Killer in Hunter x Hunter

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***

Kurapika Kuruta

My name is Kurapika Kuruta. I am twenty years old. I've been working for the mafia organisation Passione for two years now. And not just working - I'm one of the people behind it. The one who helped found the organisation and the one who brought it to the greatness it is today. The largest, most powerful and influential criminal organisation, on a par with the Association of Hunters, is what Passione is. The areas of activity that it covers are also quite extensive. Murder for hire, gambling, arms dealing, and much more. But don't think we only do criminal stuff. No, we don't. Our areas of activity are very broad, and include very good and useful things. For example, our organisation is one of the largest funders, which invests substantial money in various fields of medicine, as well as in science. But there is one exception, something we don't do. It's drug trafficking. At first, of course, it was not easy without it, but over time we coped and managed to do without it. How come a criminal organisation like this doesn't deal in drugs? Because I insisted on it. I was one of the founders of the organisation, so I had a certain influence, which I used to persuade the person behind it not to sell drugs.

Actually, it all started about three years ago. I was quite young and stupid then, and I was driven only by a thirst for revenge. But suddenly, during my hunter's exam, I met a man who not only changed... he turned my life upside down, and pulled me into a whirlwind of events that may still be going on today. At first, everything started as an ordinary mutually beneficial co-operation, but it turned into unbelievable events, as a result of which I lost my left eye and almost died. Probably, it was then that the main turning point in my life occurred, as a result of which I radically revised my outlook on life and learnt a lot of new things. And then things just started to take a turn for the worse, leading up to the events in East Goruto and the founding of Passione.

It's been a pretty crazy time, but things are relatively calm now. I am the first lieutenant of the organisation and I have been doing my duties faithfully. There are six other lieutenants with me, and only the boss stands above us.

Sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out if I had acted on my own without joining the team. What would have happened then? What if there had been no team at all? What would my fate have been then? Probably I would have remained the same foolish man, driven only by a thirst for revenge, and then I would have tried to destroy Genya Ryodan alone. It's hard to predict how that would have ended, but I wouldn't have been able to do it quickly. But with my new friends, I was able to do it in two days. But wait! I know how it would have ended if I'd acted alone. Even if I had killed almost all of the spiders myself, and eventually got to their boss, that would have been where I would have died. Because in that case, there would be no one to save me, and I would definitely die at his hands... at the hands of the Crimson King.

Anyway, enough of the past. I should be doing something now, but the problem is, I don't have anything to do. I didn't have any work today and so, for the moment, I'm just walking around the city and doing nothing. It's boring when you don't have any assignments, and I'm tired of sitting at home.

Hmm... In principle, we can start by doing a round of the territory, and then, I think, there will be something to do.

As I stroll slowly through the city streets, I suddenly notice several police cars parked near a dark alley, and the alley itself is blocked with yellow tape. Hmm, what happened there? A murder?

As I passed by, I looked inside and saw that my hunch about a murder was correct. A couple of policemen were standing over a man's corpse and examining it. Judging by the condition of the body, this man had died a far from pleasant death. His stomach had been turned into a bloody mess, and what was left of his intestines were lying on the ground beside him. Gee... shit mixed with blood is certainly not a pleasant sight. Shit, now I've lost my appetite because of this sight, and I had just thought of going to a café, but now I'll have to tell him to go to hell. Why did I even look in this alley? Okay, I'll just keep walking.

After a couple more minutes of wandering through the not too crowded city streets, I suddenly notice something unusual. It's hard to tell what it is, but it feels like the atmosphere around me has changed a bit. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something has definitely changed. Whether it's tension or something else, there's a change, even if it's not very noticeable.

I look around, trying to figure out what's wrong. Everything seems to be the same as usual. There are people going about their business, cars passing by, everything is perfectly normal, but still... usually when I get a feeling like this, it's for a reason. And don't think I'm being paranoid here - I'm definitely not. The chance that it's a false feeling is low, which means I have to be careful now and take a closer look to re-analyse the situation and find out what might be causing my anxiety. But what is it? I look around again and see the same thing. The most ordinary street with the most ordinary people.

After observing my surroundings for a while longer, it suddenly dawns on me what I'm feeling. Everything is much clearer now. I can feel danger approaching me, and also... I'm being watched. Yeah, that's what it feels like. It doesn't happen often, and I don't feel it before every danger or fight, but it does happen sometimes, and this is one of those times.

My fists clenched and my heartbeat increased a little, but I kept my cool. I braced myself for the possibility that I was about to be attacked. But from where? Where to expect an attack from? And if I'm being followed, from where? From how far away? It seems impossible to find out right now. In that case, I'll just have to wait to see what happens next. It's a bit risky, but I don't see any other way to find out the truth.

Standing still, I continue to look around carefully and wait for further developments. Suddenly, a sense of danger pierces me. No, it's not danger... it's someone's Nen aura! There's someone approaching me that it's coming from! I can feel it. And that someone is... to my right!

Turning around sharply, I saw the enemy already coming at me. It looked like an ordinary passerby, but the aura emanating from him was not the most pleasant. He jumped into the air and tried to kick me in the head, but I reacted in time and dodged, then immediately jumped back to realise and assess the situation.

