answer your god damn phone

[dialtones]

[How many calls had he missed from Leorio alone?

Honestly, he preferred not to look at the number. It was wrong, but this wasn't something he could pull any of them into. He'd been wrapped up in his own little world, paying attention to the news enough when it related to his work and his end goal, and while he could have gone to the elections or even to visit Gon (his comrades had, after all), he decided against it. Visiting would have just opened up a whole can of other problems.

Maybe it went against what he'd been thinking before, but he had matured a bit since then. With the Spider desperately working to repair itself, and plenty of its members still on the move, Kurapika had to consider how to handle them-- but he was also sitting right on top of the location of the eyes of his brethren. He had to work up to it, and well... That's what he'd done.

There were a large amount of them recovered (he had to deal with a lot of people to get this collection) and given funerals, but it wasn't enough until he had every last set. There were still leads to follow, and so he continued to climb and gain Nostrade's trust.

Trust, though, is what leads him to pulling his cell phone out now. A strange illness was breaking out in the Nostrade organization, and it was worrying Nostrade himself. A few of his workers had already died, and panic was growing. He demanded that Kurapika find him someone to find out what was going on, but to be sure it was someone they could 'trust', because this could very well be an attack on them.

A doctor that he could trust? His first thought was that there was none. But after just a moment's more hesitation, he gives in and speaks his understanding clearly to Nostrade, hitting the call button on his phone and stepping away. His opposite hand curls at his elbow as he waits. This is pulling him in, but if it's just Leorio... It'll be easier to keep him in the dark about a lot of what he's been doing.

He'll use that to justify this selfish decision.]

Leorio?

Comments

uM UR GROSS

[dialtones]

[It's probably more of the forcing himself bit, but he likes to think he can handle it more, too. Of course, this forced handling more has also brought his coughs to the point of coughing up blood, he notices. Hm.

After that last fit, he'll fold up the towel a bit, belatedly responding to Leorio's words.]

How's Melody?

[He goes all out in his stubbornness. Waiting a few more seconds to be sure he's rid of the coughing and it's just the nausea and fever he has to deal with, he opens the stall door and steps towards the sink, gripping it for support once he's there.]

i'm not coughing up FLUIDS!!

[speeddial]

Still awake. She still has a fever, but it went down a little.

[Which is a plus, all things considered - his regimen of painkillers used to stall for time has done that much. But Leorio doesn't want to play everything-is-alright when it's just the two of them, crossing his arms and tapping a foot impatiently.

Just take a nap, Kurapika, do it for him.]

Are you coming back to see her?

i mean, that's true

[dialtones]

Yeah.

[He wants to see her. That's a good sign, though. Things seem to be improving. And on top of that--]

You're still okay? [He'll clutch his little hand towel a little tighter as he looks to his friend.]

grody

[speeddial]

I'm fine. [Which was excusable at first, but now that it's been days it's a little more strange. Not everyone staying in the building got sick, though— maybe they should revisit the possibility that this was an attack of some kind that missed everyone who wasn't there in the moment.

Still, he feels just fine. Tired, but fine.

He will even get the door and stand there looking at Kurapika expectantly. Let's not hang out in the bathroom for even longer.]

415 more comments until a smooch

[dialtones]

[Kurapika is wondering the same thing. How could Leorio still be okay after this long? Not that it's bad news. It could have been an attack of poison, but then why would they all react to it at separate times? Was Leorio immune? Or just lucky?

Either way, he's thankful.

Towel in hand, he lets go of the counter for now and steps slowly after Leorio.]

I told you not to check on me. [He adds in belated scolding, just before they start heading down the hall again. It's not angry, though.]

slow and steady.....

[speeddial]

[Maybe he's too tall for it to reach, who can say.

He rolls his eyes with an audible grumble at the very rude (!!) scolding, already slouching back to Melody's room.]

Ahh, c'mon, nobody's around- What's the big deal? Better me than somebody else, right?

[dialtones]

[LOOK, do YOU want to get blood coughed in your face, sir??? No??? Then keep your tall self in the other room.]

Anyone could go looking for you and wonder where you've gone. It will only lead to suspicions when we keep disappearing together.

[He's so paranoid, listen to this bullshit. Really, it just damages his pride.]

Does it feel like the solution is any closer?

[speeddial]

[Good luck reaching his face!!!

Don't make it sound like a secret affair... He's not even going to comment on that part.]

It's tough to tell. If Melody gets a little better, that should help...

[She might actually talk to him unlike SOME sick people.]

sighs look at all this dumb bullshitting that says nothing

[dialtones]

[But it is a secret affair. Face the facts!!]

If we compare her to the earlier cases, she's certainly holding out longer than expected. I counted out the days and she should have passed yesterday, on average. Instead, isn't she doing a little better?

