The Reason We Fight

Chapter 53. The Devil's Advocate

Tam stood watching, smiling mirthlessly, like an apex predator. "So, this is the inner sanctum. We left things unfinished, Kaku-chan". He paused dramatically and waltzed right in. "Here I thought our last altercation had killed you, but here you are... talking, walking, varnishing the floor with some Hunter nobody".

"Tam!", Kakume muttered, taken aback. "H-How?"

"Stay back", Kurapika ordered succinctly, motioning her behind him, his eyes turning scarlet.

His strides had a sinuous, deadly grace. "Come on, now. You know how I feel about loose ends". He circled around them. "I had a little chat with one of your dear Red Hands associates".

"You... tortured them?", she asked, dreading the answer.

"You know, I really wanted to, but the guy wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to get into it. Led me straight to the doctor".

Kurapika frowned. "Leorio..."

Tam continued, nonplussed. "Would you imagine my surprise, going through last year's Hunter exam roster, when I saw your familiar mug right next to his". His teeth bared in a rictus snarl. "Kurapika", he enunciated gravely. "The Camor sheriff! Playing with the big leagues, aren't you, green boy? A Mafia boss? How old are you anyways, 20?" Tam burst out laughing, then his face went alarmingly serious. "When I caught of whiff of what you're searching for, that's when I knew I'd find my Kakume right by you".

"The Scarlet Eyes. You knew I was a Kurta".

"I figured it out anyways. Anyhow, as nice as it was catching up and all, I've got some business to get to", he said, and swiftly summoned his cloud of beetles. Kakume didn't miss a step, and immediately erected a towering glass enclosure around Kurapika and her, going all the way to the ceiling. The beetles had no way in, and neither did Tam. He pointlessly punched and kicked the protective barrier, then sighed and lit a cigarette, giving his daughter a sour look. "This barrier won't hold forever".

He positioned the desk chair in front of them and straddled it, taking a deep inhale of his cigarette, the very picture of self-restrain and stoicism.

"Why?", Kakume asked him then. "Why do you want to kill me, Tam? I cared about you. You must know that... we're kin".

"You know why. For the same reason you do. Can you blame an old narcissist for putting his own life first?"

She swallowed hard. "The fortune-teller", she said, finally understanding. "She showed you that I would be the one to kill you". She scoffed bitterly. "A self-fulfilling prophecy, and one that has nothing to do with him", she declared, pointing at Kurapika. "I will fight you if you let him go unharmed".

Kurapika protested, glowering at her. "That won't happen. I'm not moving a muscle".

"Now is not the time for your signature stubbornness, Kurapika!", she groaned. Tam hooted, cackling loudly at the pair's banter.

"How touching!", he chortled. "But I'm afraid you're a chip off the old block, girl. We're the same, you and I. In the end, you will always pick yourself over others, no matter how much you think you might like them".

She whipped her head back at him, cross. "People change, as incomprehensible it is for you to understand, Tam. Looking out for each other... that's just what friends do".

That seemed to amuse him even more. "Friends? Is that what you are?" He erupted in malicious laughter. "My, my, don't delude yourselves. You know as well as I that the two of you will never be friends".

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Well for one, you might as well be contractually obligated to stick together, the way I see it. Wonder how friendly you'd be if you weren't the last two Kurta left, hm? Not very much, I'd think. What else do you have in common anyways? No... from where I stand, you've never been friends, so to speak. You'll continue to cling to that thin thread that binds you, unable to let go. Orbit around each other like twin stars stuck in an inescapable ellipse, fated to either gyrate away, or better yet, edge ever closer until you collide in an enormous bang. You'll love each other, and hate each other, until it kills you both". He shook his head in pity. "Honestly, killing you both now would be... a mercy".