The Reason We Fight

Chapter 32. The Keep

It hadn't been that difficult convincing Heinrich to come to the event. She had only hinted at the interest Prince Tserriednich might have in the prize, and he was immediately willing to participate to reconcile the working relationship between his family and the Kakin royalty. Kakume straightened her suit.

"You're not thinking of showing up dressed like that, certainly?", Heinrich asked, uppishly.

There was nothing wrong with the way she was dressed. In fact, she dressed just this way every time they were together. It was her work suit.

"It just won't do! I don't want the other participants to think that I am in need of a bodyguard!", he exclaimed.

Kakume raised an eyebrow, losing patience. "But you are." He looked offended. "So, what do you suggest?"

He had planned this in advance, evidently. Heinrich produced the most outrageously self-indulgent dress she had ever seen. "For the duration of the event, just pretend we are romantic partners, got it? But protect me too, that goes without saying."

She acquiesced non-committedly and put the dress on. It clung to curves she didn't know she had like liquid midnight - a sultry number that flirted with impossibly low necklines and daring slits. The green fabric seemed to ignite with every step, shimmering like a cascade of emeralds. It danced on the edge of scandal. She presented herself to her employer. He whistled.

"Wow, Veronika. Maybe I will make you my girlfriend, after all".

Kakume tried lifting the bust up but with it came her entire cleavage, small as it was. "Half of my breasts are showing. I'm afraid it's likely to impede on my combat ability", she observed. "Anyways, shouldn't we go now?"

Heinrich tut-tutted her condescendingly. "Silly girl. One does not arrive to a party at the time they have been invited. Don't you know how dowdy it is? I wouldn't dare suffer such an embarrassment."

"It is hardly a party we are going to.", she answered matter-of-factly.

"Nevertheless, you ought to know better". They strolled into the castle proudly, her hand resting on his arm. The participants were all gathered in the great hall, waiting for them. Some of them had an annoyed, impatient look on their faces. It was then that Kakume locked eyes with Kurapika. He had traded his traditional Kurta tabard for a sharp suit, a true Mafia man. She couldn't believe her eyes, and by the looks of it, he was just as bewildered. What are you doing here? she asked him internally, but knew the answer. You think the prize are the Scarlet Eyes... She looked down, shamefully. His own eyes were full of intensity.

A man cast Heinrich a lethal glace. He had cold, calculating eyes and a weathered, scarred face. Kakume assumed it was Kane. "You've got some nerve, making us wait like that.", he said.

"Watch your tongue, commoner, or I'll have it ripped out and cast into the fire. Don't you know who my father is?"

Kane laughed dryly. "Whoever he is, he will soon find himself without heir."

Heinrich walked briskly toward him, affronted. "You plebian trash..."

The television that had been sitting at the entrance turned on suddenly, interrupting Heinrich in his threat. Arlan's handsome face appeared on the screen, all smiles. "Welcome to Hofuku Keep Treasure Hunt 2000! Four days and four nights. That is how long you will be given to find the treasure which lies in this ancient ruin. Each of you has been carefully selected for this game. Each of you has something different to offer. Each of you could be the one to emerge victorious. During this time, you may choose to cooperate or eliminate the competition. That is for you to decide. Whatever you pick... happy hunt!"

The locks on the gates of the castle activated audibly. And so it begins...

-

Kurapika didn't know what to do. What is she doing here? he wondered, alarmed. Is she here for the same reason as me? He didn't feel so sure. She may be a Kurta, just like him, but surely, her giving him the Eyes that one time must have been just that: a one-time favor. Surely, she wouldn't put herself in danger once again to retrieve them for him...

He chanced a glance at her. She looked different than the last time he saw her - she was disguised to play a role. Her hair was white and angular... a wig if he had to guess, and was wearing the most impossibly revealing of dresses. That neckline, really? And it plunged even further in the back, all the way to her tailbone, baring her entire back... It left very little to the imagination, to say the least. He felt his face burn up and had to look away. It stirred him more than he cared to admit... Does this girl really have no shame? he thought again, as he did in the train, the first time he met her. Not exactly the first time, though... Her face was solemn, however. She was looking on ahead, focus shining in her eyes; a firm, almost grave turn on her lips. Why did you leave me a message in Camor, Shuri?

"So does anyone have any idea who the host is supposed to be?", an older woman asked to the group. She had spiky red hair and horn-rimmed glasses, and a creased neck like a turtle.

Kurapika also asked himself that question, but the whole affair was shrouded in mystery. He crossed his arms, serious. "A year ago, the property was acquired by an art dealer named Himel Bird. Despite facing a land rights dispute with property investors, he emerged victorious due to historical preservation considerations. However, it appears that the restoration process has yet to commence", he responded.

An off-putting man in black and yellow said, "Artsy people always have the strangest, most eccentric of motives. He must have cooked up this event just to entertain himself, is what I think."

Kurapika was not so sure. As Senritsu said, it had the look of an ambush. Nevertheless, he couldn't waste any more time, in the event that it wasn't, and there really was a pair of Scarlet Eyes hidden in the castle.

"Doesn't matter one way or the other. Now if you will excuse me."

He went up the stairwell, to reach a gloomy hallway, away from them, away from her. He calmed himself. That's right... it changed nothing. He will find the Scarlet Eyes concealed within this castle, or kill anyone who might find them before him.