dumbshow | answer your god damn phone

[So.

It's not that Leorio has too many thoughts and nowhere to begin, this time. Rather, he's drawing a blank; thoughts start and peter off before he can form them into coherent statements instead of just feelings.

They show through plenty when he looks at Kurapika, though, worry undercut with too much affection to sift through in a couple minutes. He settles for sliding an arm around Kurapika's shoulders and leaning in to press his face against his hair for a moment. Hmm.]

You better come back safe, Kurapika.

[The emotion behind that look surprises him, somehow. Despite knowing Leorio and expecting him to be emotional and attached, he finds himself wondering now if he didn't really understand the weight. He feels it now, wrapped around him and pressed close like that face in his hair.

Again, sadness weighs down on him. His arms stay limp in his lap as he stares down at his hands.

When he stops to think about all of this, when he realizes that none of this misery would be troubling others, when he remembers that the Spider is what did all of this-- rage begins to seep in. It's why he has to go now, and it's why he'll continue to do so. To make them pay for all of this.]

I'm sorry, Leorio. [Emotion makes its way into his tone there, too, and his eyes close for a moment as he stabilizes his feelings. Have to keep his eyes unchanging, for now.]

I wish things didn't have to be this way. [Even if it's just a little at a time, he feels like he can vent with Leorio.] I'm sorry they are.

[A pause, and he finally raises a hand to touch lightly at the back of Leorio's head.]

I'll come back alive.

[Leorio stays where he is; he'll squeeze the last seconds out of the time before Kurapika really has to leave like this. It's good but bittersweet to hear him vent— a wall has come down somewhere, or at least opened enough for him to listen through, and Kurapika is more here with him now than when he first arrived.

It makes him believe they can do this, even if "this" is little more than surviving to see it through to the end. He'll do whatever it takes.

Kurapika's last statement gets a small noise out of him, between a scoff and a grumble. No, listen, those aren't the terms he offered!!]

And safe, idiot. Don't come back coughing up blood again, or else-!!

[Or else, like. He'll fret. But also yell a lot.]

Or else?

[Sadly, they have to part now. Kurapika knows if he sits here and soaks in this strange, soft feeling, he'll grow softer himself-- and that's not good before what he intends to do. ('Not good', he thinks, earnestly.) On top of that, Leorio is worrying, and he needs a way to put him at ease...

So he falls back onto the usual. Bickering, instigating, poking fun where he can in small, calm ways. His hand smooths away from Leorio's face as he stands, not bothering to face him as he finishes up with his routine. The tie, and then moving over to his shoes.]

Or else what? If you're going to threaten someone, you should have the means to back it up.

[Or- eh? Leorio blinks, crossing his arms over his chest as Kurapika gets up. He has to justify himself now? Is that it??

Imagine the day he realizes Kurapika giving him shit calms him down from genuine worry. He'll never tell.]

I'll hang you up somewhere high and leave you there! [sHORTY]

[He knows this method works so well, and yet Leorio always ends up saying something that genuinely ticks him off. ...But well, it's the same both ways, isn't it? Clicking his tongue at that (he is a completely average height, excuse you mr. giant), he stands up from putting on his shoes and looks at his right hand. Slowly, his chains appear.]

You're assuming you'd be able to catch me in the first place. [Burn. Yeah. He tosses a glance back, indifference shining through more than any annoyance-- but that's the annoying part, isn't it.]

Don't get into trouble while I'm gone.

[He sure did just turn this around. But!! Before this arguing gets too far, it's best to leave it on a note that Leorio can fume over for a while after he's gone.] I'll see you later, Leorio.

[Being average height doesn't eliminate the fact that Leorio could feasibly hang him up on something!! Like maybe a bedpost.

He's already started building up to a good petty tantrum here, but Kurapika actually leaving will set him back to a petty sulk instead. That's fine- he'll be distracted. Distractions will help, probably, which is why he'll also definitely complain to Melody. Might as well just get that out of the way, since she'll know.

Ah, but arguing before Kurapika leaves will leave a bad taste in his mouth, so while he returns with an annoyed,] Remember what I said!!