Who is this person? What kind of person? Why did he attack me? It looked like an ordinary pedestrian, of which there are plenty, but his speed was quite high. He was close to hitting me, which means he's definitely not an ordinary person. And I also felt Nen's aura from him before, and I still do, but now I realised that it wasn't coming from him specifically, but from that thing above him... that thing.

There was an unusual creature flying right above this man, remotely resembling a clown, and it was from this creature that the aura was coming from. And now I realise something else. This man didn't attack me on his own. This creature did, or rather, it made him attack. There were threads coming from the bony fingers of this monster that were attached to this man's body. This means that this creature is a puppeteer and the man is just a puppet being controlled and forced to fight, and what's more... judging from the looks of it, he's already dead. I realised that only now. He's not breathing, and his eyes are like a dead man's. It's really just an ordinary doll now. But still... I'm still greatly disturbed by that aura. I feel like I've seen it before. A long time ago. I just can't remember when.

While I was standing still and trying to think about it, the puppet attacked again. Her movements were fast and precise, and when I tried to block the blow, I felt the full force of it. It hurt, but not really. But I could clearly see how this puppeteer used the full potential of this human body and tried to squeeze the most out of it. So much so that it felt as if it would take just a little longer for the puppet's bones to break and its muscles to tear. And also... the fact that this doll could move so precisely and quickly indicated that it was being controlled by someone watching from the sidelines. Otherwise, it would move much more clumsily. That means my feeling of being watched wasn't wrong then. Somewhere nearby lurks whoever is controlling this creature. The master puppeteer. I need to disable the puppet and find the user of this ability, and the best way to do that is to destroy the creature.

I tried to leap and destroy the puppet, but it prevented me from doing so by kicking me in the side, causing me to fly off a bit.

Shit, it doesn't look like it's going to be that easy. The puppet moves with enough speed to keep up with me, and the force of her blows is enough to damage me. In that case, I'll have to do something else. Destroy the doll itself!

I summoned my chain and immediately launched it at the enemy, but he blocked the attack with his hands. That didn't make it any worse, though. The chain almost completely destroyed the puppet's hands and nearly took its head off. Its speed and accuracy are good, but its strength is lacking. I started the chain again, but it looked like the main puppeteer had already realised this, so he didn't block the blow and just dodged it.

If she has enough speed to dodge the chain, then I should just engage in close combat, which I immediately did. A small exchange of blows, and then the doll lost her right arm, and then her left arm. And even after that, the effect of the ability didn't stop, and the puppet continued to fight with its legs.

I was about to finish with my enemy, but suddenly I noticed that several more people were rapidly approaching me from the side, or rather, they were puppets like this one.

This was just great! In addition to giving me more problems, it also meant that the main puppeteer could control several puppets at once. Now the task is more complicated, but I can handle it.

Deciding to act a little faster, I ripped off the legs of the first puppet, after which the creature that was controlling it disappeared, and what was left of the puppet collapsed onto the bloodstained asphalt.

One problem solved, three more to go.

Like a perfectly coordinated team; the three puppets quickly approached me and started attacking from different directions. They jumped from side to side like acrobats from a circus, occasionally hitting me with blows that were not particularly strong, but given their number and speed, caused some trouble.

I tried to tear off their limbs, but they wouldn't even let me hit them. Even my chain was no longer helping. And what's more, one of them hit me in the nose with a leg kick that I didn't have time to react to, causing it to bleed.

Damn, even with three puppets, the main puppeteer still manages to manage so well.

When I tried to attack with my chain again, one of the puppets managed to grab the chain and yanked it towards me, breaking my finger.

Damn those puppets! I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to show too much of what I was capable of, lest the enemy find out too much about me. But now... I'm forced to use it.

Light it up, Speed King!

My stand instantly appeared beside me, which had no problem landing a few quick blows on one puppet, thus slowing it down a bit, and in the meantime I was able to get to the first one and quickly rip off all of its limbs. At that time, the puppet that was hit by the stand, although it had burns, but it had no effect. Of course it did, they're troupes. And even though my booth has a good ability, it's not designed to deal powerful direct damage. So we'll have to destroy them manually.

I quickly orientated myself and destroyed the second puppet, but the last one was no problem at all. Speed King simply grabbed it from behind, thus preventing it from moving, while I took away its limbs.

That's it. All the puppets are incapacitated. I've won. However... the main puppeteer remains unpunished, and it looks like he's decided to retreat, as I don't see any new puppets, nor do I sense any aura nearby.

This puppeteer... who is he? To be so good with his puppets... his skills are amazing. Is he really not going to attack anymore?

What's curious is that all this time on this street that I was fighting, there wasn't a single passerby. Where did they all go?

While I was looking around for anything unusual, suddenly from somewhere in the distance, like a thunderclap, came a powerful sound wave, as if a guitarist at a rock concert had strummed his guitar with all his might. The air around me shook a little bit. And as it seems to me... it happened on one of the neighbouring streets!

