notes: so, we meet again.
it's been a year. for those who wonder why, i wrote a quick rundown of my year on my tumblr (aionwatha). basically, the gist of it is FUCK 2019.
the title is from the song from marianas trench, though the lyrics don't match kurokura for this fic, but they do fit for dav lol. but i listened to it a lot while writing this chapter. actually, the entire phantoms album is a++. that and bastille's doom days are the two albums i've had on repeat since the summer.

Chapter 7
Only the Lonely Survive

There had been very little to say, once Kurapica had decided to stop answering questions, especially as he now felt like he had a lot to think about. Their meal over, Kuroro had left, though he'd told Kurapica that he would be back soon enough. Technically, the Kuruta supposed he should be free to go home, as he had clearly not turned into one of the undead, despite having been bitten. He wasn't sure if Kuroro was keeping him locked in because he didn't want anyone in the camp to know that some of them were immune (he couldn't put it beyond Kuroro's need for drama to cultivate a sort of mystique surrounding the Spiders), or if he simply didn't think that Kurapica wanted people to know. Either way, it would have been nice to be asked about it, rather than just… waiting here for no reason, stewing in his thoughts.

But oh, he had a lot of thinking to do.

All of the revelations of the morning had left him reeling. There was relief—of course, he was relieved to find that he was still very much alive—but to his surprise, there was also some guilt. So many people had died already, yet here he was, very much alive. He wasn't anyone important, just a teenager with a sharp mind, yet no formal education. If he had been a scientist, he could have studied this, could have found what in his body was the cause for this miraculous immunity, could have researched a possible cure or even better, developed a vaccine that could save what was left of the human race, as well as other lifeforms. But he wasn't a scientist or a doctor. He was just a lone traveller.

"Hey, you in there?"

The voice startled him out of his thoughts and he made his way to the broken window. He pulled the curtain aside to reveal Leorio standing awkwardly in the atrium on the other side.

"Kurapica!" The tall man greeted with some relief, then studied his face, leaving the one word hanging there, followed by an uncomfortable silence that seemed to be waiting for more to follow the name out of Leorio's mouth.

"Is everything okay?" Kurapica asked him once it was clear that Leorio wasn't going to say anything further.

"Is every—" Leorio scoffed, then ran both of his hands over his face. "Lucifer just told me you're in here and that you had a wound that I should tend to, now that he's sure you're not going to turn. I was going fucking crazy when I saw you weren't there for dinner last night. I wasn't sure you'd even made it back from the raid."

Kurapica's mind scrambled for an appropriate response to that. It felt a bit silly that a man who had to see people die or turn regularly would care so much about the well-being of one single newcomer he'd only known for a couple of weeks, but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he felt pretty stupid. It was a good thing that their medic had kept his humanity through all of this. He certainly wouldn't want him to become like one Kuroro Lucifer.

"I'm sorry," he finally managed. "I was in shock and didn't think—I should have—wait!" He cut himself short, vaguely remembering Senritsu unlocking the quarantine area. "Didn't Senritsu tell you that I was back?"

"She didn't," Leorio confirmed. "If Lucifer told her not to say anything, she wouldn't. She's not one of them—" The way he'd said that, with some amount of disgust and anger, made it clear he meant the Spiders, as everyone in the camp seemed wary of them. "—but she keeps her own counsel and often sides with them when she thinks it's better for the camp."

"I see," Kurapica said, turning this over in his mind.

It was clear to him that Senritsu didn't like the Spiders any more than anyone else did, but she probably knew how vital their little raids were for the survival of the camp. She also, in her own words, ambushed them at their return to get information on their activities outside. She probably prioritized the safety of the camp over her own feelings regarding their unlikely benefactors, and that fact made him think much more highly of her than he already had.

"Kurapica?" Leorio brought his attention back to the moment. "Can I come in, or are you still at risk of turning and eating me?"

Kurapica couldn't help letting out a soft, amused huff. "You'd take a chance on that?"

