Chapter Text
The sun had just disappeared behind the horizon and the reddish sky became darker and grayer as Kurapika entered the old building.
It had taken him years to track down his enemy. To learn where and under which identity he was hiding and to become old enough to confront him.
In any case, he hoped that he was now in a position to do so. The chances were small but he had to try. He would not give up until he had reached his goal and had avenged what he had lost.
"I finally found you Chrollo."
Kurapika's nervous voice echoed through the high room and he stepped a little closer to the man who wore a long black coat and stood with his back to him.
Chrollo had already noticed that someone was in the house when Kurapika entered the entrance hall.
The stranger's heartbeat sounded nervous and his blood pulsed excitedly in his veins.
Chrollo was curious as to whom he should expect and now turned as he heard the voice.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, looking at the blond, shorter man in front of him with a mixture of interest and snideness.
"You killed my family." Kurapika now confronted the black-haired, tall man directly, looking at him trembling with anger.
"Did I? Quite possibly, but who remembers all their victims?" said Chrollo casually, as if it wasn't important information.
Kurapika gritted his teeth in anger.
"We were a small clan living in the middle of a forest. Peacefully. Almost undetected.
And then you came and took it all away. You took everything from me. When I came back from a trip to the town, I found them all dead!"
Saying the words hurt and the memories came back before his eyes. Bloodied bodies from which all life had been sucked.
"Oh wait..." said Chrollo, putting two fingers to his chin thoughtfully.
"I can remember. I'm sorry, but I guess I couldn't let my troupe starve. Your people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Bastard. It was our home!", Kurapika shouted at him desperately.
"To be honest, I wondered if anyone had survived, even if the chances were extremely low. But I'm glad it was you. It would have been too bad for such a beautiful young man." Chrollo let his gaze wander over Kurapika. He stepped closer to him and Kurapika pulled out a knife that he held menacingly in front of him to prevent the black-haired man from coming any closer.
A deep laugh sounded from Chrollo's throat and for a brief moment Kurapika could make out the man's pointed fangs.
"Do you really think you can hurt me with that? Even if the blade is made of silver, you can only hurt me with it for a short time."
With a movement so quick Kurapika could not react he was behind him and had grabbed him by the neck with one hand and by the wrist with the other.
His grip was iron and Kurapika had no chance to get out of it no matter how much he tried to resist.
Chrollo twisted his wrist so that he could no longer hold the knife, which slipped from his hand and fell clattering to the floor.
He bent down closer to Kurapika and inhaled his scent deeply. The blond noticed how the blood froze in his veins as a result and he couldn't move.
"I think I have other uses for you." he said close to his ear and in the next moment Kurapika felt a sharp pain on his neck.
He felt the taller man's lips on his skin and how he sucked the blood from his veins.
Slowly he weakened and his legs threatened to give up, but Chrollo held him by the waist so he couldn't fall over.
"I knew you would taste delicious," Kurapika heard the rough voice of the other, but could only utter a groan himself. His head spun and in the next moment everything around him went black.
When he awoke, his throat burned with thirst. He was lying in a bed with dark sheets and the curtains at the window were drawn and let almost nothing of the sunlight through that came from outside. Slowly he tried to get up but failed and he fell back into the pillows, exhausted and frustrated.
A figure came to the bedside and bent over him.
"Ah you're awake. How do you feel?" asked Chrollo, brushing a strand of blond hair from his face.
Kurapika shivered uncomfortably and turned his head to the side to avoid his touch.
"Where..."
He tried to ask where he was but his voice failed and only a harsh croak came from his throat. It burned like fire.
"Does it hurt?" asked Chrollo, and Kurapika thought for a moment he heard a hint of concern in his voice.
"I'm sure you're thirsty. Here, drink!" he said, cutting his own wrist with a small knife. Then he held it over Kurapika's mouth.
The blond could smell the blood and the need for it suddenly seemed almost unbearable.
Still, he turned his head to the side again and closed his eyes defensively.
"Come on. Or would you prefer to die?"
Chrollo took Kurapika by the chin, forcing him to look at him again. Then he let a few drops of his blood drip onto Kurapika's lips.
Kurapika thought for a moment that it was probably better to die here than to spend his life as the same creature Chrollo was, but then thirst and greed for the taste of blood took over and he grabbed Chrollo's wrist with both hands and began to drink.
The dark liquid flowed down his throat and the burning pain slowly subsided.
"Good boy.", Chrollo praised him and then withdrew his arm.
"Go back to sleep now and when you awaken you will be someone new."
When he next awoke, night had fallen. The curtains were drawn back and the moonlight fell in, giving the room a silvery glow.
Kurapika sat up slowly and noticed that he felt better. His senses seemed to be sharpened. He could perceive the sounds on the street outside more intensely, and as he let his gaze wander around the room he realized that he could see surprisingly well despite the darkness.
Still, he flinched as the door opened and Chrollo re-entered the room.
He came over to the bed and sat on the edge of it, causing Kurapika to move as far away from him as possible.
"I see you've woken up. Are you feeling better?" the black-haired man asked, and Kurapika could see the red glint in his eyes in the moonlight. Only faintly, but it was there.
Did he have eyes like that now, too?
As if Chrollo had read his thoughts (was he really able to do that?) he handed him a mirror. Kurapika looked at him questioningly for a moment.
"Here, I thought you might like to know how you look now. And no, the rumor that we vampires can't see ourselves in the mirror is not true. Silly superstition," Chrollo explained.
Tentatively, Kurapika reached out and picked up the mirror.
Trembling, he held it up.
The face that looked back at him was pale and his blond hair gave him an almost ghostly appearance in the moonlight. Kurapika had always been quite pale, but the pallor had increased once again. Carefully he touched the skin on which there were no more scratches. He felt like a doll. What frightened him the most, however, were the red glowing eyes that looked at him from his reflection.
He averted his eyes and lowered the hand mirror.
So now he really was one of them. A blood thirsty, immortal....vampire!
Disgusted with himself, he closed his eyes.
"You'll soon get used to it. It has many advantages..." began Chrollo but Kurapika interrupted him gruffly.
"I'm not interested in it! I never asked for it!" he snapped at the taller man.
Chrollo sighed in annoyance.
"Join us. We could accomplish a lot together."
Kurapika looked at him in disgust.
"I am not insane. I won't stay here a moment longer."
He tried to rise from the bed but Chrollo held him by the shoulders. His grip was firm.
"If you want to go you can, but you will find that it is not easy to manage alone as a newborn. Together with my troupe you would have it much easier. Think about it."
With that, Chrollo let go of him again and left the room. Kurapika was once again left alone and angry.
As soon as he could no longer hear any sounds from outside the room, Kurapika got out of bed and walked towards the door.
Slowly and carefully he opened it, but there was no one in the corridor in front of it. He made it unseen through the big house and out the main door into the garden.
Quickly he disappeared into the darkness. He definitely did not intend to return.