After ten seconds of running, I quickly found myself on the street where the sound wave was coming from, and I could see the following picture: the windows of the cafe and the musical instrument shop were completely broken, and the interior of the cafe said that there was probably a battle there. But who? Who was fighting here?

Wait a minute! A music shop and a powerful sound wave... right, I think I've figured out what happened here. It wasn't the work of whoever attacked me after all. But where are the perpetrators of what happened here? We should go take a look around.

Slowly moving forward, I cast my gaze into the alley to my right, and what was my surprise when right there I saw the one who was most likely responsible for the mayhem. Right in that alley is a member of the Elimination Squad, John Bellew. I never thought I'd run into that scumbag. Apparently, he fought the Belles and he took a beating. Well...it would be nice to talk to him.

- What people! It's a bit of a surprise to find you in a place like this. - Judging by the way he raised his head and looks at me, my appearance was a bit of a surprise to him. - I just saw the mayhem on the street nearby. I think you had something to do with it, Bellew. Did you pick a fight with someone from the Special Forces again?

- It-- I-- it was him! He provoked me! He started it! He--

- Belleu-Belleu-Belleu-Belleu... don't make excuses like that. You disappoint me. And you're screwing up your squad like this. That's not good.

That's right, don't make excuses. Everyone knows how much you dislike the Specialisation Squad. So it's no wonder you decided to pick a fight with one of them. It's such a good opportunity for a kill.

- Yeah, I--

- You and your mates should be punished for such an offence, but I'll give you a chance. You must apologise to me right now in a proper manner.

Come on, Bellew, get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. Let's think of it as just another act of training. People like you don't deserve anything less. You're all scum in the Elimination Squad, but you're bloody useful to the organisation.

- I apologise. I have done wrong and I repent with all my heart.

- Belleu-Belleu-Belleu-Belleu... have you forgotten who you're standing in front of? Is that any way to treat a superior officer? Apologise properly. This is my last warning.

- I apologise with all my heart. What happened on the street is entirely my fault. I am prepared to accept any punishment. I beg you... to be magnanimous. I...I...I...I hope for your kindness and generosity...First Lieutenant Passione, Kurapika Kuruta.

Hmmm... the apology is certainly so-so, but it's silly to expect anything more from him. All right, that's fine. But there's something I don't like about him. He's got this aura about him, like he wants to fight me.

- I don't like the way you're looking at me, Bellew. You want to fight me?

- No, you're imagining things.

Hmm... seem, you say? I doubt it, of course, but, um.

- All right, I forgive you, but watch out... if you do that again, your entire squad will be punished, and given your position, that's not a good idea. Now get out of here.

- Thank you.

With those words, Bellew rose to his feet and walked past me. But as he passed by, I felt it even more strongly... that aura. It's like he's so hungry to kill. It's like he can barely contain himself from picking a fight with me.

I don't like it. I'd take a tougher approach to him, but I can't put too much pressure on the Elimination Squad, even though they're rubbish. And the Specialisation Squad is probably not a white and fluffy group either, so I'll have to ask them too. But that's for later.

Today had been quite eventful. Now it's time to go home. After all, today I have one important thing to do, or rather, a meeting, which is likely to affect a lot of things.

***

I walked into a rather large room, the lighting of which left a lot to be desired. I don't know why, but everyone preferred to sit in the semi-darkness. In the centre of the room there were several sofas and armchairs made of rather expensive leather, where all the other Passione lieutenants were sitting, waiting for me.

- You're a little late. What's the matter? - Melone asked me, examining my damaged clothes.

- Yeah, something happened... someone attacked me today.

- What? Who was it?

- That's the thing, I have no idea who it was. He was stealthy, and his ability to take control of people and turn them into puppets. So I was fighting the puppets while he was hiding somewhere.

- Well, well, well. That's an unpleasant situation.

Yeah, it's very unpleasant. And worst of all, I realised now that he probably didn't mean to kill me. If his goal had been to kill me, he could have created dozens or hundreds of dolls, but there were only a few. It wasn't an attempted murder. He wanted to probe me. To get me to show as much of my abilities as possible, which he partially succeeded in doing. I showed my stand. But what was the purpose of such an act?

That's all very important and interesting, but right now, there's more important things to do.

- So what's the meeting today? What are we going to talk about? - I asked as I sat down in the chair. - I heard that today will be an important topic.

- It is. - Suddenly a voice came from outside. The last member of today's meeting came out of the next room, the entrance to which was barely visible. Passione's boss, Risotto Nero. He took a seat at his desk, which was close to the window, which was now covered by curtains, and addressed us all. - Gentlemen, the subject of today's meeting is very important. We have been coming to it for a very long time, and now, finally, the moment has come.

- Do you mean to say that we are about to begin? - Prosciutto asked in surprise, and the others shared this surprise, including me.

- Yes, exactly. It's been a long wait, but now the plan is complete and the necessary components for its realisation are almost assembled. Some things are yet to be found, but it's only a matter of time. We will soon begin its realisation. Our mission is sacred and we will definitely fulfil it; no one will stop us.