Midnight Resolve [Kurapika x Kurta!Reader]

[8] Stone Auction

With the hours ticking away and the auction fast approaching, you were at a hard decision to make. Chances were, the Troupe would be at the auction tonight, but you doubted they all would be there. If Hisoka really was insinuating that the Phantom Troupe was residing on the outskirts of York New, how many of them would stay behind? Would it be divided half and half?

You were burning with curiosity that made you want to go check out the possibility of a hide-out, but you had to stop yourself. If they were really going to be at the auction tonight, people could die. This shouldn't be a hard choice for you - you had to try and save as many lives as possible, even at the risk of having the Troupe move bases.

Glancing at the time on your phone, you hummed. You had just less than two hours before the auction hall opened, giving you time to get dressed in more appropriate wear and head on over. Thankfully, you had come packed for the occasion. You weren't one for frilly stuff, not to mention a dress too tight would just limit your movement. Instead, you dressed in a fitted suit — red dress pants paired with an opened matching jacket, and a black dress shirt underneath it, completing the outfit with black heels. Honestly, you looked like a scarily cool business woman.

You smiled wryly as you appraised your appearance in the mirror. It felt like the hunter exam was just yesterday, yet you've changed so much...

It wasn't a bad change, though, you were certain of at least that much.

Deeming yourself presentable enough to go to a mafia-hosted auction, you left. You knew they wouldn't let you in with weapons, but that was only ones they couldn't see. You had replaced your retractable bo staff after the hunter exam, considering your previous one had been accidentally disintegrated by you. It was a more reinforced steel anyways, much more sturdy than your previous one. Not disguised as a thick ring, you decided it was disguised well enough to bring along with you. Yeah, a weapon didn't always help much in a battle of nen, but you never knew when you'd need it.

Since you couldn't really drive, you had to hail a taxi. Funnily enough, that was the hardest part, mostly because no cab service wanted to come out to this part of the city. Eventually, though, you had managed to bribe a cab driver with enough money to come pick you up.

The drive was a bit longer than you had wanted, but it couldn't be helped. Eventually, you got to the auction house. The cab driver refused to drive too close, but you thanked him nonetheless and tipped him well, giving a terse smile before heading off.

Oddly enough, the street was dead. There were several cars, but nobody around. Feeling your heart tighten a bit, you picked up your pace, and only when you were close enough to the entrance did you hear screams and another loud noise, reminiscent to gunfire. You didn't hesitate. Immediately, you burst into action, bolting forward just as two people had managed to leave the auction house.

It was as if time moved in slow motion. The two people, an unassuming man and an elegant woman with pink hair, were in a panic, blood splattered on them. Immediately moving towards them was another woman with a strange looking... Was that a vacuum cleaner?

It didn't matter as she immediately smashed the guy's head in with it. The woman with pink hair turned to flee, and the woman moved forward to kill her too.

You reacted impulsively.

Clicking the button that popped out your steel bo staff, you leapt in between the two women, just barely blocking the assailant's attack. You grunted upon impact — she was strong. Her fuchsia eyes widened lightly in shock, whether at your appearance or the fact you blocked her attack, you weren't sure.

"Hurry up and get out of here!" You grunted to the other woman. You couldn't see her face but heard her footsteps fade, just in time for the black-haired woman to jump back.