The Reason We Fight

Chapter 14. The Execution

It cannot be, Kurapika thought, distressed. He soldiered through, going through the motions. He talked with Neon's father, Light Nostrade, over the phone. He made him a leader, in Dalzollene's place. Dalzollene is dead... Kakume is dead. It's been going so well... just as he had planned, really. This whole... infiltration mission. He will surely get his brethren's eyes in no time. So why is he feeling so empty?

The orders were to keep his daughter safe until he arrives tomorrow. He will try to convince her to leave Yorkshin swiftly, assuring her safety.

Kurapika ordered Squala to stay with Neon, in order to protect her. It's possible the Troupe may have information on the buildings owned by the Nostrade family. This man... He killed them, and then he killed her...

She was brash, rude, annoying, impertinent. But she was the last link he had to his people. She was also brave, hopeful, and kind. She fought the good fight, he thought, but quickly buried that thought. I know what I have to do.

He put his game face on. "Senritsu, Linssen, Basho", he called out. "Go to another room in the hotel. Bring the boss with you. Don't check out, make them think you are still there. Don't use an alias."

Senritsu approached him. "What are you going to do?"

"I have to go back. We haven't been able to reach either Dalzollene or Ranek, but it's possible they are still alive. I have to make sure they don't just lie unconscious in the rubble".

"Is that really why you're going?", she asked.

Kurapika paused. "What do you mean?"

"This man... he's going to come back to find you".

"I know", he said, then left.

-

Kakume lifted herself up, dusting the drywall off of her shirt. Her left arm was throbbing, and she couldn't move it. Her head was spinning. She wiped the dry blood from the back of her head. A concussion? Would explain the trip down memory lane, she thought. How long has she been out? She had to get back. Should she go to the hotel? I guess there's nowhere else to go. She started limping to her destination, going through the bustling city. Her broken body was moving against the relentless flow of people. The towering buildings cast ominous shadows. The cacophony of honking cars and hurried footsteps felt dissonant in her ears, echoing the disarray within her heart. What am I doing here? she wondered. Fluorescent signs flickered as she walked by. Is Kurapika okay? She continued, casting the thought aside, unwilling to come to terms with it. The city's pulse was throbbing in sync with the pain in her arm.

"Kakume!", she heard a voice call out, far, into the distance. Was it real or imagined?

I should have died, she thought. He should have killed me.

"Thank god, you're alive!"

She raised her eyes. Kurapika was standing before her. "You're hurt", she thought she heard. A ringing noise buzzed in her ears. She felt her legs weaken. Kurapika grabbed her by the shoulders and laid her down. He summoned his chains and placed the links of his thumb on her injuries, healing her.

Her head cleared. "K-Kurapika?", she said, surprised.

"Get back to the hotel, Kakume. The others are all there. I have to go after him. I'm sure you understand."

She stood up, alert. "No! I don't understand! This is senseless. You're going to get yourself killed."

"Maybe", he responded. "But I have to do something. Someone like that cannot be allowed to live. What he's done..." Mulling it over seemed to rile him up. She could sense his control slipping.