dumbshow | answer your god damn phone

[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.

[Yeah, because sneaking into his room at night is going to stop those secret affair suspicions. Good work.

But rather than thinking about that, Leorio looks over at Melody, his expression dropping slightly. She's showing more symptoms than Kurapika, so trying it on her would probably prove more useful- but since it's not nearly refined enough, he doesn't want to accidentally make her condition worse.

He'll totally poke Kurapika in the dark, though. No big.]

You say "overtime" like I'm not down here most of the day anyway. [a shrug!] Later's the best I'm gonna get out of you, anyway.

[What's that supposed to mean?? It's sounding more and more suggestive, but neither of them seem to notice, so it's fine. Kurapika drops that hand from his face, looking over to Melody as well. He's sure he knows what Leorio is thinking from that gaze, and he's been thinking the same.]

If you can perfect your technique or at least get the risk level down through me, you'll be able to help everyone. This will likely be the real battle.

['Battle' he says, what a fucking nerd. But while Leorio has been holding back further symptoms rather well, discovering and destroying the cause is what they're aiming for here.] It's no guarantee, but... I feel a little better just at the opportunity.

["Battle"... don't be a loser. Leorio gives him a look for that one - nerrrd - then sits back in his chair. He's restless again almost immediately, and seconds after sitting back he's getting up, tapping his foot, striding over to Melody's bed to check that she hasn't gone catatonic again or something, he needs - something to do.]

Don't make any plans with Nostrade for tomorrow morning! [ok] It's going to be a long night, and I sure as hell won't let you cut out for that old man!

[It's also going to be a long rest of the day, with him like this.]

[Leorio really dislikes this guy. Kurapika would comment on it if he didn't understand his feelings completely. So instead, he crosses his legs and considers it, thumbing through his phone.]

Fine. I'll block it as something else entirely, so you won't have to worry about any interruptions. I'll be all yours.

[So calm down, actual old man. Ah, but that makes Kurapika shift and stand, phone sliding back into a pocket.]

But that means I should take care of a few things right now. Call me if anything happens with Melody. We can meet upstairs once you're ready.

[He'll never be calm... He can fake it for a couple seconds right now, while he waves a hand to tell Kurapika to go do his thing if he must.]

Go ahead. Don't overdo it!

[Is Kurapika used to hearing that five times a day yet, because he should be. That aside, miraculously nothing earth-shattering happens before a suitably late time of night perfect for sneaking across the hall like a kid trying to sneak out of the house. Leorio knocks once, then rethinks his strategy and knocks again, but actually tries to make it a little quiet this time.

This plan is perfect. He doesn't say anything, figuring he's the only one skulking around the hall in his dweeby flannel pajamas right now anyway. Let him in before this changes, the shame...]

[He expects it, and yet he's still not used to it. But it's fine. This time, he checks his phone obsessively as he goes about his day. Runs some errands for Nostrade, takes care of certain arrangements, finds a good excuse for being busy tomorrow morning and tonight...

It actually gives him a few hours back in his room where he can rest his eyes. He can't quite sleep, a mixture of hope, excitement and worry eating at his chest, but none of that matters when he hears that loud-soft knock combo.

Shaking his head to himself, he pushes himself up from his bed and takes a few slow steps to the door, cracking it open to check the obvious before he opens it the rest of the way to let him in. Look! Now they're both in dweeb pajamas. Kurapika's has the sleeves rolled up and his top unbuttoned just a few from the heat his fever is causing, but aside from that, it's nearly his usual non-suit outfit.

He closes the door behind Leorio once he enters.]

How should we start? [Hi.]

[Let's get this slumber party started. Leorio decides to make it quick, ignoring Kurapika's shitty greeting and how he got out of bed when he shouldn't have!! Because he's sick!!

Instead he nudges Kurapika's shoulder, very deliberately.]

You get back in bed. All you have to do is sit there.

[Well, someone knocked at the door! And it's a good thing that he did, or Kurapika might have been offended and surprised at the sudden entrance.

The nudge gets a look, and he raises a hand almost like he's going to bat the nudging arm away, but he stops short.]

Very well. [He'll sit. And look, he does, stepping back over to the bed and turning around so that he can sit on the edge. How else?] But if you're expecting me to rest through this, I can't do that.