[It's kind of a faux-grumpiness. After a few seconds' pause he scoffs and flops back down on the bed, like maybe he will stay here for a while and sleep orrr glare at the furniture. So to the ceiling,] See you later!

[The silence from Kurapika and his team ends after a little over five hours.

Five hours of no contact, no knowing what Kurapika was up to, and no good information from the ones left behind. Melody seems to know the location of their target, at least, but aside from that, there was just waiting. Five hours and some-odd minutes of waiting, ended finally by Leorio's phone ringing with Kurapika's name.

At least when he answers it's his voice, as well, albeit tired and out of breath.]

Listen carefully. [It's the first thing he says in a careful whisper. He doesn't really have the choice of trying to make this sound any better than it is, or he'll risk blowing things for himself before help can arrive. And so--]

I need backup. Send--

[Well that sure is a loud noise. Hard to say what it is exactly, over a cell phone like this. Maybe someone got thrown over, or maybe literal walls are crumbling down. Whatever it is cuts off Kurapika, and there's a very distant voice preaching something about eyes.

Of course, just as Kurapika scrambles to snatch the phone back up, it dies. Should have charged it last night, probably. Woops.]

[When Leorio had said he didn't want Kurapika to call if it only meant bad news, he meant it. He's on edge for the whole five hours, though the level rises and falls. Melody does her best, but distracting him when he's like this is a fool's errand.

So when the phone rings he's picking it up in an instant, with barely any time to formulate a question before Kurapika speaks. Leorio's nerves last only until the line goes dead—for just barely a few seconds he's frozen, with Melody trying to get his attention back to the moment.

The rest as he'll recall it later is a blur. He shouts at however many people he can find in the halls and nearby rooms about needing backup, ask Melody where, don't get in his way— At one point he's upstairs trying to put his fist through Nostrade's door, but the other bodyguards hold him back and tell him in no uncertain terms what they'll do to leave him useless in a puddle on the floor if he doesn't back down. He shouts at them about backup, too, until someone delivers him back to Melody and assures him they'll handle it.

Whether or not he got an official nod to go along with the backup effort is a part he remembers quite clearly: he sure as hell didn't, but he definitely did muscle his way into the backseat of a car heading out and technically no one tried to throw him out. He tries calling Kurapika back a few times to no avail while the backup team discusses how to proceed; a few times, they glance back at Leorio as if trying to determine how much of a liability he'll be.

He ignores them. They might not know exactly what they're up against, but he has— uh, he has a knife, and he's definitely thought this through and oh, shit, no he hasn't. The closer they get to their destination the more the stupidity of what he's just done - thrown himself into a mafia hit car armed with a switchblade - hits him. Hits him like a brick to the face. The other men tell him to keep his mouth shut and do what they say and he nods more than a little grimly. They're almost there. All he cares about doing is finding Kurapika and getting them both the hell out of there - that's it.

Adrenaline mixed with terror have settled firmly in his bones by the time they arrive, but he does as he's told and follows the others inside, heart pounding. Well, he thinks as he tries to look a little more capable, this is probably only the second most dangerous thing he's ever done.

He did take a run at Hisoka that one time, after all.]

[It's a very elaborate mansion that they've entered. Clearly some big shot in another mafia family's organization. It's quiet all along the huge driveway, but when they arrive at the front, it's clear something has gone down. One of Nostrade's cars is angled sloppily, the front end crushed against one of the main pillars of the entranceway.

Well, so much for stealth. It seemed this had passed that point long ago.

The car pulls up and parks sloppily alongside the other, and as the 'backup' piles out, a figure bursts out from the front door. There doesn't seem to be any chaos following him, but the stillness only makes it eerie. Linssen stops when he reaches Melody and the others, barely sparing Leorio a glance as he explains. (Sorry, bud.)]

They were expecting us. [It's apparent at this close distance now that he's somehow sporting burned splotches over his clothing and skin alike, along with some slice marks-- so there had been fighting.] There's no time to explain everything. Kurapika made an exchange with Don Paolo for my life. I couldn't follow, so I don't know where in the mansion they headed, but I did learn that those crimson eyes he was speaking about wanting to collect weren't one of the pairs already circling around.

