Though he knew he would need to be alert tomorrow while guarding the auction, sleep eluded Kurpaika. After killing off the remaining spiders onboard the whale ship, he left the Dark Continent as soon as he could to return to work for the Nostrade family. Kurpaika had thought about staying on the Dark Continent to explore its hidden landscape, but the fear of being alone with only his thoughts to accompany him deeply disturbed him. Thus, he offered to serve as a crew member as the ship returned to the mainland to pick up supplies. Though he tried his best, Cheadle was able to sniff him out and exchange a few words with him. The conversation still stuck in his mind.

"I can't in good faith condone the choice you made," she said, "But it's impossible to never make a mistake in front of a friend. Friends are around us too often to not see us make a bad decision every once in a while. I think after some time has passed…Leorio will want to make amends with you."

Kurpaika's lips tightened into a frown. "That is, if he makes it back alive."

"He will," Cheadle assured him. "He has a sharp survival instinct and a talent for medicine that far surpasses my own," she admits. "If his companions are smart, they will keep him out of harm's way."

Kurpaika looked at the clock. He didn't have to be awake for another two hours, but he figured he'd get an early start. He went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. He returned to his room to put on his freshly ironed garments. Leaning back into the pillows, he laid on the bed while reaching for his book on the nightstand. He used to be more drawn to non-fiction titles that could inform him about the world, but lately, his only desire was to escape into elaborate fictional worlds. He read volumes of novels and science fiction titles, growing an affinity for the ones with happy endings. Those stories that ended on a positive note seemed so different from his own life, where resolution and contentment seemed even more impossible than the fanciful worlds the books construed.

Just before he was about to reach the final chapter of his latest volume, he noticed that the clock would not permit him to continue. Sighing, he closed the book and returned it to its place on the nightstand. He snatched his phone, slipped on his shoes, and headed down to the lobby. As soon as he got off the elevator, he was greeted with a commotion. The cause of the chaos was none other than the last person he ever wanted to see on the face of the earth.

"I need to see him as soon as possible!" Leorio insisted.

"I understand, but he's very busy working for the Nostrade family," replied a Nostrade security personnel.

"I swear if you would just let-" Leorio trailed off as he finally saw him.

Kurapika abruptly turned around back to the elevator and pressed the button forcefully.

"Hell no!" Leorio exclaimed. "I did not come all this way just for you to ignore me!"

Kurapika darted inside the elevator doors as soon as he could squeeze through. He pressed the close doors button repeatedly. Leorio dashed over and pried the doors open, which caused the elevator to short circuit. As a loud crack erupted from the broken doors, sparks began to fly out of the control panel. A staff member frantically emerged onto the scene and escorted Kurapika out of the elevator. Before the staff could question Leorio, he held up his Hunter license and promised to pay for the damages. The staff bowed and walked away to contact maintenance. Kurapika just stared at Leorio in shock. Leorio gave him a small smile and said, "C'mon. Why don't we take a walk around the city? Just to get out of the staff's hair for a bit."

Though Kurapika was embarrassed by the scene that took place, the last place he wanted to be was with Leorio. However, seeing how determined Leorio was to talk to him, he figured he owed the man that much after what happened on the ship. Looking over at his coworker, he inquired, "Will you be okay if I'm gone for an hour?" He responded with a nod. With his head bowed, Kurapika slowly began to walk towards the door, knowing Leorio would follow.

The two walked several blocks before coming upon Park Central, an oasis in the heart of the bustling city. They continued their sojourn along a path until they came to a bench.

"Why don't we rest here for a bit?" Leorio suggested. Kurapika came to a halt, as the tall man sat down. He let out a small sigh. "Man, you were really hard to track down…" he started.

"Why did you come?" Kurapika cut him off.

"I wanted to see you. I thought you were coming to the Dark Continent with us?" Leorio questioned.

"I changed my mind. Not that it's any of your business." The Kurta replied, standing near the bench with his body angled towards the lanky man.

Leorio sighed again and closed his eyes.

"I was really worried about you," he confessed. "I heard you killed the last of the spiders. I thought that because they were dead, that you would want to do something different. That you would want explore the dark continent with other hunters," he paused. "But instead, I heard that you turned around and went straight back to the mainland, and you're still working for the Nostrade family," he continued as a look of disappointment emerged on his face. "Why are you here, Kurapika? You're a hunter! You could be going on new adventures, but you're here doing the same damn things."

"If you think I'm a hunter, then you don't know me very well," Kurapika replied dryly. "I got my Hunter license to kill the spiders, that's it. Now that they're dead," he paused, "I didn't really have anything particular I wanted to do. There wasn't anything for me on the Dark Continent, so I decided to come back here." Not that there's anything here for Kurapika in YorkNew either, he just needed to do something to fill the time.

