The x Other x Kurta

X. Surprising Turn of Events

• Chrollo •

Chrollo was busy reading a book on the effects of isolation when Mika barged in. She seemed to be heavily upset.

"How'd you find me?" Chrollo asked, suspicious of the slightly older woman.

"I have my ways." Mika sat down across from Chrollo and placed her hands on his knees.

Chrollo was uncomfortable with the action, so he glared at Mika until she removed her hands. "Don't ever do that again," he warned.

Mika looked away. "Feitan didn't dispose of Akari. He's second-guessing the job, so I considered hiring you. However, Feitan has informed me that Akari has defeated you before."

Chrollo didn't like the sound of that. "Yeah, she did. So what? Does that speak to my overall abilities?"

Mika shook her head. "No. If anyone can defeat her, it's likely to be someone from the Phantom Troupe."

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Mika. Akari has met the Chain User, who also happens to be a Kurta survivor."

"How did that happen?!"

"Chance, I guess." He shrugged. "The Chain User isn't someone to be taken lightly. He killed Uvogin and Pakunoda, and he rendered me useless by the use of his Judgement Chain. Given his track record, even I would be wary of approaching your daughter when she's got someone like that by her side."

Mika signed. "What do I do then?" She grasped onto her hair out of frustration. "I can't let her find out about the real reason her father died."

"Doesn't she think you're dead?"

"I'm not sure." Mika crossed her legs. "She confronted Feitan about him looking for his sister, but I don't know if she's made the connection between him and me being related. Even if she did, it's not like she'd know if I'm alive or not."

"Then what are you so worried about?"

"I guess I'm just paranoid. It doesn't help that Ging is alive either. I'm sure he knows something's fishy about Cliff's sudden death."

Ging. Why did that name sound so familiar? Chrollo hummed. He wasn't sure how to respond to that statement, nor did he know how to console the frazzled woman. "I'm sure things will be fine."

"Maybe so," Mika smiled. "Because maybe I'll have to take care of Akari myself."

• Akari •

Akari woke up, only to find herself comfortably laying on Kurapika. She blushed in embarrassment. She quickly got up and placed the throw on top of Kurapika himself and placed the book he was reading on the coffee table. He deserved to sleep comfortably, too.

Akari checked the time to see how long they'd been napping. The clock showed 7:04. There was still some daylight left, and Akari wanted to go out and grab some ingredients to prepare a light dinner for Kurapika and herself. She left a handwritten note on top of the book, letting Kurapika know she'd be back soon.

Akari quickly fixed her appearance and walked out the door. She managed to make it to the grocery store in less than ten minutes.

As she was browsing the store shelves for basic food items, she felt a gentle poke on her shoulder. She turned around, expecting to see a stranger who may have confused her with someone else. Instead, she was looking at Feitan.

"What the...?" Wasting no time, Akari dashed out of the aisle. Today was not her day. Seeing Feitan once was bad enough, but this was her second time seeing him in less than five hours. She was not about to be captured by him.