[Leorio is on the lookout for signs of anything that will point him to Kurapika, so he notices the smashed car as soon as it's in view.

Who the hell drives into a pillar? Seriously.

Whatever— he stands there waiting and getting more annoyed by the second that they're not doing anything, can't they have this conversation while walking, and Melody keeps giving him concerned looks but he's not having it. This is stupid, they're just standing around, what kind of name is Don Paolo and what is Kurapika doing??

Soon enough he loses his pitiful patience reserves and skips right over the "You left him in there?" to burst out with,] Can you explain the rest of this inside?!

[At that, all eyes are on Leorio. Yes, why was this large man coming with them... Did he even have any battle capabilities aside from punching shitty fathers?? Linssen was not sure, but he was also not about to question him with that look on his face. One of Kurapika's friends... He barely understood Kurapika, let alone his circle of friends.]

Let's go. [So, fine, basically. He's hurt here too, you know?? Nah, but really, he does respect Kurapika, so finding him is the priority here. He's just not a blubbering mess over it, he thinks with a pointed look in Leorio's direction.

Once inside, things are disheveled here and there, and there's an unconscious member of the Nostrade family near the door, two dead newer members in a couple of the other immediate rooms, and some of this Don Paolo group members similarly strewn over pieces of furniture or the staircase.

Well, a mansion battlefield of sorts. That's promising, right.]

They went that way [he points towards a rather long hallway] but I wasn't allowed to follow if I wanted to live. I didn't catch which way they turned. Kurapika told me to stay here.

[Ah, another pointed look at Leorio. But the hallway is an idea, at least. One branch of many, even if it separated off into other little sections.]

If we split up, we might be able to find him faster, but we should be careful not to ruin his side of the agreement at a bad ti--

[Melody may have been able to hear the leading up to this (a distant conversation, calm at first but slowly rising in tension), but by the time it hits its peak, everyone can hear the crashing sound of a fight starting and the mansion trembling along with it, as well as a faint echo of Kurapika's yell.]

Is that all this is to you?!

[So downstairs, then, from the feel and sound of it.

They hadn't even made it down the stairs all the way. It was one of those long, unnecessarily winding ones. Initially, when he'd heard of this report, Linssen had told him that there was a man who'd spoken about finding a pair of crimson eyes that he was after. Kurapika had revealed enough lately to his comrades for them to understand that he'd be interested in such a thing. They hadn't known that it had been him he'd noticed for his eyes. (How? Kurapika wasn't sure yet, but he was intent on finding that out, as well.)

He'd showed up and gone over the situation with the team outside of the mansion, as they'd been doing well with stealth beforehand. It turned out that was all a ploy to draw him out, and this time, when they drove back to the mansion, they were met with combat. Linssen had been injured enough that Kurapika voiced a suggestion. They could leave together and have a one on one battle if he spared his comrade. He was right in thinking this man was the type to go along with it. Prideful.

And it had been going well until his questions halfway down the stairs got him answers he didn't like. "Why do you want them?" was met with a sneering, laughing response about it being the same as any treasure. About him wanting what he didn't have. Beating other collectors to the punch.

Naturally, Kurapika wasn't able to hold back at that. Not after his long week. Even if he couldn't use chain jail, on this man, he could use his chains, and so he'd whipped one out and swung at him, taking a good chunk of the wall out with him.

Would you guess that small spaces did not work well for whip-type weapons??? Wow.]

[Wow, okay, he can lift a few tons?? So there??? He'll go pick up that wrecked car and throw it. Later.

Moving is good. Leorio couldn't care less about most of the details besides where Kurapika could be and how stupid the things he's doing are - sounds pretty stupid, so far - and he's about to cut in again to tell Linssen to get to the point already when the whole place rumbles a little.

Oh.]

Bad time?! Say it, say it's a bad time!!