"No," Leorio answered bluntly. "Everyone changes in a matter of minutes, since the bacteria adapted to humans and apparently decided they were the best at propagating it all over."

Kurapica glanced at the makeshift lock on his side, but he hadn't even gotten up to see Kuroro off, so it was unlocked on his side. "It's open."

Leorio nodded and took out a set of keys from his pocket and picked up a large bag from between his feet. Kurapica watched him quietly as the other man unlocked and opened the door. Leorio looked troubled and unhappy and the blond couldn't help another twinge of guilt at he thought of his new friends worrying, unable to sleep without news of his safety.

Once Leorio was in, Kurapica stepped away from the window. There weren't any chairs in the room so he went to the bed he'd come to see as his, and sat down.

"Did Kuroro tell you how I got hurt?" he asked the medic, wondering if the man even knew that immunity was possible.

"No," Leorio admitted, putting his bulky bag on the bed next to the blond, where he could now see that it sported a large red cross. "He just said it might get infected if not seen to and that he'd bandaged it yesterday but had to make sure you wouldn't turn and kill me before he let me come here."

Kurapica nodded, then marked a pause. If Leorio didn't know about immunity yet, then he was going to find out in the absolute most dramatic fashion possible. No doubt Kuroro was sitting in his hoard cave and relishing the whole thing. Stupid drama queen.

He sighed and presented his hand to the medic, who clicked his tongue at the sight of the black handkerchief.

"Was this thing even clean when he used it to bandage your hand?" he griped as he worked the knot loose. "I bet it was just sitting in his pocket for days and—"

At the look on Leorio's face when the fabric fell away, it was clear that no, he had very much not known that some people could be immune.

"Kurapica," he choked out as his mind tried to process. "Your hand—you—that's a bite!?

"Yeah," Kurapica agreed, his stomach turning a bit at the sight of the wound. It looked positively vile, all black and blue, the teeth all clearly visible. "One of those things caught me off-guard and bit me."

"And you didn't turn?" Leorio asked, his voice sounding strangled.

Kurapica shrugged awkwardly, unsure of how to react to Leorio's obvious shock. He tried to think of what to say, and resisted the urge to stomp out of the quarantine area, climb up the side of the Tower and break into one messy apartment to strangle one very annoying drama queen.

"Apparently I'm immune," he finally told Leorio. "I didn't even think it was possible but—" he lifted his hand "—the thing bit all the way down to the point this was bleeding, and yet here I am." He paused, wondering how much he was allowed to say, then decided that if Kuroro wanted to police how much his medic was to know, then he should have come along and not left Kurapica to deal alone with this. "Apparently Kuroro knew some people are immune."

He didn't know how much more to tell the medic, but Leorio's face scrunched up a bit, and he regarded Kurapica with a shrewd look that suddenly reminded the blond that no matter how stupid this man looked with his tiny, impractical sunglasses and gravity-defying spiky hair, he had been a med student.

"So this was why he wanted you as part of the raid parties," he said slowly. "He suspected it from the start?"

Kurapica blinked, then nodded, mentally awarding points to the man for his quick grasp of the situation. "Probably. So, doctor, am I going to lose my hand?"

Leorio was quick to return to business. "We won't let it come to that," he said as he quickly examined the wound. He cleaned it with something cold that stung and smelled acrid, then smoothed some cream over the bite and rebandaged it with proper medical gauze. It soon started itching and Kurapica rubbed at it.

Leorio gently pushed his hand down. "Don't scratch it, you'll mess the bandage up. If it's itchy, it's proof the antibacterial cream is working. I'll come to check on it and rebandage it twice a day."

Kurapica accepted this with a nod and forced himself to link his fingers together on his lap so he wouldn't disturb Leorio's work any further.

"Anything else I can do for you?" the man asked as he started repacking his supplies.

Kurapica's gaze flew to his face and he was struck by the open and sincere look with which Leorio looked at him.

"You still have medical books?" the blond asked him.

