, I guess. It was- it was a while before you, I mean, I realized you weren't going to attic, I mean, attack. Not attack me. Wait, no not! I uh..." She cleared her throat.

Kurapika didn't think it was possible for words to hurt so badly, yet here he was, bordering on something between secondhand embarrassment and physical pain.

But ignoring that. Rein had been the person who witnessed his fight with the Spider after all. She'd cried over the Spider, even fought against Kurapika, though it was futile. He didn't even have questions to ask in his confusion. "Take your time."

"I'm awkward, I know. Sorry," Rein mumbled. "I'll just... just get point to the straight, I mean," She didn't even try to correct her wording this time.

She was acting incredibly awkward, but somehow seemed fine when talking to Gon and Killua. Perhaps it was because they were in the same age range as her? But his age can't have been much different from hers and aside from that, she had Scarlet Eyes. He saw them that night, the bright red a stark contrast from the dark sky. She was Kurta, somehow. Connected to him. She didn't seem to know of their existence when he'd questioned her about it, so perhaps she was a descendant of one who separated from the clan long ago.

A soft smile made his way onto his expression. It was kind of nice to know that he wasn't alone, genetically speaking.

"I-I was kidnapped by the Phantom Troupe a while back. I think they wanted make to... make me one of them, but they didn't tell me exactly why. I did, I mean, I was able to escape for a bit that night you killed the Spider. I'm sorry I cried, but it's... it was... it's just that, well, he was really nice to me. I mean sure, he was part of the group that you-you know, kidnapped me and all, but some of them were kinda nicer to me. He was really nice, and you killed him pretty brutally..." She tried to laugh. "Stick- um, stockholm syndrome, am I right?"

Of course she was. A Spider being nice and charitable towards a captive—Kurapika had trouble imagining it. But one related to his clan taken by the Phantom Troupe when they had killed all their relatives? He didn't know how to feel. What... what if that person had been him, his mother, or his father? What if that person had been Pairo? Now, he was starting to see the circumstances Rein had been put through, and he did not like it. His hate started to bubble up again, but with a deep breath he relaxed. Their head was crushed. He no longer had a need to pursue them.

Noticing his expression, Rein looked away, clearly flustered from her red face. "Just, um. Thank you. Anymay, I mean anyway, I was recaptured that night because I was crying and couldn't exactly see straight and the world was blurry... bu-but then Killua and Gon came along and I was able to escape with them, so uh, you know, all ends well that... um."

At least she seemed to be handling it fine. Perhaps he should hold off telling her about their entwined past, at least for a little bit.

Then the meaning of her words reached his ears. "Gon and Killua were at the Spider's base? Why?"

"Y-you," she stared at him curiously. "You didn't know? They were kidnapped by the Phantom Troupe too."

His step faltered on the sidewalk.

*     *     *

The Chain User rushed ahead toward Gon and Killua to question them about their kidnapping, leaving Rein lingering behind by a few feet.

She wanted to wash her mouth out with soap. Ugh. All that stuff, those lies and that act she'd forced herself to say—or rather stutter—made her sick. Had she really just thanked him?

Her face was red but it wasn't from being embarrassed and nervous like he seemed to think. It was taking a very large chunk of her willpower to not shout at him and cry, and she only had so much willpower left. She had to calm down.

Why was it so hard? She wanted to scream, if only to wring out some of her frustration. The Chain User was right in front of her eyes and she couldn't do anything. She had to wait and meanwhile, the Chain User was calm, empty, but smiling. Every little thing he did got on her nerves, and masking it was painstakingly difficult and got increasingly so. How much longer did she have to plaster on this flustered act? His light, relaxed smile, his pale hair, his gray eyes—

Those eyes that were the same as hers. Her past was mixed with his, or so she suspected. She would interrogate Chrollo about it later when she returned to base. Maybe she and the Chain User shared a certain history, maybe they were related, she didn't know. But either way, she wouldn't change her goal.

Like Chrollo said, the Troupe's bonds were thicker than blood.

Before she knew it, they were back at the hotel, and Leorio was waiting for them at the entrance. He raised his head at them. "Kurapika," he said slowly, like he was unable to believe he was really here. "Haven't seen you for a long time."

"Likewise."

Leorio held open the door for them as they entered the building, and gently let the door swing closed behind him. They headed for the elevators, chatting and bickering along the way.

Her ears perked up when Leorio changed the topic: "So I heard you killed one of the Spiders?"

Internally, she bristled, but on the outside, she kept her Ten flowing smoothly and her face just intrigued. She stepped forward to answer in the Chain User's place. "Yeah, he did. I was there, actually." All three swiveled to look at her, gazes intense. "I was able to escape for a night, but I was recaptured in an hour. But then Killua and Gon got me out so that was good." She tried to sell it off as no big deal.

"Man," Leorio shook his head sympathetically. "All that must have been hard on you."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think I'm handling it relatively well, considering... you know, all that happened. Either that or I'm subconsciously delaying my emotional breakdown. But hey, either way it's working." She smiled.

She was stuffing her natural emotions to the bottom of the bag, alright. But believe her, as soon as she got the chance, she'd let all that rage out, and she hoped no one would stop her. Stars, all this talk of revenge was making her sound more like one of the goal-oriented Spiders. Good.

"It is admirable the way you're able to stand here today," said the Chain User.

"Ku-Kurapika! I... uh, really think so too. Not that I, I mean, I agree with you. It's not... I didn't mean like I thought that I, you say, think."

There was a collective, silent sigh in the elevator at the display of botched conversation. A ding rang though the silence, elevator doors sliding open with a whoosh. They weren't in the hallway for their rooms like she'd thought they would be. Instead, this hallway was for private rooms, available to be booked for meetings from 8:00am—9:00pm. Rein knew, because the sign said so.

"Why are you so nervous around Kurapika, Rein?" Leorio bent down, and whispered, "A crush?" 

Stars, no. Anything but that. She whacked the side of his head, and he stumbled. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you so hard, and no, it's nothing like that," she argued, trying to put as much emphasis on the 'nothing' as humanly possible. "I just get awkward around new adults."

"Then why were you fine with me?"

"Look at you." She gestured at him. "No one can take you seriously."

He tried to argue, raising his voice. "Hey, I can—"

"When I first met you, you were drunk and called yourself Killua's dad. My opinion of you is never going to change," she interrupted, raising her own voice as well, surprised to find it came strong naturally. She had spent five years of her life arguing with the other Spiders. Maybe it would help her stabilize. She would be sure to use that more often, especially if the Chain User would continue to show up. "Your fault, Leorio."

He scowled. "When did you get so cocky?"

The sweet scent of murder plans in the air~

Okay so I just realized this chapter implied something. For clarification: I am NOT pairing Rein and Kurapika. I love Kurapika, but Rein does not. She has more reason to hate him than like him, so this just makes sense. 

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