breezydays | i turned off the music

[ He leans forward again, resting his elbows on his knees, emitting a soft hum as he thinks. ]

Five or six, I believe. I originally took it up for hunting.

[ Kurapika turns his gaze away from the archers so he can look at Oria. ]

An arrow is a much cleaner kill than a gun. You preserve more of the animal that way.

Hunting?

[ Huh. That makes Oria look at Kurapika again. Their eyes meet. Oria graudally looks off to the side. ]

Any prized catches? I guess for most people, it would be a bear.

[ Kurapika’s face travels back to the students below. It looks like they’re on their last couple. ]

Bears are important to their ecosystems, so I’ve never hunted one.

[ It sounds like he could say much more about that, like he would have no problem mansplaining the concept of ecosystem importance, but Kurapika thankfully cuts himself off.

… ]

I’ve shot down a pheasant while it was mid-flight before.

[ Thank god for the lack of mansplaining. Unfortunately, Oria still gets that a lot.

But then he imagines Kurapika with a bow, a quiver of arrows, and taking aim with a close-up on his face and tip of the arrow before releasing it, striking a pheasant mid-flight! Pay him for these imaginary IMAX shots. ]

Really?!

[ He's all sorts of amazed and that's actually really, really cool. Oria seems excited about it. Genuinely. ]

How'd you do that??

[ The look in Oria’s eyes is a little bit amusing, the sincerity of it immediately making Kurapika’s countenance a little less chilly. ]

Practice and good aim.

[ The secret? Hard work. ]

Once this is over, I can teach you the basics of archery, if you want.

The timing must have been good too. Arrows are more affected by wind than bullets, so you have to calculate that in your projected path too.

[ Amazing. Oria continues to be impressed. ]

I don't think I can handle archery though... I'm busy as it is!

[ Damn straight. It's even more impressive than Kurapika let on.

But he sighs and stretches out his legs as the students on the field start to pack up. ]

And so you reject my offer to get to know me better.

Yeah!

[ Sorry, he won't beg for Kurapika's time. ]

Make a better offer! It's not like I won't ever get to know you without archery anyway.

[ Kurapika rolls his eyes as he stands, shouldering his duffle bag. ]

Come with me to get dinner. We’re going off campus.

[ ????

Oria looks at Kurapika like. Huh????????? ]

Right now? Are we walking??

[ He raises his eyebrows, giving Oria a look that can only be summarized as “duh”. ]

Of course we are. Do you have a problem with that? It’s only a couple of blocks off campus.

Shouldn't you like... see off your juniors or something?

[ The children.............. Oria would have driven a car but this is fine too. He's curious about the eatery, but he's really not too picky... ]

They’ll be fine on their own.

[ Which is true, as Kurapika simply continues to make his way out of the stands and the kids run up to look for him, waving when they spot him. Or, at least, the dark-haired boy waves as his friend stands next to him, looking like he’s trying to play it cool when it’s obvious he wants to leave.

Kurapika looks back at Oria. ]

See? [ There’s amusement in his eyes. ] Give me a few minutes.

[ That’s all he can say before he’s immediately roped into a conversation, and if Oria listens in, he hears Kurapika scolding the dark-haired boy about turning in his homework on time. ]

Sure.

[ Oria would say that he didn't mean to listen in, but he's still a little curious. The way Kurapika handles those kids make him sound like a tutor that actually cares for their students... definitely an adult figure that kids would either be told to look up to or do it on their own volition.

He thinks about how those types of people are usually easy to tease, but it feels like it's hard to get one over Kurapika. Their first meeting was carried by environmental hazards. Oria feels like he finally understands, thinking back to his own need for control. He clicks his tongue as he goes through his own phone. No messages. No notifications. He puts the phone away. ]

[ One of the kids hugs Kurapika (which he tentatively returns), and the two run away before Kurapika makes his way back to Oria. He manages to catch Oria slipping his phone back into his pocket, and Kurapika briefly wonders if he's waiting for a message.

...

Pushing Oria by asking him about it wouldn't work out, so he decides not to. ]

They're good kids, but they really need someone to babysit them all the time.

[ Heaving out a sigh, he adjusts his bag on his shoulder again. ]

Ready?

Yup! All ready to go!

[ He doesn't have anything to carry, so he's traveling light apart from the things in his pockets. ]

You nag at them a lot, huh?

[ Wow, Kurapika has half a mind to pawn off his duffel bag— ]

If I don't, then who will? Gon's father is a deadbeat and never around and Killua's family should be in jail. Someone needs to look out for them.

[ Should have made the stop to their dorm first, Kurapika... you're going to dinner with what you had from the archery event.

But whoa. Back up. Back the fuck up. ]

Is it really fine to just say stuff like that to anyone??

[ He'll shoulder this burden... ]

What do you mean? We live together, you're hardly just "anyone."

[ A soft sigh escapes past his lips, and he glances over at Oria as he presses the button for the crosswalk back to the main campus. ]

Or am I under the wrong impression and you are, in fact, a snitch?

No, I mean like, just saying it like that so easily? Isn't that something really personal?

[ Oria isn't the paragon of morality, but there's something that strikes odd about it. Also don't you dare call him a snitch, he'll punch you. ]

[ He shakes his head. ]

For one, Gon is on a first-name basis with his father so it's obvious that their relationship is distant. As for Killua, it's well known that his family is terrible.

[ Unfortunately. ]

Neither of these facts are a secret. Anything that is, you'll never find out unless they tell you themselves.

[ Oria wants to be nitpicky about what Kurapika says so, so bad, but holds himself back. It's not about "being the better person". If that's all it took, people would be considered saints. ]

I literally just found out their names because you said them.

[ He's getting mom vibes again and isn't liking it, so he does his best to push on through. ]

Anyway, where are we eating?

[ no, he shouldn't hold himself back actually

Kurapika glances toward Oria and it's obvious that he can tell that Oria is holding something back. He moved on too quickly from the subject when it seems like he was bothered before. ]

You'll probably meet them at some point anyway, at least once Gon finds out which dorm I'm in. It's best to know those things about them beforehand.

[ Cue Gon telling Oria everything within five minutes—

Anyway. ]

We're going to a sandwich place. It's small, but it's good.

[ And as they near it, it's very, very obvious that this sandwich place is most definitely some kind of money laundering front—the name on the front is a simple "Jack's Sandwiches" with a menu that only has a few items.

Oh, and a giant "Cash Only" sign. ]

Are you saying those kids will just show up at our room unprompted?

[ What the fuck!! Control your children?? Oria doesn't seem to like the idea. Immensely.

When they get to the place, there's really something about this establishment that feels off to Oria, but he can't quite pinpoint the reason.

However, he has a bigger problem at hand. It's cash only and while he does have some cash, it's emergency cash. And they're only in $100 bills.

He debates on ordering twenty-ish sandwiches so that the cashier won't be pissed at him.

Dilemma..... ]

[ He can't say that they definitely won't show up unprompted... so he says nothing at all. ]

I'll pay for you.

[ Because Kurapika has some cash himself. A lot of it, actually. Where is he getting so much cash and why does he have a lot of ones— ]

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