"Tons," Leorio declared proudly. "The Raiders and Scavengers bring me all the med books they come across. What specific topic are you interested in?"

"Immunology."

Leorio regarded him with definite interest and he thought he could detect newfound respect in the other man's gaze.

"You would need a lab," Leorio pointed out.

"I'll need the knowledge first," Kurapica told him. "Once I know how to do the research, then I can start looking for a lab."

Leorio nodded, still looking at him as if he was sizing him up. Then, "I'll bring you whatever I can find in my shelves, and tell the Raiders and Scavengers to bring me more."

He got to his feet and finished organizing his medical bag before snapping it shut, a slight frown marring his brow. Once he'd straightened up, he looked at the blond for a moment, then sighed and ran a hand through what few spikes had been left standing after the last disturbance. "I'm glad you're okay," he said. "I'm so fucking glad you didn't turn. What do I tell the kids, though?"

The appellation made Kurapica smile, as it seemed to him that most of the camp was made of people who were either kids or barely into adulthood, and yet he knew immediately who Leorio meant. "I'd rather keep this quiet for now," he decided after a brief moment of thought. "It's not that I don't trust Gon or Killua, but I'm still trying to make sense of it myself. Just yesterday, I was terrified of becoming one of those things, and now that I know there's little risk of this happening—" He trailed off, his eyes straying to the windows and the street beyond. Could survivor's guilt be applied to the feelings warring inside of his chest?

"Thank gods for that!" Leorio exclaimed. "But Kurapica?" He waited until the blond's gaze refocused on him. "You might not have to worry about turning into a zombie, but be careful. You might still end up killed. Immunity won't do shit against being eaten alive."

Kurapica wanted to reassure him that there was no chance of that, that without the fear of becoming a monster, there would be no way the slow, ambling fools could pose a threat to him, but he marked a pause. He remembered the hordes of them ambling down the street the previous day and how one had caught him by surprise. He nodded.

Leorio ran his hand through his hair again and picked his bag up. "I'll come back after dinner," he promised, then paused. "Unless you want company for the meal?"

"I have a lot to think about."

"I bet."

"So, after dinner's fine. Thanks, Leorio."

The medic gave him a rather sad smile and a two-finger salute, then made his exit. Kurapica didn't hear him lock the door behind himself. He supposed there was no point, seeing how he wasn't going to turn. Still, he intended to stay put.

As he had told Leorio, he did have a lot to think about. His entire life had just taken a sharp turn, and though he felt relieved, he was also reeling from the shock.

And yet, when he was left alone with his thoughts, it wasn't the monsters and ghouls, the relief, or what to do with his life now that he thought he could work on a cure that was on his mind. No, it was one troubling man with a penchant for dramatics and house full of useless baubles that he kept going back to.

Kuroro Lucifer. Such a confusing man. He seemed to be entirely uninterested in the camp he was more or less leading, yet had taken a special interest in the blond. It might have been flattering if Kurapica didn't think the interest was more due to the fact that he was immune to the Plague and less to do with his sharp mind or attractive features.

Not that he wanted Kuroro to find him attractive or anything. It was probably for the best if Kuroro didn't, at least until after Kurapica stopped suffering from the suspension bridge effect. And hopefully, that would be very, very soon.

The things he'd learned or guessed about the other man that morning were still making him feel uneasy. He'd always felt rather creeped out in the presence of the Spiders, but now he was starting to feel it might be due to more than just their absolute lack of social grace and more to do with them being rather uncomfortably other.

He repressed a light shudder as he remembered the strange, unblinking stare as the Spider Head turned his attention on him, from the very moment that they'd first come face to face, right in this very room. The problem was that Kurapica was no longer sure that his shiver was caused solely by the creep factor anymore.

It was troubling, and more than a little annoying, but Kurapica tried to stamp out his irritation by reminding himself that he had been going through a wild range of emotions over the last two days. Anyone in his position would be more than a little unstable after all he'd been through.

It didn't help him feel any better about it, unfortunately.

