I do not own HunterxHunter.

The real name of the country was only known to its inhabitants. To outsiders, the tiny country had several names. These ranged from the descriptive "The Land of Beautiful Men" to the simplistic "Heaven." To live there, one had to pass a rigorous and highly subjective test. To visit, there were two options. The first option was an hour long guided tour of the country's main attractions. You would see old buildings, vast gardens, and hundreds of citizens, who were all gorgeous men of all types.

Leorio had just passed through the gates to the main city and he already hated it. His eye twitched as a tall, thin man sauntered up to him. His light brown hair was perfectly in place, a thick strand falling before one eye. His skin was pale and his eyes a deep blue. His outfit resembled that of a school boy's uniform. He looked fragile and ill suited to the outdoors.

He was definitely not getting paid enough for this.

"Are you here for the tour or to visit our library?"

"Library," Leorio answered curtly. It didn't faze the man.

"You will need to go right. It is that large building at the end. Enjoy your stay," He bowed and went off to greet a group of squawking girls. Leorio could feel his good mood souring as he walked towards the library. His shoulders stooped and his legs assumed a bow-legged stance.

The other way to get into the Land of Beautiful Men was to obtain a pass to its library. This was easy for the owner of a hunter's license. Although it seemed like intelligence was the last thing to be found in the city, its library had the reputation of being the best in the world. When he spotted the building from the start of the street, Leorio could see where the reputation came from. The façade of the building was impressive, even he had to admit. A perfect square of marble stood before him, blemished by the many windows cut into it. From a sign next to the straight and narrow steps leading to the entrance, Leorio found out the building's overall shape was that of a cube.

The inside was similar to any other library. It was quiet and dim. The main difference was the length of the shelves. They appeared the go on for miles. Leorio picked a row and strolled down it. He came to a break in the rows which offered plenty of tables to the library's traveler. He picked one and he sat down. From his briefcase, he took out a textbook. He had to wait until sundown before he could do what he was sent for. Meanwhile, he would study.

Leorio's mission: infiltrate as a scholar, sneak into an off-limits forest, and find the Ventrikel plant. He had gotten through the first part with no major problems

Just a small slice of a Ventrikel plant could be used in a variety of drugs. It was usually used to cure the common cold, but it could also take care of poisons and alleviate arthritis. The problem with the plant was getting it. Not only was the forest they were native to restricted to most everyone, but they were also dangerous to go near because they spewed out a strong acid. When Mr. Pons –who was Leorio's teacher, steady employer, and landlord- had offered free rent for half a year and a good amount of jenny, Leorio wasted no time agreeing to the job. He had been doing odd, hunter related jobs for the townspeople since he arrived, but none of them had ever offered this much money.

Leorio flipped a page of his textbook, taking notes and praying he would remember what he had just read. His breaks consisted of checking the sky through the wide windows to see if it was dark enough to leave and start on the job. On one of these checks, which had been increasing in their frequency as Leorio hit a particularly difficult biological concept, his eyes spotted a familiar figure. He shut his book and stashed it away.

Kurapika was turned around before he had a chance to surprise him.

"Hello, Leorio," Kurapika relaxed his shoulders and shut the book he had been reading.

"So, what brings you to the land of beautiful men?" As he looked down at Kurapika, Leorio thought he might have just answered his own question.

"Business."

"Same here. Did you pick a place to stay at yet?"

"If you're looking for a place to stay without paying for it, then the answer is 'no.'" Kurapika's face had not changed expressions as he spoke. Leorio's teeth pressed closer to one another. It was inevitable that Kurapika would take a jab at him.

"I was just wondering. You know, trying to make small talk," Someone "shushed" at him. Leorio ignored it. Instead, he glanced up at the windows. The bright light was finally going away. He kept his tone cold. "Well, I now when I'm not wanted. See you around."

He spun around and began to walk away. Kurapika sat sideways in his chair and shook his head.

"Leorio, I'm going to be at the Brushe` Inn."

Leorio pretended not to hear while making a mental note of it. He gave a quick wave of his hand and headed for the library exit.

For a restricted area, it was easy to get into. There was no fence or guard to keep a wanderer out, just a large billboard warning hikers that the area past it was off-limits. As he walked, the grass went from luscious green to the brown of death. It was apparent he was very close to the Ventrikels when the size of the burned areas increased. Soon after, he spotted the plants themselves. No other vegetation grew around them.

The Ventrikels were long and snakelike stalks. As they waved in a group on top of a large dome of plant flesh, they resembled Medusa's head. Out of their tops, acid was shot sporadically, spraying the area around them. From where he crouched, Leorio could hear it sizzle as it hit the ground.

Seeing how many flailing limbs the plant had, all of them spewing out skin melting liquid, Leorio felt himself getting nervous. He watched and waited for a rhythm of acid spitting to appear. When he felt confident he had found it, he uncapped a large bottle of ammonia. He then rushed up to the plant, grabbed a shoot, and poured the ammonia down. Swiftly, he brought up his knife and sliced. He retreated just before he caught another burst of acid.