[He's holding onto hope-- or dragging hope out by its teeth, but details.] I've been thinking on it. Her expertise in nen is much higher than the ones who didn't fair so well, but when I've observed her with gyo, there's no sign of any changes in her aura. It could just be coincidence, but in comparison, my own symptoms seem easier to deal with than the others, as well...

['Easier to deal with' is apparently coughing up blood and falling over himself in the hallway, but sure.] And somehow, despite direct exposure, you haven't caught it at all.

ah now it's nen flu, how shonen

[speeddial]

[It will be in 410 comments!!

Leorio falters at this explanation- nen isn't his forte at all, so if the illness really has something to do with nen then he'll need Kurapika not falling over in hallways more than ever. But it's true that Melody's condition has improved even if only slightly, and Kurapika is somehow still not bedridden (although he should be, little punk).]

What, now I'm better at nen than you? [should he... punch the illness....

But really, if nen has something to do with it and he isn't sick, then- He feels like a moron having to ask this, but whatever!!]

Can you poison... nen?

GOD IT'S NEN POISON SHONEN FLU KILL ME STOP THIS TRAIN

[dialtones]

I didn't say that.

[Let's not get out of hand here. He's still thinking, and it's all aloud, even as they step through the door to Melody's room again. Thankfully there's no one else to get in the way of his loud thought process right now.]

Poison... Hypothetically, it could be possible, if that were someone's specific ability... But just knowing it's a type of 'poison' wouldn't be much help either. Unless...

[Give his big nerd brain a minute here, he's trying to piece all the different parts together to triangulate more exact reasoning.]

For something to fit the bill, it would have had to have hit all of those who were affected and no one else, so there'd have to be a time when we were all together with none of the others present. The timing of showing symptoms and facing them seems to relate directly to nen usage-- [And... alright, he's skipping some of his thinking in the out loud parts. He's on such a roll here it might look like he's overheating. So close, but he doesn't quite have it yet, come on!]

By either increasing the parts of our own nen to toxic levels, or introducing a foreign, toxic element that's too small to detect... Which is more likely? Which is less noticeable?

i'm in awe it's like a real hxh arc

[speeddial]

[Wow, ice cold. Grumble grumble don't say things like that so quickly. Leorio crosses the room to check on Melody again while Kurapika thinks aloud. It's really, really fortunate that Kurapika isn't too sick to think all of this through, because he'd never be able to... and he's missed all the important context.

Like,] You said her aura hasn't changed. And wouldn't it be trickier to interfere with different auras at once?

[So... option 2?? Is he right?? Come on, special nen genius, solve the puzzle.]

LMFAO ah but really, stares into the distance

[dialtones]

[He half wants to know if Leorio knows anything about nen aside from how to punch assholes, but he decides against it. There are more important things than throwing shade right now.]

Right. At first, I wondered if may our own auras could have been manipulated, but that's far more likely to have noticeable effects. A change in senses, in appearance, even alerting the user... [He's pacing, by the way.]

But if it were something microscopic, unable to be seen by even the human eye that can view nen, then... It can make its way into the body like the rest of it and slowly tear the body apart from the inside out!

[His feet stop in place, and after a coughing fit that's a little harder to cover up, he faces Leorio.] If that were possible, the only thing I could imagine to mesh so well with nen as a disguise is other nen itself. In small enough doses, it could be mistaken as their own nen by the body... and make its way inside. The larger the source or the keener one's senses, the more it has to adjust and disperse to eventually get in.

[Something's bothering him, though, if his expression is anything to go by. He covers his mouth with a hand in focus.]

But when could that have happened...? There are plenty of times when we all work together, but for only our specific members...

i'm naming this psl "nodes"

[speeddial]

[Is there anything about nen worth knowing besides how to punch assholes?? Ask yourself this, Kurapika.

Leorio makes his way over to the chair to have a seat and just... watch, really, watch Kurapika go back and forth. He opens his mouth to say something about that coughing fit but, okay, fine, he'll save it for later. As usual.

He sits back, folding his arms and frowning. It feels less and less like he's actually participating here, which is annoying—]

Hell if I know. If that's right, then it means the first person to get sick had the least- nen- resistance. [shut up he's a doctor nOT A NEN WIZARD] When was that?

i accept this name

[dialtones]

Two weeks ago... roughly.

[The days are blending together, but he thinks that's about right. It might help Leorio's worry as Kurapika finishes with his pacing to walk over and actually sit in the chair beside him.

He holds one of his hands out, focusing more of his nen there as he tries to detect anything off or different. No go. But he doesn't have any techniques for this... It's no good. He's hit a dead end.

Or he thinks that for a good few more seconds before something strikes him.]

There was one time. Roughly a month ago. All of us and Nostrade were handling some things at a local casino. I hadn't thought that someone would target all of us except for the head, but if their goal wasn't to kill him, but to isolate him...