It didn't make sense to get attached in this situation anyway. He could no longer remember the name of the first boy he had kissed, both of them aged fourteen and sailing out from an island that had seemed to be in the midst of what they all had thought to be a very local outbreak, but he certainly remembered the look on the boy's face as his eyes turned vague and he'd started making that horrifying gnashing sound with his teeth.

At the time, he had only felt heartbroken, but later came the relief that he hadn't caught the disease from this boy (now he knew why) and with it, the guilt and shame over feeling relieved when the boy himself had died, along with all of the passengers on board, save for Kurapica. He'd nearly drowned, trying to reach the shore of the mainland after jumping off of the ship. He hadn't known about undertows back then.

In any case, he didn't think making friends or feeling attracted to anyone was a good survival strategy when anyone could either drop dead or turn around and try to eat you at any moment. But he'd been alone for so very long and even if he'd never been the most gregarious type, it was a pretty lonely existence. Months and months alone with only his worries for companions might have made Kurapica a little more eager for human contact as he might have been before he had found his village empty and abandoned.

He steered his thoughts resolutely away from his burned village and missing his kinsmen, only for them to circle back towards the Spider Head with his enigmatic stares and quiet but unmistakable power. And how he had held the blond the previous day, warmth at Kurapica's back, cold at his neck where the blade rested. How Kurapica had felt at peace then, still terrified but confident that he would not become undead, wouldn't turn like that boy, years ago, all bugged out eyes and gnashing teeth.

And how he had wanted to wrap himself up in the man's arms and never have him let go.

He sighed. This was so wrong on so many levels. He didn't think that Kuroro would be someone to associate with even had they not already been in the midst of a literal apocalypse. He would do well to stay as far from the man as possible, aside from the occasional raid whilst he stayed in this camp.

Kuroro seemed to have reached the same conclusion, as he didn't show up at dinner, or after, when Leorio came to check on him again, and not even in the morning, though he did send something for him.

"Lucifer told me to bring you this," Leorio said, a breakfast tray in one hand, his medical bag dangling from the other, which he waved around a bit, his fingers curled around a travel mug.

"Coffee?" Kurapica asked, hopeful.

Leorio studied him for an instant. "I guess? He didn't say."

He handed the tumbler over, nearly clubbing Kurapica in the face with his bulky medical bag. "Sorry," he said at the same time Kurapica went, "Thanks."

They stared at each other for a second, then they both broke into matching wide, amused grins.

"Guess I have to worry more about your bag knocking me over than the monsters out there," Kurapica teased, making Leorio laugh.

"You got me," the medic joked right back. "I was totally trying to knock you out so I could carry creepy experiments on you. Think I should go for the crazy scientist hairdo?"

It was Kurapica's turn to laugh, and he shook his head. "I'd say you're already halfway there already, what with the running your hand through your hair, but technically, I'm the one planning to make crazy experiments on myself." He took a sip of coffee and made a soft, pleased sound before continuing, "How do you think I would look with the wild, mad-scientist hair?"

"Bet you'd rock it," Leorio said as he set the tray down on the side table, then put his bag on the bed. He eyed Kurapica as the blond brought the tumbler back to his lips. "Should I leave the room for you two to enjoy your sexy times? I can come back later, you know."

Kurapica choked on his mouthful of the dark liquid. "What?!" His voice came out strangled, but he thought it was understandable, given the circumstances.

"You look like you're giving head to your tumbler here."

"I—no, that's—what?"

Leorio laughed. "I could kill for a cup of joe myself, but you're too pretty to die, so I guess I'll have to make do with watching you enjoy your coffee."

"Kuroro promised to bring me some to make at my place," Kurapica said, trying to recover some amount of dignity. "You could always ask him for some too."

"You kiddin'?" Leorio sounded appalled at the thought. "I'm not sure I'd be able to drink it. The guy's a psychopath. He could poison it just for the hell of it."

Kurapica felt a sudden surge of protectiveness towards the head Spider, but he stomped it down. It wasn't his problem if people thought the worst out of the man. He kind of was asking for it with the callous way he seemed to treat everything.

