Greetings.

This is my fourth story in this fandom and the second story which has Kurapika as its main character. Unlike my another work (Cat's Eye), this story will be relatively short (I hope) and focus more on Kurapika. I hope you'll enjoy this piece of work. Feel free to drop any sort of review afterwards. Concrits and corrections are always welcomed.

Upon a Shooting Star

Summary: Wishes... It's said that they would come true if one wished hard enough. Never that Kurapika imagined her unspoken wish would be granted 'that way'.

Pairings: Chain Pair (KuroKura) and slight Loyal Pair (KuroPaku).

Warning: Kurapika is a girl here, because this author believes so.

Timeline and Setting: This fic follows the manga while the description of the characters (clothes, hair, etc.) will be made based on 1999 anime. Kurapika's side story might be taken into consideration, but not the movie.

Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter and its characters belong their respective owner, Togashi Yoshihiro-sensei.

Extra Disclaimer: xxxHolic belongs to CLAMP. This fic isn't a crossover, but some parts of it are inspired by xxxHolic. Don't be surprised if this fic smells CLAMP-ish.

I

To Propose a Deal

Mirror never lied; it always reflected the truth... or that was what a certain someone believed. They raised a delicate hand toward a half-body sized mirror. They wiped its dewy surface and stared at a blurry image of a person in it. A reddish face framed by wet goldilocks, with droplets of water at the fringes' end like pearl ornaments, and a pair of blue orbs that stared back at them. Those eyes were identical as theirs, as the figure in the mirror was no other than their own reflection.

"You are really a girl, aren't you?"

Kurapika shifted gaze and glared at a reflection of a semi translucent figure that stood behind her. She closed her eyes for a second before she snatched a white towel hanging beside the sink, wrapped it around her body, and turned away from the mirror.

"And you really understand what privacy means, don't you?" she replied sarcastically as she exited the steamy bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"It can't be help. I'm bond to you." the semi translucent figure said nonchalantly as she walked pass the door.

"But it doesn't mean you need to follow me everywhere." Kurapika grunted in depression as she threw her body onto the bed and covered her eyes with the back of her right palm. "And there's no point of keeping company your murderer, anyway. You can't haunt me. I'm not scared of you."

The semi translucent figure, the ghost, tilted her head. "Well, at least it gives you a headache."

Kurapika flinched hearing that statement. It was true. She had been suffering from a terrible headache ever since the ghost the woman called Pakunoda had appeared before her. It wasn't like Pakunoda haunted her like ghost in horror movies though. Let alone giving her nightmare or cursing her, the remnant of that woman was only... being there... stood silently in the corner of the room, as if it was the only thing she could do. Sometimes she spoke, just like what happened moments ago, but then fell into silent again while watching over Kurapika closely with a gaze that could bore trough her skull.

Kurapika hated to admit it, but Pakunoda's presence alone could drive her to the edge of insanity. It always reminded her that she had killed someone. It suffocated her every time she remembered that she had killed two persons with her very hands.

She was a murderer.

Pakunoda watched Kurapika tossed around restlessly in her bed. That girl hugged herself, her nails dug deep in her skin. Fresh blood dropped onto the white towel, but Kurapika didn't seem to realize it. Perhaps she couldn't feel the physical pain as her soul pained more. The price for taking someone's life was too heavy for her.

Pakunoda closed her eyes and sighed. "Why don't you just stop? Chasing after the Spider..."

Kurapika's eyes glowed red as she glared at the older woman. "And forget about what you and your companions have done to my people? Never!" she hissed.

It was impossible.

Deep down, Kurapika knew she would never win against them. It was impossible for her to completely exterminate the Spider. It was impossible, yet she would still do it. She would do everything she could, as far as she could, to avenge her clan. She would never stop. She would struggle and keep fighting until she died.

Kurapika's wasn't strong, but her determination was. She was even ready to offer her soul to a demon if it could help her take her revenge even just a bit.

And Pakunoda feared it.

It was not impossible.

Last time the Kuruta had managed to capture Chrollo. Indeed, at that time he had let his guard down and Kurapika had been lucky for that, but it had shown how much her determination could lead the Spider into destruction. The Spider's death was the least thing she wanted. She couldn't bear seeing her friends, with whom she shared a bond thicker than blood, being consumed by the Kuruta's hatred. She couldn't let them die, especially Chrollo. Was there a way to save everyone?

"My people won't come back even if you kneel down and beg for apology." Kurapika said bitterly. She knew they wouldn't come back either even if she killed the Spider. It would only fulfill her thirst of revenge. "They won't come back no matter how much I wish for it."

One couldn't bring the death back, but what about Pakunoda? Didn't she literally come back, even only as a ghost?