[He's looking down the hall now, trying to guess which way will get them to the stairs quickest. After that noise and the faraway sound of Kurapika's voice, Leorio considers this "agreement" ruined already, so now it doesn't matter what he does or if these mafia goons keep giving him that look, right?! Right??

Right, he's going to do whatever he wants, and what he wants right now is to find some goddamn stairs. For a second he considers using his nen to tap on the wall, but this mansion could be three times as big underground, it would take too long to find an exact location- they have Melody, she can do it, one of these directions has to go to the right place—

Ah, he's already making a break for it, sorry.]

[There are a few shouts and puzzled faces as Leorio leaves them in the dust, but Melody seems ready to calm them and explain something more logical. If they all rush in, it would be even worse. Leorio may be able to help Kurapika, and in the meantime, they can monitor things from above and keep control of the situation.

Leorio can likely find his ways from the shaking, anyway. Down the stairway, Kurapika is struggling to get into the open. One more jump back and off the curved wall leads him to some sort of over the top basement, and that gives him plenty of space to wind his arm up and whip with his chain.

This opponent's speed is memorable, though. He winds past the hit and ends up just inches from Kurapika, striking a punch towards his chest. It's blocked, at the very least, and while Kurapika does go flying backwards into a wall, he learns what he was aiming for. This guy's strength isn't anywhere near Uvogin's. Probably not any of the spiders. Good. Easier to deal with when he didn't have the advantage of all of his abilities.]

[It's fortunate (well) that the building keeps shaking, because it at least covers the sound of Leorio's running footsteps for anyone who isn't Melody. He swears a few times, too, which is also great to mercifully muffle - he might be running head first and blind into whatever fight Kurapika is in, but he'd like maybe half of an element of surprise.

He makes it to the bottom of the staircase in time to nearly trip over himself from the latest shake, and of course he looks up in time to see Kurapika fly into a wall.

Of course.

To his credit, he doesn't blow the whole thing then and there. If there's a sound just then that sounds like someone trying very hard not to yell, that isn't him- just like how if there's a suspicious movement of debris that isn't anywhere near Kurapika, that isn't him either.

And he definitely isn't the shape visible for a fraction of a second before he throws himself behind- something- a pillar? okay, weird- and flattens himself against it.

He's not here, he's seriously not here at all.]

[Leorio?

He'd been picking himself up from the collision with the wall rather casually when he spotted that "unseen" figure for just long enough. He'd forgotten in his rage that he'd called for backup. He'd forgotten he'd called Leorio for backup.

The thought is just long enough to be a distraction. His focus falters, and his opponent picks up on it. His speed brings him closer again, and Kurapika has to move even more quickly to bring his arm up for a block. He manages, and this time, he doesn't fly back. He skids a good distance, feet gripping the floor and shifting to a stop eventually. He lashes out with his chain again, but this time, he has to mind Leorio's position.

Damn it Leorio.

He'd honestly been hoping that Don Paolo had somehow missed Leorio's entrance or was choosing to ignore it, but on the contrary, he ducks and dodges from the chain, facing Leorio's Pillar of Choice more directly as he does.

The comment he utters is something like "I said no spectators." You know, right before sending a big fat fireball at the pillar. If it doesn't take care of Leorio, it'll take care of some of his mansion's support?? Great. Fantastic. Maybe nauticalnodes will be used when he has more to do besides be overly destructive for no reason.]

[He's not here!! Really, he tries to be as not-here as possible, as much good as that's doing right now. Which is none, apparently, as he has just enough time to flatten himself to the floor instead with his arms over his head before his hiding pillar is smashed open. By fire. Fire?! Really?

Really??

Well, now that everyone knows he's here, he- rolls, somehow gets back onto his feet without catching fire, and just picks a direction to sprint in. It's not into the middle of this fight, at least - maybe he'll make a circuit of the room. He's thinking about it, okay!]

Kurapikaaa!! [And he does have time to start yelling, yes.] Kick his ass already!!

