Chapter 2: Amethyst

...CHAPTER 2: AMETHYST...

Being a blacklist Hunter, Kurapika possessed an amazing skill of analyzing people very quickly when he's first introduce to them. From the person's appearance to their mannerisms or even possible bad habits, he would efficiently acquire the information and put it into use when needed.

Yet very few actually left any personal impression on him.

The few people that occupied his mind were limited to either the Phantom troupe, clearly in a bad way, or his close friends when he took the Hunter exam.

But right now he thinks there appears to be an exception.

In this bizarre pinkish chamber, two people were sitting and quietly watching him. One of them is Neon, young boss of the top mafia family- the Nostrades. There is nothing particular about her except that she's got a peculiar hobby of collecting body parts which was the main reason he's here for this job.

But there was another one. A girl around his age with long brown hair in contrast to her fair skin and a pair of unusually purple eyes. A strikingly vivid shade of purple that resembled amethyst gemstones.

Although he sensed no malice, there was something definitely unnerving about the way she's looking at him. Under the soft sunlight seeping through the windows, it felt like those glowing amethyst eyes were prying deep into his mind.

If this is a kind of personal impression he's got from this girl, it's seriously not a pleasant one. Though it's unprofessional, he instantly broke the eye contact and made no attempt to hide his discomfort. Strangely, the girl seemed to snap out of her trance. She showed a hint of confusion and bashfulness. Wasn't that an act? Now she's puzzling him.

"Guys, you four will be guarding Lady Neon 24/7." They heard Dalzollene instructed.

"Yes, Sir." The four new body guards replied in unison.

"Also, as instructed by Sir Light, you'll be in charge of Lady Neon's cousin, Miss Clandestia Ellis's safety for the time that she's here, too." He added, which quickly turned everyone's attention on Clandestia.

The said Clandestia was busy being bashful though. She felt like a kid caught stealing candy. She was practically gaping at that Kurapika guy. It was an absolutely rude act to do upon a stranger. He must have been offended.

What has gotten into her? That's right, she felt a sense of dejavu the moment their eyes clashed but she couldn't recall meeting him any time before. In fact, she's pretty sure they've never met before.

Another reason was that Clandestia has an extra-sensitive intuition when it comes to people. She reacts stronger with people that hid intense emotions, both in good and bad ways. Whenever she looks at them, she'll unconsciously feel some kind of aura. Like a moth drawn to the flames, her power is attracted to those kind of strong emotions. What she saw in this blond bodyguard was a dark and vicious but at the same time terribly forlorn aura. Although this ability comes in handy for her profession of psychology research and when she was treating emotionally-ill patients, she never quite liked it.

It felt nasty prying into people's personal sentiments. When she really needed to use this ability, she always managed to keep it discreet from her patients/ research targets. Most of the time, it'll be quick enough that they wouldn't notice anything peculiar from her and only commented that her eyes have a bit of a hypnotizing effect.

This Kurapika guy was different, she felt like she was the one being hypnotized by his complex and intense aura instead. So she went into a trance and temporarily lost touch of the situation.

She cursed her own absurdity. Should she be apologizing to him now? Her hunch told her that it'll turn into a disaster if she tried that. So she pretended that nothing happened since she already freaked him out enough.

"Please to meet you all!" Clandestia put on the best of her smile, like really nothing happened. "I hope you'll take a good care of my sister Neon."

"Yes, Lady Clandestia." They all repied, except Kurapika though.

Oh, so… the silent treatment? It's not that she complaining. She deserved it anyway.

With all the introduction done, the head bodyguard Dalzollene instructed them to get ready for the flight to Yorknew City.

Clandestia sighed looking at their retreating backs. On a second thought, maybe it's better to apologize to that blond later when she has a chance.

There was Neon's scream of excitement and the maid's busy noises of packing stuffs. Then they all got into the limousines and headed to the airport.

Ah… What a long day! Clandestia sighed.

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The sun in early September was particularly bright.

Yorknew City was packed in the day time. The underground auction was the biggest event here every year so there would be a lot of tourists and mafia families flocking to the city this time.

The Nostrades limousines stopped at Hotel Beitacle, a grand six-star right in the City's center.

Neon was practically skipping on her feet all the way to her hotel suite. Her pink ponytail swung back and forth merrily.

Clandestia smiled at the sight of her innocent cousin sister. They are only one year apart but she felt like a real big sister herself.

The Nostrade' servants were busy handling the luggage. Neon's surely got loads of them. Clandestia took a quick glance at the body guards following right behind them. The bodyguards are not considered servants at the Nostrades so they're free from handling minor errands. Kurapika was busy talking to Basho but the conversation didn't look so pleasant. The odd thing was that she vaguely caught her name mentioned by one of them. She's got a little curious and reflexively slowed her steps.

"Hey, was Lady Clandestia checking out on you earlier?"

She heard Basho banter and almost choked on her own tongue. What non sense! Clandestia immediately regretted overhearing them. She quickened her steps to catch up with Neon.

"Stop making non-sense assumptions." was Kurapika's indifferent reply.

"Not assumption. Just obvious." Basho retorted, humor filled his voice. "We saw her gaping at you back then."

"Cut it out." Kurapika was clearly annoyed. "It's not even funny."

"What's with that cold reactions?" Basho clicked his tongue. "She's quite a looker, isn't she?"

Kurapika strode ahead, leaving his annoying bulky colleague behind.

He was unaware that one of his bosses was secretly mortified.

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