Chapter Text
"Greetings~!" The woman greeted, a camcorder in her hand.
"Reporting live from the Auction Site is me: Aurora Amaranth! You won't guess what just happened..."
She flipped over her camcorder to reveal an empty safe.
"This place was supposed to store the goods for the Underground Auction. But now, it is empty. Completely blan- Hey!"
Aurora paused her recording and glared at the bulky man that had grabbed her arm.
"How rude. Can't you see that I am recording?" she said with a little huff.
"Get lost! We have enough to do already!" The man in a suit yelled at her. Aurora was then flung out of the vault room.
She didn't need to be told twice and left.
"Whatever! If you don't want to know where the merchandise is, just stay stupid then!" She huffed and dashed out of the Auction Building. The whole area was in a state of chaos and mild panic.
By now, the news that the goods had disappeared, spread around like wildfire, and yet worst: The hall that housed all the guests was completely empty. Not a single person or body was to be found. Goods and people alike, everything disappeared into thin air with a poof!
'It's like magic.' Aurora thought.
She was no stranger to the concept of Nen, but it never ceased to amaze her with all that it could do when mastered.
Aurora looked towards the sky with a soft sigh. A familiar melody started to play and she checked her phone.
"Yes, it's me," she greeted when she saw the familiar caller ID.
"... I'm right at the hot spot. Again," she said as she absentmindedly scribbled something down onto her notebook, "I assume you called because of something important, right?"
Her voice carried a sense of urgency. She really didn't want to miss out on the action because of some prolonged call.
Her eyes widened briefly when she heard the news over the phone. And then, Aurora suddenly smiled.
"I see, I see~" Aurora mumbled as she shifted the shoulder that held her phone, "Thank you."
The news had perked her up, and she hummed to herself happily once again. Her eyes went straight ahead, towards the direction in which she felt a stark bloodthirst coming from.
"That way... at this rate...", Aurora said, "To the Gordeau-Desert, it is!"
Cars and people passed by and no one paid attention to her. Everyone was caught in their own business: stopping the Thieves came first.
Aurora didn't mind. Indeed, this situation made it easier for her to work in. The less attention there was on her, the easier she could sneak around.
However, Aurora couldn't afford to miss this chance to witness the Phantom Troupe in action, and so, she stopped the next person that left the building.
"Hey," she said, "you're joining the chase, right? Take me with you."
The person Aurora stopped happened to be a pale looking boy with blond hair and earrings. He seemed young and yet strangely tense. Was the stress getting to him?
The boy looked at her. He opened his mouth about to say something, when suddenly, someone from a car window, called for him.
The boy whipped around. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Aurora quickly used his brief moment of distraction.
She grabbed him by the arm and took the lead.
"Let's hurry! I know the way." Aurora said and rushed towards the waiting car.
Everyone looked at the girl that had entered their car so naturally.
"Hi, I'm Aurora." Aurora greeted the curious glances with a happy wave. Her red hair swayed a little from the motion. Their gazes went back and forth between Kurapika and Aurora. Melody who was closest to Kurapika leaned over to whisper.
"Who's that?"
Kurapika sighed lightly and ran a hand through the ends of his hair.
"She said she knows where to go," he whispered back. Melody didn't respond and instead looked at Aurora who returned it with a smile.
"We don't have time. Leave now!" Dalzonelle said. He was surprised by Aurora's presence but didn't tell her to leave.
Instead he gave her a solemn nod the moment their eyes met.
Aurora nodded back.
'I don't think I know him...?' she thought.
But he seemed to know her. In the end, things worked out in her favor, so who was she to complain?
Aurora quietly kept her thoughts to herself, and focused on the scenery outside the window.
It didn't take long for Aurora to get bored. The mood was tense and stiffling. Anxiety trickled down like rain. No one inside the stuffy car was able to avoid getting swallowed up by the atmosphere inside.
She turned to talk to the blond teen next to her. He was young, but he seemed to have a good head on his shoulder. Not to mention, the people around him trusted him. This caught her interest.
"You don't look like someone from the mafia community. What's your name?" Aurora asked.