There must be a reason why she couldn't move on to the underworld yet, Pakunoda mused. And there must be a reason why she had gotten returned to Kurapika's side, not her comrades' or Chrollo's. At first she had thought that it had been because of the chain that had connected her and the other girl... but then what about Uvogin? Why hadn't he become a ghost as well even though they had died in the same way?

Maybe... maybe there was another reason why all of this happened. And what if the reason was... because she knew that there was a way to answer Kurapika's wish?

"If the people of your clan hadn't died, would you stop chasing after us?"

Kurapika widened her eyes for a moment before she regained her coldness back and deadpanned. "They are dead, and that's that."

"What if there is a way to bring them back?"

"That's ridiculous."

"No, it's not."

"Nothing can bring back dead people to live! If there was such a thing then why didn't you use it to save yourself!"

Kurapika was a second too late to realize what she had just said. She covered her mouth with her fingers and looked away. She had just said something unnecessary. She had indirectly proclaimed to the one standing before her had, after all, dead.

"I can't do anything anymore. I'm just a ghost; nothing more than remnant of the dead. I have no power left within me." Pakunoda replied solemnly. "But believe me, Kurapika, there is really a way and you can use it, because you're still alive."

Honestly Kurapika couldn't believe there was such a thing. It was really absurd. Even the strongest Nen could never completely resurrect a dead person. But why did Pakunoda speak as if it was really possible? The she-ghost sounded so serious to the point it made Kurapika unable to tell whether she was saying the truth or just mocking on her.

"What it is?" She asked in doubt. "What's that miracle-like way you're referring to?"

"Wish. It's said that wishes would come true if one wished hard enough."

An impossible wish would never come true no matter how much one wished for it. Wishing alone couldn't help anything. Only the weak depended on such a hopeless thing called wish. Nothing would come true if one only stood still and dreaming for something that would never happen...

Kurapika believed it that way ever since her tears had dried.

And that was why she was really surprised to find herself buying Pakunoda's words that she could get her people back only by wishing. Not to mention that she let that woman, or the ghost of that woman to be precise, lead her to her swear enemy's lair: Ryuuseigai.

Ryuuseigai. The City of Shooting Star. 'What a cliché name for a hometown where the world's cruelest criminals hailed from,' Kurapika sneered. When one heard the name of shooting star, they would usually think of nice things like wish upon a shooting star or anything related to dreamy fairy bedtime stories. It really made no sense why the founder of that place had given such a name to a place which had been originally functioned as a dump.

"Do you know a tradition from the east where people make a wish by writing it on strips of paper?" Pakunoda asked out of the blue when the two of them was walking toward the northern side of the city from the outside.

"It's a festival which is annually held on 7th of July in Jappon, right? I believe it's called Tanabata." Kurapika's brows furrowed as she thought about why Tanabata had something to do with the place where they were now. Ryuusei from Ryuuseigai literally meant shooting star while Tanabata, or the evening of the seventh, was an event to celebrate the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, which was represented by Vega and Altair. Despite the difference of tradition and culture between Ryuuseigai and Jappon, where Tanabata originated from, both were related to making a wish and star.

"Yes, that one. However, the festival is supposed to be held according to the lunisolar calendar, not Gregorian, so July 7 isn't quite right."

"Is that so?"Kurapika said nonchalantly. "You're surprisingly knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

Pakunoda glanced at the girl beside her, who seemed to prefer wearing male's clothes for this occasion, before she replied. "I once read about it in one of Chrollo's book."

Kurapika twitched hearing that name. "And what does that certain book of Chrollo Lucilfer have something to do with me, if I may ask?"

Pakunoda sensed suppressed anger in the Kuruta's voice and couldn't help but think that it was amusing. To think that a girl would hate thatChrollo Lucilfer until that extent...

"Well, according to the information in that book, and my own calculation, today is the seventh day of the seventh lunar moon. The real Tanabata." She replied with a poker face.

"So you're saying we're going to celebrate Tanabata here? In Ryuuseigai?" Kurapika asked, still slightly annoyed.

"No. Not really celebrate it." Pakunoda's semi-translucent, supposed-to-be blonde hair swayed as she shook her head. "It's just that there's also a secret power that lies beneath the Ryuuseigai that coincidentally similar to Tanabata." She stole another glance at Kurapika before adding, "I read that in other book of his."

Kurapika huffed as she heard Pakunoda mentioned that certain someone again. It annoyed her seeing how someone could think highly of that heartless, coldblooded bastard. It annoyed her more when she thought of how the woman next to her had sacrificed herself for someone like him. She massaged the bridge of her nose. No, this wasn't the right time to think about it...