[Just, you know, for the record. He's going to be focusing and watching in interest and curiosity.]

[He could have just sighed loudly or something, that would have gotten the point across...

Leorio follows him and simply sits down on the bed himself, nudging at Kurapika again to turn and face him. Like he's going to sit in a chair and not be as invasive as possible, no way.]

You can't calm down enough to just sit? [SIGHS] Why am I surprised...

[The joke: he's not. He holds his hand out like before.] C'mon, let's get to work.

[Clicking his tongue, he adjusts himself, folding one leg under himself so he can face Leorio more completely on the bed. The other stays hanging off the edge as he passes him his left hand.]

How can I be calm? [He's speaking softly, compared to Leorio (probably). Not quite a whisper, but certainly not yelling, even if annoyance comes across.] This is ground breaking and you only just revealed it. What if you could save everyone's lives with this technique?

[Wow, thanks for making him feel like a loser. He makes an indignant noise and mutters something along the lines of 'I didn't know it was nen flu,' looking very engrossed by the back of Kurapika's hand all of a sudden. Jerk.]

Shut up, you're distracting. [YEAH, so there. He pauses for a moment before tapping Kurapika's hand the same way as earlier; it's still somewhat clumsy, but less so now that he's aware the technique actually works. Give him a holler with any rude boy suggestions, please.]

[Distracting? His argument to that only barely begins to get out before he cuts it short, tensely focusing instead. Right... This sort of technique must take focus in the beginning. He doesn't want to risk interrupting anything.

Being so tense probably isn't helping either, he realizes, and over the next couple of minutes, he forces himself to relax. It's hard for a guy like Kurapika who's got years of rage and vengeance plans built up inside of him and hardened into shiny new abilities, but somehow, his shoulders manage to loosen and lower, his hand relaxes, and he watches more calmly.

Like this, it's easier to peel his eyes away from the hand itself and watch Leorio's face for a while. He's certainly focused... And again, Kurapika is reminded that the only reason he was able to relax this far right now, and at all during all of this, was for the fact that it was Leorio.

It's only when he realizes that he's been staring at his face a little too long that he blinks and quickly looks back down, trying to lean forward a little to inspect the tapping on his own hand.]

Can you describe what you're doing to me? I can only notice it if I focus on it being there. Is it better if I don't use my nen at all?

[He is distracting, when Leorio's trying to do something like this and he keeps talking. Thankfully they're able to agree that Kurapika needs to be quiet for a little bit, and Leorio can work on ironing out how this skill should really work. It's tougher than he thought - the idea behind the skill itself is much... less intense than he is, all the time, but it's still simple enough that he feels like he's making progress even in the few minutes before Kurapika distracts him again.

They'll have to talk about that, that is, Leorio will have to tell him to shut up more persistently. But,] Huh?

[He blinks out of his concentration, looking up from their hands. Can he... describe... a nen thing. Well.] It's- aura.

[jesus christ don't look at him]

Try not doing anything!

[H-how can he be so clueless... Kurapika grows quiet at that (he has to really bite back an angry retort), but his incredulous stare right now is palpable. How could he have come up with a technique like this with so little knowledge of how nen worked? Did he know how long it took for him to come up with the rules for his own abilities, work them around with usage in battle, train to be able to wield them...

And he just comes along and thinks up a great idea while knowing nothing. It must have been medical school, but even still!

He lets out a long sigh, fading into silence once more. Fine. He'll make his own deductions, without using nen. It's hard not to automatically react, but again, he's able to relax.

Of course, that doesn't stop the coughing fits, the fever, or anything else. Leorio might pick out a spike of strange energy within Kurapika's nen as he coughs this time, his right hand covering his mouth as he curls over to the side a little, trying to will it to be over with.]

[LISTEN, Kurapika... not everyone can be lucky. Leorio just happens to stumble into useful things with no sense of how to explain, it's his real secret skill.

Now, though, the coughing becomes the bigger distraction. Leorio finds his attention divided the closer (he thinks) he gets to refining this technique, ironically. He can't help it- worry starts to show on his face and in how he glances up from what he's doing more and more often, and he's about to call it off until Kurapika feels even a little bit better when he catches that spike. It's only a moment but it's strong, and he raises his tapping hand to wave hurriedly in Kurapika's direction, like- like this will do anything.]

