The Reason We Fight

Chapter 10. The Reveal

Kurapika and that girl, Kakume, headed to their position on the roof of a nearby building in silence, binoculars in hand. They watched the venue intently, mind on the mission.

In a way, it's a good thing that she was paired up with me, he thought, firm. I have a good vantage point to see if anything happens down there, and can monitor her actions at the same time.

She appeared to have a worse time of it. "Ugh", she exclaimed, impertinently. "What a bore". She sat on the edge of the building and pulled a flask out of her pocket, taking a big gulp. Kurapika stared at her in disbelief. How can she possibly trust me enough to let herself be in such a compromising position? he thought, incredulous. All it would take is one small push...

"Moonshine?", she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm only eighteen...", Kurapika responded, annoyed.

"So?"

Kurapika coughed in discomfort. Is this girl for real? Or maybe... Is she trying to poison him? "It's illegal. Also, we're on the job".

Kakume gave him the most puzzled of expressions. "Suit yourself", she said, standoffish. She then took another sip and began tunelessly whistling a song, looking into her binoculars.

Dalzollene then called him on his cell phone. "Yes, things are going smoothly", Kurapika told him. "Nothing to report, for the moment". He terminated the call. It dawned on him then, hearing it in the background. This tune... This is a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. How? He looked at her then. Her face was almost... peaceful. His own bore an anguished expression, which she soon took notice of. She sighed.

"Quit it with the lost puppy look, okay? Go on, ask what you wanna ask... get it out of your system, already. I swear I will answer as truthfully as my pride permits."

Kurapika watched her intently. "You never answered, before. About why you were affected by seeing the Eyes. What could my brethren have possibly done to you that would warrant such emotion?"

Kakume said nothing, her face unreadable.

"We've met before, you know that?", she said, breaking the silence. She stood up, tip toeing on the edge of the building. "You were quite young then, no more than 6 or 7. I lived amongst the Kurta... for a little while. My mother had lost her taste of the outside, and wanted back in. She had good reasons for it. We lived in Meteor City, which was... well no matter." She paused. "When they took me away, my mother didn't see me off. I cried, I think. I mean, I must have. But she didn't dare show herself, as her people... my people... took me and sold me off".

The sudden disclosure arrested his senses. Her... a Kurta? A crimson haze clouded his vision, and all the sounds of the bursting city faded into a distant hum. She is a Kurta... there is another Kurta... He noticed a tremor in his hand, its rhythm mirroring that of his pounding chest. "That's... impossible. What are you implying?"

Kakume jumped off from the edge to where he was standing, her face empty. She was retreating, clamming up, as he had anticipated earlier. "This was a mistake. Maybe we should split." As she turned her back on him, he felt himself grabbing her by the arm, pulling her toward him.

"Please", he said, desperate. "I need to know".

Kakume looked at him uncertainly. Her eyes softened, then. "Look, it was a long time ago. No use in crying over spilt milk. I do not wish to sully your memory of them."

Kurapika fell into a silence. Her words rang bitter in his head. He sat down on the edge of the building, where she had been seated earlier, and stared into the distance, feeling a sense of deep melancholy wash over him. She stood next to him, slowly, looking off into the city.