"I take that there's an oh-so-great power in this city that able to grant even the most impossible wish? And it'll only happen on the seventh day of the seventh month of lunisolar calendar?" Kurapika deduced while still massaging the bridge of her nose.

"The seventh evening of the seventh month of lunisolar calendar... and that's once in every seven years." Pakunoda corrected in matter-of-factly tone.

'Great.' Kurapika mentally jeered. It meant they only had one chance in a lifetime, as she didn't want to wait for another seven years. She sighed. Well, it's not like she had been expecting much from this though. She was just getting along in Pakunoda's plan.

They then walked in silence for another thirty minutes until their destination finally came into sight. There was a complex of ruins in the middle of the dessert. Kurapika followed the other woman entering the place that looked like an abandoned housing complex. The houses were badly damaged, the stone paths were broken, the trees had dried up, and there was no sign of any living being in that place. She rubbed her upper arms. The air was really chilly, and it made that place eerier.

"Here we are." Pakunoda said as she stopped in front of a ruined pavilion in the center of the complex. It was a small building which was supported by four stone pillars instead of walls. Half of the stone roof had collapsed onto the dusty floor. It seemed like it had been years since the last time people had visited that place.

Kurapika raised a brow. "So?"

"There's a hidden temple beneath." Pakunoda explained briefly.

"And how do we get there?"

"There's a trap door somewhere in this place."

Kurapika gave the she-ghost oh-you're-so-not-gonna-ask-me-to-find-it-among-the se-junks look, which the latter replied with a shrugged and I'm-a-ghost-I-can't-touch-anything look. The Kuruta sighed in defeat. She raised her right hand and conjured the dowsing chain on her ring finger. It was really fortunate of her that she still had it and didn't have to crawl on the dirty floor.

She closed her eyes and concentrated her mind. Her Nen flowed from her finger to the ring, then to the chain, and finally to the iron pendulum. It froze for several seconds before it started to move on its own as if it had been pulled by an unknown magnetic force.

"There." She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the direction where the pendulum pointed at.

"So that's dowsing, eh?" Pakunoda commented as she tapped her chin. There was a slight interest reflected in her voice. "That's quite handy."

Kurapika ignored the woman and walked toward one of the pillar, which the dowsing chain had pointed at before. She moved some stones that blocked the flooring around the pillar and swept the dust with her bare hand. She knocked the floor on several random spots. At one point, the floor produced a different sound. She palpated the cold stones around that spot and found one stone which were smoother than the rest.

"Use your nen." Pakunoda ordered.

Kurapika did what she was told to. She focused her aura on the tip of her fingers and transferred it to the smooth stone. The stone lit up and the ground began shaking. She quickly stood up and jumped back. The floor moved by itself and formed a crack, which was large enough for a person to go in. She looked at Pakunoda and the latter gave her a nod. She took a deep breath and jumped into the abyss.

The abysm wasn't as deep as she had thought. She could barely see anything but she was sure that it was only about two or three meters depth. She blinked several times to adjust her eyes to the darkness. The first thing she saw was Pakunoda, who had just gracefully landed beside her. It wasn't hard to spot the she-ghost as the semi-translucent figure glowed slightly like phosphor. The next thing she saw after her eyes adapted to the darkness was her surroundings. She was now in a hole of which size was about the same as the pavilion above, and there was a narrow passage on the right side of her.

"Follow me." Pakunoda said as she stepped toward the passage. Kurapika nodded and followed her.

"You look quite familiar with this place." the Kuruta noted.

"I've been here several times." Pakunoda said.

"Then why didn't you just tell me where the entrance was?" Kurapika asked in annoyance.

"Well," Pakunoda shrugged. "The entrance changes each time someone enters this place."

"I see..." Kurapika muttered. The entrance could be anywhere within the pavilion. That explained why the room beneath had the same size. It was just like the entrances to Trick Tower back then during the Hunter Exams.

The passage was straight and it led them downward, (presumably) to the north. The length was about two hundred meters. At the other end of the passage was a larger room with stone walls. The size was about ten times the first room and approximately five meters in height. It was a hall. There were a lot of stone pillars; some of them had crumbled or broken into two. There was a platform at the front of the hall. There were four smaller pillars which support a stone roof. On second thought, the platform looked similar to the pavilion above. It was possible that the two had been identical.

Kurapika tilted her head. "That's..?"

"Once in seven, the first shooting star of the seventh evening will guide a wish cross the stream of fate." Pakunoda said as she stared blankly at the stage. "That was what written in the book. Well, more or less."

"What should I do to get that so-called shooting star's guidance?"

"Just stood in the middle of the stage... and pray... like everyone always does when they make a wish."