Whoa whoa whoa!! Whoa, hold on- [leorio] Something's there! Can you— [Cough again? alright, no-] No, don't change anything, don't use any nen...

[And he taps again, with more focus. There's certainly something there that's different, but what... does he do with it.]

That... You got a reaction?

[He speaks that between catching his breath, staring briefly at the spots of blood in his right hand now. More violent than earlier in the day. It was progressing, after all, but could it be that each ill reaction encouraged more spreading, or a spike of sorts? It would make sense...

So even with Leorio's stumbling over words, he understands.]

Recently, I've started coughing up blood. [He admits this casually and out of the blue just now because it might be useful for everyone else and this whole deal in general, for the record.]

Leorio... If my symptoms worsen, don't stop to worry about me. Keep looking and see what you can do about it. I won't try to hold it back next time.

[It's funny, the way Kurapika says "don't worry about me" and expects Leorio to listen. Or rather it isn't funny at all, and his expression drops abruptly into dull shock before ramping back up to rather worried, with a hint of anger for good measure.]

Kurapika— [Ah, don't yell, inside voice at this hour.] When I told you to tell me if anything new happens, I didn't mean whenever you feel like it!! What were you thinking?!

[Never mind, don't tell him - he can guess. This new information has sent him reeling with concern that aches like a hole in his chest and anger that Kurapika is right here—and still hiding things from him. He lifts a hand to press over his face, nudging his glasses out of the way, and just - sits there for a minute.

He'd like to yell. It's written on every agitated edge of his body, he'd like to really let Kurapika have it, but at this, the first real sign of progress, to ruin Kurapika's stupid game- even now, Leorio's letting him get away with too much. When he speaks his voice is strained with more than just frustration about those symptoms.]

You're too late, Kurapika. [He drops his hand and pushes his glasses back into place before going right back to tapping.] I'm already worried about you! So shut up and let me do this, and I'll hit you like you deserve later!

[An outburst like that, again. He's not surprised, but he's not expecting the way Leorio has to stop to calm himself down, either. There's nothing he can say that would change anything or help anything, and he's pretty sure that even if he were able to repeat all of this, he'd handle things the same way... But there's a first foreign tug of regret and sorrow at that tone, and he's not sure how to settle it. Would he change something after all?

His expression dampens in his understanding, and right as Leorio starts again, he grips his hand in a soft squeeze. He cares... He knows he cares. Is he choosing the right person to be thinking about in this way?

His grip slackens just as quickly and he looks away, breathing out slowly. The tense air between them now does little to comfort his illness, so this waiting game doesn't last much longer. Another fit comes and it's accompanied with a wave of the nausea that's usually underlying and minor. It's like a punch to the gut, and he takes it as such, hunching over and gripping Leorio's shoulder with his free hand to support himself. He's left coughing off to the side, violent with labored breaths between.]

[That grip says more than an actual apology could right now, somehow, and Leorio isn't sure how to sort that emotion. Just after he's made himself calm down Kurapika goes and does that, and his shoulders go taut with emotion again in time for Kurapika to all but collapse on him.

With that happening, Leorio promptly does exactly what he was just told not to do and stops immediately again, raising his hands to steady Kurapika but not sure where to actually put them, as he's not actually falling over... One hand winds up mirroring Kurapika's grip on his shoulder and the other hovers between them, tense.]

Kurapika- hey, hey, breathe... [It's not a command but a comfort, a stream of meaningless reassurances following it. Kurapika might want to keep his distance, but even someone like that needs some kind of comfort when they start coughing up blood, right? Right, so let him keep at this.

It's not much longer- a pause between coughs- that Leorio figures out what to do with his other hand, and while he keeps doling out the occasional word of comfort he places his hand lightly against Kurapika's chest. Then- just below his collarbone- taps.]

[I'm trying, he wants to say. Don't stop! I'm fine!

But he can barely catch his breath to allow for it, and that alone is frustrating enough. His fingers tighten over Leorio's shoulder, the other hand falling between them to rest where it happens to land on Leorio's leg. All of a sudden, is this getting a lot worse...? Or is it that Leorio is onto something? There's no way he can tell, himself, but he refuses to bring that potential realization to light. If Leorio thinks he's making it worse, he could stop.