[He's helping.]

let's do action nodes, I said, it'll be fun, I thought

oh an npc is necessary, yes, that's true, but why didn't I think of how i'D HAVE TO WRITE A FIGHT SCENE WITH MYSELF

OR HOW FUCKING DRAMATIC IT WOULD BE BECAUSE KURAPIKA IS A DRAMA QUEEN OF THE NTH DEGREE

laura help me I spent so long trying to work this out, thinking of what's easy to reply to and what's not, what I could do and what I couldn't, I actually can't plot and so there are no strings being tied here, what the fuck am I doing

I have listened to kurapika's theme song 50+ times now, there is no light here

"who would want to tag cheering lines between a fight scene" AND SO SINCE THAT'S TRUE I TRIED MY BEST TO MAKE THIS SOMETHING YOU CAN TAG TO....... I FEEL LIKE, IT'S STILL NOT THERE, BUT I TRIED

I wanted you to know I tried so hard I got so far but in the end it didnt even matter and I can't stop listening to this fucking character song that is so, angry, jesus

ah but yes this is just me dramatically crying about how hard this was and how dramatic it turned out (don't laugh just look at kurapika, laugh at him, ok), and also a warning, for that same thing

i'm in awe of all of these comments and i have been since like 9am

let these stand as testament to how i love all these tags DRIPPING WITH DRAMA shoves you!!! take this happy wiggle icon as proof of my insatiable thirst for melodrama it'S MY PLURK URL, LIKE DID YOU THINK

I WOULD REFUSE.... GIVE ME MORE

and lbr leorio's life is cheering lines between fight scenes, this seems really canonical to me

[Annoying, annoying, annoying! He was in the middle of business-- business he'd been working towards for weeks now-- and this guy comes out of nowhere to make a fool out of him?! Scowling, he scans between Kurapika and Leorio. Emotion. Heavy emotion is what activates those eyes, isn't it? And so, it's a simple thought that he has now. Killing this man would surely do something.

Kurapika catches onto it and both kick off at once. Leorio might notice them exchange a series of strikes that ends with Kurapika stumbling backwards. A slip up more than anything, but then Don Paolo is gone.

This man was a transmuter. He seemed able to transmute his nen into any sort of heat. That speed was probably a technique in itself. Heating up his own molecules enough to propel forward, wearing down himself but delivering a good amount of strength behind just bare fists. Using his own nen category for these attacks was much more reliable than the lesser strength emitter techniques he'd been using to shoot fireballs.

So this time, there's no long distance shooting. He comes at Leorio by appearing from the side, his fist charging up a fiery ball of aura as he's swinging. If it hits the arm he aims for, it should do well enough to send him flying into a wall, if those burns weren't enough. He'd been aiming to do this a few times before getting any results, but--]

Leorio!

[Screaming his name did little to help, but he had never meant for him to show up at this scene. Backup had meant backup, not for him to run in here like an idiot. His fists curl tight as he thinks on it. Leorio was here to help him, was staying to help him, and was considering reworking his whole setup towards his own goals, all for him. He was the most selfless person Kurapika knew.

But this man?]

Don Paolo!

[There was no time to check on Leorio aside from a brief glance over. The index finger on his chainfree hand hooks into his tie and undoes the knot. With one smooth tug, he throws it to the side, and his jacket follows. This clothing was restrictive, nothing like the clothes from the Kurta. He'd endure it for missions and business, but for a fight? It would only get in the way.

This man wanted to collect things just for the sake of collecting. He didn't think about the people behind the items, or the suffering they'd had to endure. There was no care for the Kurta or what their eyes stood for, no care for himself and how he was still alive and shouldn't be collected, and absolutely no care for his friend, who had nothing to do with any of this. (Nevermind that, again, he ran in here like an idiot.) Kurapika wasn't going to stand for that.]

These are what you want? [With a gesture to his eyes, his expression manages to be completely unfeeling despite the heartbreak in his tone. It was too bad that it would have to come to this. It was a side he couldn't stand himself. A necessary level of brutality to fight for what he needed to do. What he needed to finish, to avenge. And maybe, he thinks, with a strange, lighter feeling that just barely brushes the edge of his rage, what he needed to protect.]