"Will it really work?" Kurapika asked in doubt.

"It depends. If you believe, then it will." Pakunoda paused for a while. Her mind seemed to trail to somewhere else. "I've proven it by myself... seven years ago."

Kurapika whipped her head and looked at Pakunoda. "Really?"

Pakunoda looked into the Kuruta's eyes for a while before she nodded and smiled sadly. "It didn't turn out exactly like what I had expected beforehand, but, well, I say it was still granted..." she turned her face and looked at the stage with a longing expression. "In one way or another."

In the end it was just like what people usually called wishing upon the shooting star and Kurapika thought that it was ridiculous. Nevertheless, it still worth a try. Pakunoda looked like she wasn't lying. Beside, why would she ever lie about it? There's nothing she would get from it, wasn't it?

"Say, can you promise me something? If this goes well, will you spare my comrades?" Pakunoda pleaded.

"It depends," Kurapika said. "If this goes well... I'll think about it."

Pakunoda lips formed a thin smiled. "Sounds fair enough."

Kurapika took a deep breath then climbed the stage. She stood awkwardly in the center of the stage. To make a wish there... how would she know when the shooting star would come? She was in underground and couldn't see the sky from that place. She looked around, found nothing, and then looked up. Her eyes widened in surprised when the stone ceiling slowly turned its color. The deep gray turned velvet bluish and small, shiny particles appeared. They twinkled like glitters.

The evening sky.

She looked at the sky in amazement. Hundred of stars gathered together in the middle, dividing the sky into two like a river. Then a small star moved from left to right, crossing the stream of stars. Its trails formed a tail which looked like a bridge over the river.

A river of stars, a star with tail, a bridge...

Once in seven, the first shooting star of the seventh evening will guide a wish cross the stream of fate.

That's it!

The realization struck her and she quickly closed her eyes. The wish! She should think of the wish.

But... what was her wish?

To have her clan back? No. Rather than having them return from the death, she wished they hadn't died from the beginning. She wished she could have stopped their death. She wished she could have protected them both from death and from the Spider.

No, it would have been better if the Spider hadn't set her foot on the Kuruta village on the first place. That way, no one would have died. That way, nothing would have been lost.

She wished she had been able to stop the Spider and prevent the attack to her clan.

That was her wish.

She opened her eyes and looked above. The stars shone brighter and brighter. Their light fused became intense like the sunshine and eventually blinded her eyes.

Everything turned opaque white.

Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. She blinked several times and looked blankly at the dark grey ceiling. At first her whole body felt numb, but then cold slowly crept onto her back. She tried to move her hands and used them to support her to get up.

'Where am I?' She questioned as she rubbed her aching head. 'What had happened?'

She tried to recall the past event. The last thing she remembered was she had been making a wish and then there had been a very bright light from above. She looked around. It was dark there, but she could see that she was still on the same place as where she had been. Only, she was lying on the cold ground now, not standing. She wondered if she had passed out during the procession. Her body felt really powerless. It was as if she had used up her Nen to some extent.

Perhaps... Perhaps she had unconsciously used her Nen during the wish-making and passed out due exhaustion.

What had happened then? Why nothing seemed to have change? Had she failed?

"Pakunoda?"

She called out the she-ghost, but the latter didn't answer.

"Pakunoda?"

She called out again, but still no response. The semi-translucent figure was nowhere to be seen either. That was weird. Where had that woman gone? Had she left her?

Kurapika's heart suddenly beat faster. Oh, no. What if she had been tricked and locked up in that place? She grunted in frustration. That was very stupid of her. Why had she believed that woman? Pakunoda was a Spider! If Pakunoda had planned to save the Spider on the first place, that woman could have just eliminated her, right? Why would a Spider have ever thought of helping her? They were, after all, sworn ene-

"Yes?"

She heard a familiar voice and it made her she slightly relieved. At least she hadn't been left behind it that kind of place.

She got up and shook off dust from her clothes. She faced toward where Pakunoda's voice had come from. She was about to called out that woman again when she felt something was off.

She heard... footsteps.

And it was impossible because Pakunoda was a ghost. Her footsteps were supposed to be soundless.

The woman in question then came into Kurapika's sight. How astonished the Kuruta was when she saw that Pakunoda wasn't semi-translucent anymore.

Pakunoda looked exactly like a living human.

Had she came back to live? How so? Kurapika didn't remember she had wished for such a thing!

WAAH! Cliffhanger right on the first chapter! What's actually happening here? OxO

Do you like the story so far? Do you want to read the continuation? If yes, then please drop a review and tell me your opinion! Concrits and corrections are always welcome :3

Hona mata :)