"I don't think he'd want to incapacitate his only medic," Kurapica felt pressed to point out regardless. "You're probably safe."

"Probably," Leorio echoed.

They looked at each other and broke into matching grins again.

"We're terrible," Kurapica said.

"Not as much as they are," Leorio pointed out, then put a plate of eggs and hashbrowns in Kurapica's hand. "C'mon, eat a bit. You're all skin and bones."

"Thought you called me pretty and sexy just a minute ago."

Leorio laughed again, a surprisingly light and happy sound as he warmed to the banter. "You'll be even prettier and sexier when you look less starved."

Kurapica let out a rather rude snort at that. "Guess maybe when I got here, I just needed a shower for my starving beauty to shine through. Speaking of, when can I return to my place? I'd be ready to take on all the Spiders together for a chance at a hot shower."

"I'll ask. Hopefully soon."

"How many Spiders are there anyway?"

Leorio looked up, ticking names or faces on his fingers. After about eight mouthed words that could have been names or descriptors, he frowned a bit and went a tad slower for last few.

"With Lucifer, I'd say maybe thirteen."

"Fitting," Kurapica scoffed, then turned pensive. "Like the tattoo. Twelve legs and a head."

"What tattoo?"

Kurapica refocused his gaze on the medic's face. "You've not seen it?"

"I think Bashou has a tattoo, but it's just a phoenix or something. Didn't count the legs."

"I hear tattoos hurt to get," Kurapica said, bypassing the earlier question. "Would it be possible to give someone a tattoo against their will without them noticing?"

"If they're heavily sedated, probably," Leorio answered. "But they'd realize soon enough. If there's a mirror around, they'd probably be able to notice it, even if it was on their back or something. Besides, the skin would probably stay sore for a few days."

Kurapica nodded slowly. Kuroro's tattoo would be easily noticeable, even without a mirror, yet the man had said he did not know when it had been put on him. Along with a few other clues, the vague possibilities slowly taking shape in Kurapica's mind were starting to make his skin crawl, but this time, it was for Kuroro, not because of him. Him and all the Spiders, he reminded himself. He repressed a shudder.

"What's this about?" Leorio asked him.

"A puzzle within a puzzle," the blond mused.

Leorio huffed. "Are you always this cryptic, or is Lucifer rubbing off on you?"

Kurapica blinked, returning to the present with a startled jolt. "What?"

Leorio reared back a little and frowned at the blond. "O—kay," he said slowly, "I think I know why you're so concerned with the creep now."

"What? Ho—why do you—?"

"You've got a crush!" Leorio crowed.

"I—wha—it's not—"

"No use denying it," Leorio teased. "It's written all over you." He paused. "For the record, that's not the kind of rubbing on you I meant."

"Gods!" Kurapica groaned, furiously rubbing at his face. "I didn't—that wasn't—Gods, I did not need that mental image!"

"You're welcome!" Leorio said with a wide grin. "Guess I should leave you alone you to enjoy it to the fullest—in private."

He was deservedly interrupted by the pillow Kurapica had sent at his head. Instead of shutting up, he laughed.

"Oh, come on," he told the blond, "you're just digging your own grave with that kind of—"

The lights started flickering and the medic swallowed whatever else he was going to say. He turned pale, and Kurapica held back the pillow he'd been about to mash into his face again.

"What's wrong?"

"It's—hopefully it's just the genera—" The lights came back on and he counted slowly up to five. The flickering resumed and Leorio's face looked pained.

"Not the generator?" Kurapica guessed.

"No," Leorio's voice was tight, "not the generator." He met the blond's gaze. "We're under attack."

notes: so i'm super fucking anxious and feeling rusty and insecure, and i rarely beg for comments but i'm pretty desperate for some right now. please let me know if i'm doing alright despite the hiatus (i'm getting worse than togashi ffs).
you can also reach me on my new discord server linked on my tumblr.