Now that she had a closer look on him, it was hard to tell what gender he was. Judging from the looks alone, it could be either.
Kurapika closed his eyes once and refused to look at her.
"That's none of your concern" he said in a cold voice.
Ah. Not only the looks but his voice as well.
Aurora smiled and laughed it off.
"Haha, I understand..." Her laugh was sweet.
"However, not everyone you meet is your enemy. You're still young. It's such a waste to miss out on proper connections." Aurora said in a motherly tone and sweet smile.
"I refuse." Kurapika said.
"... Don't you know these people?", Aurora said after a bit of thinking, "Those rare friends that you will only meet once in a lifetime. Those that will have your back at all times."
"Bonds like these don't happen often, but YOU don't seem THAT insensible of a guy that would deny them entry."
In her mind, Aurora imagined Ney, the epitome of an insensible guy.
"At least, while you're young, it's a waste to miss out on the opportunities to get to know someone. Life is short after all, and in the end what remains of you are only memories and fragments you leave behind."
Aurora looked at Kurapika who seemed to be in thought.
"Okay, I'll try again," she said.
This time Kurapika looked at her. "I'm Aurora, and you?"
Kurapika sighed. The young woman looked to be around her twenties at most. It was unexpected of her to throw in words of wisdom and lecture him like this.
Kurapika wasn't one to care about ages and formalities, but he also wasn't someone with a bad temper.
"... It's Kurapika," he said.
Aurora grinned. "Nice to meet'ya, Kurapika!"
Aurora was full of confidence.
She believed herself to be a good judge of character. Given that, she was sure of this: Kurapika was a gentle person. A gentle and kind child, and yet his heart was set onto the path of revenge and destruction. She didn't know why or what exactly happened, but for his heart to be tainted this much despite his age...
'Poor him,' she thought, 'He must have went through a lot.'
He was only a few years younger than her, but he looked like a child that needed a few good days of sleep and rest in her eyes.
Aurora opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. There are a few things she can ask but there's a time and place for everything. She could tell that it wasn't appropriate to ask what she wants to know now. Instead she switched topics.
"Who do you work for?" she asked. Remembering the nod Dalzonelle gave her, she assumed to know him from somewhere.
Dalzonelle glanced at her from the frontview mirror as he responded.
"We're bodyguards for the Nostrade Family." He trailed of without saying more.
"Ah~" Aurora said with enthusiasm. "For Neon-chan, I presume? She can be quite a handful but her ability is the real deal. You should have her read your fortune one day."
"...As expected, miss. You are well-informed." Dalzonelle paused and cleared his throat.
'Now this makes sense!' Aurora thought.
She had met Nostrade once prior. Although, she didn't meet Neon due to security reasons. She was aware of her abilities, having received a divination by yours truly.
Thinking back on it, this was one of her first jobs together with Solomon and Ney. A year or two should have passed by since then.
"You can call me Aurora. ... Just Aurora is fine... -" She said with a smile.
Her thoughts trailed off near the end. The silhouette of a man clad in black flashed in her mind. The mysterious encounter that she had only a day ago was vividly replaying in front of her.
Wasn't she speaking similiarly to 'Kuro' now?
'Perhaps...', she concluded, 'He is hiding something, after all.'
Without missing a beat, Aurora resumed the conversation.
"... It's the least I can do. I'm a journalist."
The people who didn't know, glanced at her. Out of all professions available, they didn't expect for the bubbly woman to be a journalist.
And yet, the more they looked at her, the more they saw the possibility.
"Miss Aurora, then." Dalzonelle said and Aurora for some reason cringed a little at that.
'Atta...', she thought. 'Maybe I shouldn't give away my name too early next time.'
"...Right..." she said with a laugh.
Her easy-going mood however quickly disappeared once she felt the air of their surrounding shift. She felt it. She was getting closer to "Them."
The hair on her arms rose as she felt the lingering sense of anticipation and excitement crawl on her.
'Finally," Aurora repeated in her mind. 'Soon we can meet, my dear Spiders.'