[Then it makes sense, right??]

nodezone

[speeddial]

["help"]

[Leorio can only shrug. This makes more sense than anything else they've managed so far - it looks like a flu but behaves nothing like an actual infection, so nen at least seems more feasible. He thinks. Hopefully he's not just getting his hopes up now that an answer with a decent chance of being the right one has cropped up, because - how do they do something about it?

They're definitely not out of the woods yet.]

Who else was there? [Waiters, dealers, bouncers, other patrons- it's not hard to plant someone in a casino.]

nodegate

[dialtones]

Too many people to narrow it down. There were some rival families, regular civilians, crooks... The casino was having a special event, so it was advertised.

[It doesn't exactly make it easy. Another harsh bit of coughing-- talking doesn't help much, and he's worse off than he had been before-- and he sits back with a heavy sigh once he's caught his breath.]

I can request the video footage and work with it later. [His technique might come in use there... But here?] But none of that helps us right now.

...I'm not familiar with any of your abilities other than that punch. Do you have any? [He's so rude.]

node country for old men

[speeddial]

[What kind of paranoid mafia gang goes to a special event... Nostrade is an idiot, pass it on.

And Kurapika is rude; Leorio grumbles something irritably again, then runs a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.]

Don't make it sound like I'm that bad... [Although, compared to some people who smell chains. Hmm.] There's something else, but I don't know if it, uh, works.

[Which is why he hasn't been going around tapping on people!! Surely, and not because he's on a way lower nen level.]

nodetel california

[dialtones]

[While Leorio mumbles and complains about the rudeness here, Kurapika ignores it as per usual. But that comment gets him curious. He leans a little closer, as if that would pry the information from his friend here.

He actually does know another?]

Can you describe it to me? [He's shared his own abilities, and he knows they're friends, but he has enough respect to ask if Leorio would be okay with sharing it, first of all.]

node simulator

[speeddial]

[Don't look so surprised. He can sense it, that's his ability - sensing when Kurapika is being a little punk.

Rather, he's not sure it makes enough sense other than the vague idea to be described well. So, because Kurapika will definitely go for this,]

Let me see your hand.

the node to el dorado

[dialtones]

[Ah, you know him so well. If it had sounded even remotely useful in all of this, he would have volunteered himself. So this is skipping a step, and he's not sure what to expect, but he does trust Leorio.

So without even a pause, he offers Leorio his chain-free hand.]

fear and nodeing in las vegas

[speeddial]

[It's not a skill he's had much practice at, simply because it's a little eccentric to bring up aura or nen in a room full of perfectly ordinary med students and so who would even listen to him if he tried - but it's an idea he's kicked around that might work and might be a total wash. He's not sure.

It takes him a minute or so of just staring at the back of Kurapika's hand sitting on his palm to actually figure out how to get his aura to do what he wants with it. He concentrates, then with his other hand just- taps on Kurapika's hand, putting a small amount of aura behind it. Well, he already knows Kurapika is sick, so it's not incredibly useful in gathering any new information... and it's a work in progress.

Then he looks back up at Kurapika, waiting for... something. An acknowledgement that he didn't just tap stupidly on him, at least.]

node...body knows the trouble i've seen????

[dialtones]

[He'll get that much for certain. Kurapika blinks in clear surprise, the tension that had been eating at him just seconds before wiping away. This was... Similar to en? A searching he could only notice while specifically paying attention for it, and even then it was probably only possible because it was a little clumsy.

A new technique, he's sure.]

Was that-- a scanning technique? [He sounds honestly amazed. He hadn't thought of something like that, but it makes sense for Leorio's line of work...] That's amazing! You came up with this on your own?

[For once, words like that don't come out degrading. Rather, he's impressed. To the point where he hasn't pulled his hand back.] The amount of situations a technique like this could be useful in... Leorio, if you could locate any of the microscopic differences in our nen, if it turns out to be that after all, this could be the solution!

[speeddial]

[Oh—oh, he has to look away now, suddenly embarrassed. Now it's amazing, jeez, don't say it so openly... His ears are definitely not turning pink, no, shut up. Shut up.]

It's— not done yet!!

[Obviously, given the fumbles. He could use a crash course in nen still, but it's workable. Truthfully, he's not sure how useful it will really be on such short notice- to find a difference in nen someone like Kurapika hasn't noticed by now, he'll really need to refine it, and quickly...

And that still leaves how to deal with the nen aberrations, assuming they're right, but he'll think about that one later. It's doable, messing with this skill, if Kurapika helps-]

I'll give it a try. [He points at Kurapika, excitable again.] Thanks for volunteering to be my guinea pig.

[dialtones]

[There's a small, fond smile at all of that, but he still raises one of his fingers.]

I'll gladly help out, but you'll have to be willing to work overtime. [That finger moves over to his lips. Right, since he's not 'sick', remember?] We can start tonight, upstairs. After you've taken care of what you can with Melody, we should search for a way to stop it this way. Or at least a way to confirm if that's what this really is.