Then your fight is with me! Or did you forget? [This time, when his chains lash out, they're a lot more controlled. The nen behind them is massive compared to before, and quickly, it begins to turn one sided.] I'll engrave these eyes into your mind for the rest of your life!

[It's both amazing and horrifying, really, how quickly this fight shifts. Don Paolo, too, loses the glint in his eyes and the excitement in his movements. Each of his punches do little, and when he manages to deliver an actual explosion to Kurapika's left side, he summons a chain and heals it up.

There seems to be a heavy confusion from him on what nen category Kurapika could possibly be. It's exactly as he intends, and he uses it to his advantage. In just ten minutes, Kurapika has him on the ground, bloodied and covered in bruises from the whipping of his chains. He can't use chain jail, and so honestly, this is the most violent he's been (at least lately). Questioning his thinking the whole time (why do you do this without a care?!, don't you ever think of the people whose lives you're ruining to satisfy your own selfish desires?!, what do you feel when you kill someone for your rare collections?!), not a single answer he gets back is satisfactory.

He's forgotten about Leorio, even while being enraged for his sake. It's not that he doesn't remember he's there-- it's more that he's so lost in this rage, there's no concept of time. There's only the panicked urgency of questioning that continues to worsen the more answers he hears. He's yelling now, and his eyes are still so brightly red that he can feel the strain it's placing on him, but he doesn't let it register.

Instead, Judgment Chain readies itself, looming above the broken body of Don Paolo as he continues to smile wickedly like he's won. He told himself he didn't want to kill anyone other than the spiders, but that's forgotten as his clan flashes through his mind, as Leorio's selfless actions all come together and this man serves as a source for all of the blame, every bad thing that's ever happened, that he can project and deal with all at once--]

This is your last chance. [There's blood everywhere. On him, too. His face, in his hair.] I'm going to set two conditions. If you violate either of them, your heart will be crushed.

[This is too far.]

[Okay, Leorio would actually prefer getting punched by Hisoka again, all of a sudden. He's still running - like, yes, an idiot, he's looking forward to the shouting match they'll have later over this because at least that would mean they're not dead and on fire - and not paying any attention to Don Paolo paying attention to him, which— honestly, was the first mistake.

He notices it seconds too late, too wrapped up in watching what's going on with Kurapika to remember that he's not invisible in here, far from it- and so it doesn't occur to him that Don Paolo is going to change tactics and come after him as well until he's abruptly gone from where Kurapika is. Shit, Leorio thinks, and then Shit! when he catches movement in his periphery. He makes his second mistake: trying to twist and change direction instead of hope a burst of speed forward will take him out of there. The heat and force catch him at an angle as he's knocked back, acutely aware of his arm bending at an angle it shouldn't just before he hits the wall.

Dazed, winded, he drops to the floor a moment after that, aware of only Kurapika yelling before the pain blossoms from his shoulder to all over. His sleeve is singed and burned through in places and he can see the nasty burns throbbing there, and something in his shoulder is either pulled or broken, but he's not down and out. It takes him a moment then, finally, to realize Don Paolo didn't hit him as hard as he could have or somewhere more vital because he didn't want to kill him instantly. He wanted Leorio to survive that? But—

Oh. Oh.

He is an idiot. One hundred percent liability on legs. Damn it.

He's on his feet now, barely, but suddenly can only muster up the strength to slump back against the wall and watch grimly as Kurapika takes Don Paolo down. It's not that he truly lacks strength- he hurts all over, but enough adrenaline courses through him to make up for it- but he... he's an idiot. Nothing he's done since coming here has helped Kurapika, if anything he's made it worse somehow by not letting Kurapika deal with it without revealing his presence-

And also he was briefly on fire. There's that too.]

Kurapika. [He speaks, but his voice is low enough that there's no hope of being heard over both the yelling and the sounds of chains. He picks himself up off the wall, hissing through his teeth at the pain in his arm and shoulder and gripping it with his other hand as he starts to move.] Kurapika, hold on...

[This is presumptuous of him, to an extent. This man is a killer, isn't worth any pity for the things he does, and yet Kurapika isn't. Leorio pointedly squashes the part of him that turns a blind eye to Kurapika's actions for the sake of his people and would turn one to this. Let Kurapika to just do it, for everyone he's lost.