The Ventrikel shoot writhed in his hand, the inside of its tube steaming. Leorio poured more of his basic cleaner down that tube and hoped he had done enough. His heart was still racing from the frantic procedure and the excitement of it all. From the spot behind the bush, Leorio pulled out a bottle of alcohol. He had bought it after leaving the library. The alcohol was strong and most of it was still left in the short, stout bottle. Leorio had drunk some before leaving for the forest to make room for the plant. Kurapika, who ended up having the room next to his, had refused to even touch it.

Leorio began to cut up the plant into thin, donut shapes and pushed them through the wide opening of the bottle. He hoped they wouldn't contaminate the alcohol inside, as it was very good, even if it had been made by pretty boys. When the last piece was shoved in, Leorio got up and retraced his path through the woods. The journey back was as uneventful as the trip there. To avoid suspicion when he was on the streets, Leorio had left the bottle of ammonia in an alley and only held the liquor bottle in sight. He added a little swagger to his step. Shirtless men, their muscles well defined and their skin tanned, watched, but lost interest quickly. Leorio 'accidentally' ran into one and knocked him over.

Getting into his room, he set the bottle down carefully and headed for the shared bathroom at the end of the hall to take a shower. Wearing only a towel about his waist, he went back, hung up his suit, and got into bed. All the mundane things over, he shut his eyes and went to sleep.

It didn't last more than a few hours. Leorio was woken up by an urgent need to pee. He left the room, wearing only the boxers he had slept in, and rushed into the bathroom. Having relieved himself, he trudged back to his room. Or he started to, at least. Eyelids that had been fighting to close back up popped open and stayed there when Leorio saw the open door of Kurapika's room. Inside, Kurapika was lying on the floor, his body curled up. He was obviously in pain.

The cause was apparent from where Leorio stood: the top of Kurapika's thigh had been slashed. Blood stained the white pants surrounding the wound. Leorio ran into the room and knelt by Kurapika's side. Kurapika's eyes were open and he looked up at Leorio. His face was pale and his body was shaking uncontrollable. Leorio could tell now that it wasn't just the wound to the leg that had done this. Kurapika had also been poisoned.

"I'm coming right back, Kurapika," Leorio assured. He ran out of the room and into his own. He found his briefcase and then spotted the liquor bottle. Ventrikels didn't help with all poisons, but they were worth a shot. He grabbed up the bottle and went back.

When he was by Kurapika's side again, he fished out a Ventrikel piece. Using a small knife from his briefcase, he cut the little circle in half and told Kurapika to chew on it. Next, he focused his attention on the actual injury. He snatched a washcloth off of Kurapika's dresser and pressed it against the cut.

After about a minute, he lifted up the washcloth and examined the cut. It wasn't as big as the blood stain led him to believe. Carefully, he removed a tattered piece of pant leg from the bloody gorge. Although the cut wasn't big, it needed to be sewed up. This was not Leorio's favorite thing to do. From his briefcase came a needle and thread, usually kept around just in case he ripped his clothing while out on a job. He also pulled out a small bottle of liquid anesthetic (something Leorio was not supposed to have). He injected it into the thigh and prepared himself for what he was about to do. He glanced at Kurapika's face.

Kurapika was no longer shaking, but he had shut his eyes and appeared to be unconscious. That would make the job easier, Leorio thought as he sterilized his needle. It would also be easier if he had his work area cleared. Leorio gripped the waistline of Kurapika's pants and pulled them down, making sure to go slowly when he got to the area of the cut. With the pants gone, he was ready to go.

The sewing was over quickly. As he knotted the string and wrapped gauze around the wound, Leorio let out a sigh. Now that the tough work was done and it had ended successfully, he could think. Mainly, what had Kurapika been doing?

He found his answer when he scanned the room. At the foot of the bed was a strange container laying on its side. It looked like an hourglass with gold stands and supports. Trapped inside each of the two orbs was an eyeball. The floating eyes stared at Leorio, their red irises illuminated by the ceiling light. There was no doubt that these once belonged to a member of the Kurta Clan.

Who had Kurapika taken these eyes from and how soon would they come after him? Leorio didn't have an answer to that one, but he was afraid that whoever had the eyes would be desperate to have them back. All he could do now was finish up with Kurapika and hope he woke up soon.

As he waited, he started to debate if he should get Kurapika a new set of clothes. Not only had the pants been stained and ripped, but a sleeve had also been sliced into. If they had to hurry out of the country, it would look suspicious. Leorio started to look around for a change of clothes. In a bag, he found the clothes Kurapika normally wore. He had been wearing a black kung-fu style top and white pants.