On the other hand, this must be a sign of improvement. Resistance would mean progress. Of course, he has already stopped, and Kurapika opens his mouth to protest that when he feels a light tap at his chest.

For a brief moment, he looks surprised. That touch brought a quick flash of freedom from whatever the hell this was, eaten the moment it ended. Not strong enough? He's not able to comment on it fast enough, choking on his words and turning his head to the side for that cough.

Leorio, too, must have noticed how much more of a 'reading' he got from that spot. Whatever it is is most certainly more focused in Kurapika's chest.]

Again. [When he does speak, it's short to make up for his coughing. But the point should get across from just that word.]

[Thanks for not coughing in his face.

Leorio is briefly surprised as well, although seconds later it seems obvious that if Kurapika's worst symptoms have revolved around coughing, it's something in his chest... As much as he'd like to he doesn't say anything, only nods and does it again.

There's definitely something there, but other than that it exists, he isn't sure of much else. Leorio's brow creases; the possibility that he's making it worse by interfering has crossed his mind as well, but— maybe if Kurapika were to try and "find" it for sure, as he's more skilled with nen-]

This time- [He pauses for a beat and squeezes Kurapika's shoulder, bracing him or himself or both-] Can you try to find it? Right when I— [Tappity tap.]

[He can't much feel Leorio's aura itself, but the effect that it has as it goes through him at certain points. He understands he's looking for guidance here with his lack of knowledge. His fingers curl, both at Leorio's leg and shoulder, and he forces himself to relax more naturally as he continues the tapping.

His eyes close in his focus. It's a little tricky, but he uses a bit of nen himself, or specifically en. Comparing the state before and after in his own life energy. He has to relay what he does notice to Leorio.]

Your nen is forcing whatever it is out of the way. It's definitely something foreign meant solely to attack my nen. Which means-- [His long speeches don't work out as well when he's coughing, so there are pauses laced between them here.] ...it must run on the specific rule to go after the nen it targets alone. An individualized attack without the entire effort.

[And meant to react to resistance. It's a complicated one. The taps are drawing out more symptoms now, and Kurapika wobbles forward a bit but catches himself with the grip on his shoulder.]

There! [He gasps it out as Leorio does his last tap, reaching up to cover Leorio's hand over his chest with his own.] That's the most difference. It must be centralized there.

[To be honest, Leorio doesn't need much detail beyond the part about his nen forcing this thing out of the way. So it's helping? From here it looks like Kurapika is faring worse each time, but- if he insists- Leorio will trust him.

Despite being jerked around and lied to about the rest of this illness, he will. The things he does.]

The— okay. [Okay, shit, is this it? Is this the opportune moment that he can either handle well or royally screw up? No pressure, right??

He thinks quickly; he doesn't know where it's going to go, but if his nen is forcing it out of the way, then it should be better to knock it out of the park in one hit. Prodding at it like he is now only seems to be agitating it, so if he thinks of it like ripping a bandaid... It should work.

Or it could go horribly wrong, but he's trying not to panic.]

Okay, I'm gonna- here. [He nudges Kurapika's hand off his own without losing his place so he can put more force behind this tap. Here goes nothing??]

[He's not sure what Leorio is doing, but he'll trust his judgment for now. Moving his hand back to the bed now, he focuses on breathing, relaxing his own defenses.

In the end, it does help. That tap isn't just a 'search', is it? He feels it this time, even without the way it ripples through his own nen and shoots at the foreign bits. Somehow, was he destroying it from the inside? Or working it apart little by little? In a last ditch defense, it seems to try to fight back.

Somehow, it abandons exclusivity that it was exhibiting before. Kurapika doesn't generally yell from pain except in extreme cases, but this does make him double over in pain. His grip slackens for a moment before he jolts himself awake and holds on tight, falling into Leorio's support more as he winces.]

Whatever it is is most certainly run by nen. It's following rules and conditions, so your attempts to push it out are a threat it's trying to fight against. Probably. [He's out of breath as he says this, eyes closing for a moment.]

You have to focus on pushing that same type of aura through my whole body at once. I think that should be enough to knock it out for good without it dispersing out of the way. But if you're not careful, it could do a lot of damage...

[Ah, how does he say this properly.]

Use that same amount of care and control, and up just the force and direction. Do you think you can do that?

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