It's simple - if Kurapika does it, it's going to be bad. For him. For both of them- Leorio can make a lot of sacrifices and he can excuse away Kurapika's behavior toward the spiders, but this is too much brutality for someone who isn't worth it. It's too much for Kurapika to come out of unchanged, too close to Kurapika slipping away from him again, and it's that thought that propels him forward.

Mercifully, it takes him significantly less time for him to think through all this than it takes Kurapika to get Don Paolo on the ground to set his terms, because Leorio remembers something much more immediately pressing and takes the last few yards at a stumbling run. He lets go of his own arm to reach out to grab onto Kurapika's and pull—]

Did you forget he explodes?!

[That JUST HAPPENED, KURAPIKA. He was on FIRE, more than one person was on fire!!]

[The man on the ground before him seems to smile wider at his suggestion, and Kurapika trembles in his anger. It's an unfortunate bit of timing when Leorio grabs him, since his anger is through the roof-- but it's probably just when he needs it the most.

Still, he pulls against it, resisting the tug backwards in order to raise his hand and his chain with it, pointed like a snake at the beaten man before them. Don Paolo has nothing to lose. Kurapika knows this could end in more violence any minute, and that only works to enrage him further.]

Shut up!

[Whether to Leorio or to Don Paolo's expression, Kurapika shouts it. His hand swipes out in his emotion, and he shakes his head a bit without thinking, bright red eyes glowing still, even with the amount of strain he's feeling on his body from them.]

This sick scene, and all you can do is smile?! Tell me, what do you gain from all of this! Why do you hunt people, why do you use their lives as if they're nothing!

[He's always the one asking these questions. It's something he can't understand ever since making his way into the outside world. Why were some people so cruel and so manipulative? Why did this sort of thing happen? Why would this man hunt him alive for the sake of collection, why would he harm Leorio to further this goal-- it doesn't make any sense!

All it is is disgusting.

And the only answer Don Paolo offers for that is laughter. Kurapika's face twists in reaction, and for the first time, he acknowledges Leorio is there by reaching back with his free hand to place against his chest.]

Stand back, Leorio. [If explosions are a worry, he'll handle this himself. He'll take care of this scum himself, if that's what he has to do--!]

[God DAMN it, Kurapika. Leorio barely manages to keep his mouth shut until he's finally personally addressed, at which point it's like a switch flips in his head and he's suddenly woken up. There's only one response left for him to consider—]

No! [He's as loud as ever, and realizes quite suddenly that on top of the guilt he feels for kind of, sort of screwing this up a whole lot more, he's angry. Don Paolo is one thing; he has an automatic disgust response for people like him, but he's actually angry at Kurapika for this reckless abandon. How many times does he have to say the same thing, how many times is Kurapika going to ignore him and do all of this really stupid stuff? If he's telling Leorio to stand back, then—]

Make me!

[Not that Kurapika can't, but it's the principle of the thing. Leorio has no convincing argument prepared to snap Kurapika out of it, instead falling back on the old tradition of just yelling at him. He'll give it a good try,]

Even if you go crazy and forget everything else, I'm still going to be here! So shut up and come on!!

["good try"]

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this icon is creepy and yet, so is he

wow quite true

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"leorio accidentally becomes substitute mafia" the epic, the saga

lEORIO PLEASE... NOT THE KNIFE... put that down right now also this is all, 1/1 no pikachu yet

when will leorio stop yelling at the mafia

never probably 1/2 also bc narrating is hard

narrates more tho ah

makes stupid choices all day every day

that sure is leorio

so is this, this was supposed to be dramatic and not stupid? leorio

no it always needs to be stupid, esp with leorio...

don't encourage me....

no subject

no subject

no look it's your job to be cute leorio and be ridiculous all over

and my job to play embarrassing levels of dramatic and make everything sad or horrible I guess

bathes in drama

ah, yes.... good, splashes it everywhere, look at my icons WORKING

is that ne...cessarily a good thing