Leorio raised Kurapika up against his chest and unbuttoned the top. As he expected, there was a tank top underneath. Manipulating the arms, Leorio finally managed to get the long sleeved shirt on. He was debating if he really cared what Kurapika looked like after this little exercise, but decided to just finish what he started. He pulled the shoes off and jerked the pants off all the way. His grumbling began as he put the feet into the pants and started to get them up.

Then he was silenced. Something was off.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had been struck by how girlish Kurapika's leg was. He had been too busy with his make-shift surgery to dwell on it. Even if he had, he normally thought a lot of stuff about Kurapika was girlish. Now, he wasn't so sure it was his imagination. He had to get a closer inspection of this.

Leorio tightened his tie as he exited his room. He left the keys in the door and slipped back into Kurapika's room. All of his and Kurapika's belongings were grouped together on the bed; the container with the eyes was wrapped in Kurapika's ripped clothing and tucked into his bag.

Or, more appropriately, her bag. He felt that the lack of male genitalia affected the pronoun usage. Leorio had told himself he would not dwell on this fact until they were someplace safer.

Leorio squatted down and shook Kurapika's shoulder. There was no response except Leorio's own sigh. He was going to have to carry Kurapika and all of their luggage. He didn't know what Kurapika's plans were, but Leorio's included not getting caught by some rich guy who collected human eyeballs. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. Leorio managed to get Kurapika over his shoulder and then get a handle on their bags. Just as he had done with his room, he stuck the keys in the handle and left. He fought to keep his balance as he went down the stairs. The innkeeper was sleeping at the front desk, a radio playing in the back ground.

The streets were empty, just as Leorio hoped they would be. He hurried as fast as he could down the tiled road. It wasn't long before he made it to the big gates and the small booth containing the guard. This time, it was a man with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. His uniform was strict. So was his attitude.

"We don't let visitors out until six in the morning, sir."

"Ah, come on. My friend and I really need to hit the road. We were supposed to be in Dimsdale yesterday, but my friend's a huge partier," He gestured to Kurapika with the hand holding their things. The other hand was on Kurapika's back keeping the body steady. Leorio's shoulder was starting to ache. "I need to get him out of here before he runs off to another bar."

Leorio let out a laugh that was loud and awkward. The guard stared at him with forest green eyes brought out in full force by his eyeliner.

"You can leave at six in the morning."

Leorio was about to start begging when he heard the sounds of running feet. On the street he had just come from, a group of men were coming and fast. One of them held the leash of an Eleck. It was like a hound, except for the fact that it could emit a shock at the person it had been told to track down. Leorio turned back to the guard, whose expression made it clear he was not getting through with his permission.

Leorio did the first thing that came to mind. He punched the man, hitting the nose dead center. The man fell back. Leorio leaned across the window and pressed the button that would let them out. He squeezed through the still opening door and ran for it. He could hear the dog barking behind them.

"Kurapika, are you awake yet?" Leorio yelled. Kurapika didn't respond. Perfect. He couldn't remember how you got away from Elecks. Going across a stream didn't sound right. It wasn't playing dead, either.

As he racked his brain for the solution, his legs kept moving. He made it to a hill and gained speed as he went down. He could still see the torch lights waving behind him.

Throw meat? That couldn't be it and besides, he didn't have any meat.

"Come on, Kurapika, wake up!" As he shouted, he was hit with an idea. He stopped running and raised up the bottle with the Ventrikels. He carefully brought down the hand holding Kurapika and fished in the bottle until his finger hooked a piece. He pulled it out and flung it on to the ground. Having done that, he capped the bottle, steadied Kurapika, and continued to run.

If he was right, that plant was the cause of Kurapika's deep sleep and hopefully the dog's as well. He veered off the path to the left and struggled through a tangle of bushes and low hanging tree branches. He pushed himself through until he found a small clearing. In the middle was a large cluster of trees. Leorio headed over to it.

The trees were large, both in width and height. They were in a perfect circle, like a group of children playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie. Leorio entered in between two of them. He put Kurapika down and let go of their luggage. He, too, ended up on the ground, trying to catch his breath. The sky above was obscured by the leafy tops of the trees.

He could hear nor see any of their pursuers. The Ventrikel had done its work. The danger of being caught gone, Leorio was able to concentrate on other matters. He glanced over at Kurapika, who still had her eyes shut. It looked like the same Kurapika Leorio had known for almost two years, but he still couldn't help noticing something was different.

He couldn't understand why Kurapika had pretended to be a boy this entire time and never let him in on it. He felt as if he's been tricked. To try and distract himself from his negative thoughts, he shut his eyes and tried to sleep.

They didn't stay that way for long. A red glow found its way through Leorio's closed eyelids and filled his mind with its color. He jerked awake, but the light was gone. He swung his head about, but couldn't find the source of the light. What he did see was a person standing over Kurapika, looking down at the sleeping figure.

"Hey!"

The person vanished from sight, leaving a faint after image that faded away just moments afterwards. Leorio got up and started to poke around the circle.

He didn't find anyone. He also didn't find sleep again that night.