Leorio glanced at the ground, contemplating where he should direct the conversation. He knew it was difficult to get the blond boy to open up, so he decided to take a roundabout approach.

"What have you been reading lately?" he asked in a friendly manner.

Kurapika turned his head towards him slightly and replied, "I've been reading novels. I was just about to finish another one before I went down to the lobby."

Leorio raised his eyebrows. "Fiction? You didn't read much fiction before," he observed.

The Kurta remained quiet; his only response was his eyes breaking Leorio's gaze to return to the path. Leorio frowned slightly as his friend disengaged from their conversation. Pushing his glasses higher up his nose, he decided to implore a more direct approach.

"Kurapika, what happened back there…I forgive you."

"Don't!" Kurapika growled as his eyes began to gleam crimson.

Leorio expected this reaction, and he remained calm. "I know you feel guilty for leaving me with Nobunaga while you pursued Chrollo."

Kurpaika whipped his head around and glared at the tall man with scarlet irises.

"Don't expect an apology!" he yelled. "I did what I had to do." His statement, full of resolve, was undermined by the tears that began to stream down his face. Leorio stood up and tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but Kurapika shoved it away.

"Fool!" he exclaimed. "I can't apologize to you, because I know you'll forgive me! But that doesn't mean I'll ever forgive myself. I can't!"

Leorio, finally understanding the situation, held Kurapika as tears escaped his glowing, red eyes. After some time had passed, the blond regained his calm and sat down on the bench.

"I apologize. I lost my composure," he stated, his eyes reverting back to their regular light grey.

"Oh, er, don't worry," reassured Leorio. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about." He sat down next to Kurapika. After a moment, Leorio spoke.

"I didn't come to talk about the past. I wanted to ask you about your future, what you want to do next." He looked at his shoes. "I knew it was possible that you didn't have a plan, a goal you could work towards. That's why I'm here. I found a job that you might be interested in," he glanced at the Kurta with a small smile.

Kurapika, still shy about meeting his gaze, simply responded by asking, "What's the job?'

Leorio's smile remained on his face, though a small bead of sweat did emerge on his forehead. "I'm glad you asked." He cleared his throat before he continued. "I know where I want to set up my clinic." Kurapika turned his head and looked at Leorio intently. "It's on the western side of this continent, a city called AngelesLos. I'm renting a small building there where I can set up my clinic. But, as I'm sure you've heard, the underworld has strong ties there. The residents there are good people, but due to the mafia presence, they're at risk of being injured, or worse," his voice trailed off.

Kurapika interjected with, "How could I help there? I'm not a doctor."

"I need….a bodyguard," Leorio raised his head to meet Kurapika's gaze. "And there's only one person I can trust to do the job."

Leorio saw Kurapika hang his head in shame before replying, "Leorio, I already failed to protect you when your life was on the line. I chose revenge over our friendship. And I will never stop being sorry for it," Kurapika confessed. "Even if I spend the rest of my life protecting you, I could never make up for what I've done."

"I would never hold anything over you like that, Kurapika," Leorio said warmly. "What's done is done. But right now, I am planning my future in AngelesLos. I thought that you might like a change of pace. Maybe you'll find something new there," he suggested as his smile grew bigger as sincerity shined from his eyes. Kurapika knew Leorio was above holding grudges, but the chance to start over in a new city sounded too good to be true. Since finishing off the spiders, Kurapika has felt numb- to himself, to others, to the world. But when he was with Leorio, the blond was able to feel a small flicker of hope. It was not much, but at least it was something.

"Well, usually I would say that I'm not leaving this bench until you accept my offer, but I know I can't force you to do anything," Leorio stated. "But, will you at least consider it?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows while looking at the Kurta. Kurapika let out a small snort.

"Usually you would stay on this bench, huh? But I could get up and leave at anytime and you would still be sitting here, hm?"

"That's right!" Leorio insisted.

"What if it got too hot? Or too cold? Or what if you got hungry? Or what if you saw a cute girl walk by-" Kurapika teased.

"Hey, hey, it's just a figure of speech." Leorio teased back. "But I mean it. I do want you to come with me as my bodyguard to AngelesLos," he told him with his honest eyes.

Kurapika sighed. He still did not know if he would ever be able to let the past go, unlike Leorio. He knew that he was not supposed to go with the doctor as penance, but he could not help wanting to make it up to him. Yet, there was something else…a pure, instinctual desire to protect his friend as he moved to a new city and tried to help others. Kurapika recognized that he could not get the same satisfaction from working for the Nostrades. With a sigh of resignation, Kurapika looked at Leorio and gave him a small smile as he accepted the job.