Chapter Text
Cheadle Yorkshire turned down Mizaistom Nana’s silent offer of true dairy creamer while standing beside her at the coffee bar in the Hunter Association Headquarters’ ninth floor break room. He pressed again to make sure she was certain, reminded her that he’d brought this particular brand along with him from home. It’d be much higher quality than the chalky, thin tasting non-dairy creamer the break room coffee bar was usually stocked with. Still, Cheadle wasn’t interested. Mizaistom suppressed a sigh as he watched her knock a heaping spoonful of the powdered creamer into her coffee instead.
Dogs, he had to remind himself, weren’t known for being choosy when it came to quality food.
“He hasn’t said he absolutely won’t join if we can’t get Kurapika to replace Pariston,” said Cheadle as she mixed the sugar and creamer into her coffee using an unorthodox back and forth motion scientifically proven to dissolve granules into hot liquid at a more efficient rate. She hovered around the end of the counter and waited as Mizaistom methodically opened and emptied six tiny pots of his precious liquid creamer from home into his own cup.
“However,” continued Cheadle, “he’s implied he’ll be disinclined to invest so many years into the journey if it ends up that Kurapika won’t join us.”
“That’s selfish of him,” said Mizaistom. He cupped the spent pots of creamer in his hands and leaned over to toss them into a nearby trash receptacle, then grabbed a napkin to wipe away the dribbles on his fingers. “But also, it’s not so surprising when you think about it. If there’s anything we know about Leorio Paladiknight at the moment, it’s that he’s selfish.”
Mizaistom threw away the napkins and followed Cheadle across the empty break room. He sat opposite her at a narrow table beside the window. Nine stories below, the ugly side of autumn was in full swing. Everything was dry and desolate, dead in anticipation of winter. Mizaistom stirred his milky cup of coffee absentmindedly and considered the orderly rows of bare limbed trees lining the sidewalk. One could see so much further down into the street now. It all looked bigger, more open, more exposed. The sight of it soothed him with its utter lack of mystery.
Cheadle cleared her throat, disrupting the silence Mizaistom was prone to falling into without warning. Miziatom inclined his head, inviting her to speak.
“It’s safer if we take his suggestion,” she said. “Better for us that we find this Kurapika and persuade him to join the Zodiacs to replace Pariston. It’s the only way to guarantee that Leorio will offer his support by joining us.”
“His support?” asked Mizaistom with a slow, skeptical frown. “Surely his sway over the members of the Association has waned by now. I can’t say I didn’t respect his determination to save his friend during the elections, the same as everyone else. He endeared himself to the entire organization. But, hasn’t his moment passed?”
“It hasn’t,” Cheadle assured him. “Leorio’s no less popular now than he was over a month ago when he punched Ging Freecss in the face. That sort of thing has staying power, especially with Hunters. Pariston and Ging might’ve involved Leorio and brought him to prominence through their own political machinations, but his natural charisma has kept him on top.”
“Even now?” asked Mizaistom. At the same time, he felt somewhat better for his own inexplicable and yet persistent admiration for Leorio, as well as the profound conviction he held that Leorio would’ve made a more than adequate chairman for the Hunter Association, despite having come from nowhere and having had such a selfish, single-minded goal as his only platform in what one could only generously refer to as his “campaign”. Mizaistom approved of Leorio’s particular brand of stubborn resolve. A person so certain and open about what he wanted was the type of person who'd prove nearly impossible for a sly manipulator like Pariston to ever completely own, and for Mizaistom, the ideal result was always the one where Pariston couldn’t win.
In the end, of course, that hadn’t been the case in the elections. Pariston had indeed won. The knowledge of his victory still unnerved Mizaistom, still kept him up late into the night staring into the darkness and asking himself why, to what end? What terrible thing had Pariston gained in those few seconds as chairman that were far more sinister than the supposed thrill of having outwitted every single one of his fellow Zodiacs? Even now, in full daylight beside the window, a warm drink in his hand and the heat of a floor vent dry roasting his heels, the question sent a chill down Mizaistom’s spine.
“The votes for Leorio,” said Cheadle, sitting up straighter now, as if she needed to sell this, “even those we gave him, were the votes of the segment of the Hunter Association outside Pariston’s control. To me, those votes represent the true will of the Association when it’s allowed to think for itself. Hence, if we have Leorio’s support, we can count on having the Association’s support.”
“I suppose it’s true he’s something of a celebrity now,” agreed Mizaistom. He rested his head in his hand and took a short sip of coffee, watching the liquid in the cup roll back and forth as he set it down. He changed the subject back to what he knew Cheadle had really called him there to discuss. “So, have you got any idea where to find this Kurapika?”
Cheadle's shoulders hunched forward as she shook her head no. It embarrassed her to admit the truth, that with all her newly endowed powers as chairman of the Hunter Association, she hadn’t been able to locate a single stray Hunter.
“He doesn’t answer the emails that have been sent to his Association account,” she explained. “There’s a person in HR who can track these kinds of things, and according to her, Kurapika doesn’t even open his inbox. He’s even deactivated notifications for when he logs into the Hunter website, which I wasn’t aware was a thing we let Hunters do. It goes without saying that he didn’t attended the elections, because even if Cluck’s messenger had reached him, there'd have been no-one forcing him to read the message anyway. In truth, he only ever logs onto the site to search or buy information from the database. In short, he's more or less one of those Hunters for whom the entire Association might as well not even exist. We’re just a means to an end for him, nothing more.”
“A means to what end?” asked Mizaistom warily. He was distrustful of the less group oriented Hunters in the Association. They were always the ones getting into the kind of trouble that eventually involved Mizaistom himself, either as an attorney defending them in court, or as an investigator tracking them down.
“He’s a Blacklist Hunter, Mizai. You know how they can be.”
Mizaistom knew it well. Blacklist Hunters, while often not too different from Crime Hunters in their general motivations and skill sets, had the highest risk of any other type of Hunter of succumbing to criminal behavior. Mizaistom believed it had a lot to do with the time they spent stalking their prey through the fetid underbelly of society. It was normal for them to cross the line between what constituted legal, sanctioned action, and what was little more than outright abuse of their Hunter status and privileges. Occasionally, they ended up finding the wrong side of the law to be more lucrative, or they found it better able to satisfy their desire to catch and kill and assert their dominance over the lesser criminals surrounding them. Compared to Crime Hunters, average Blacklist Hunters were often little more than bullies spoiling for fights and the thrill of the chase.
“Does he hunt criminals, or just bounties?” asked Mizaistom. He struggled not to judge this Kurapika person too harshly right away, although deep down he was already considering whether trading in Pariston for one of the countless, poorly esteemed hounds of the judicial system was really going to be much of an improvement.
“He’s not listed anywhere as having collected a bounty from any law agencies. Our own database simply lists him as an employee of the Nostrade Family, subsidiary of the Ritz Clan.”
Mizaistom sighed. That Kurapika wasn’t hunting heads for profit was reassuring. That he was in bed with the mafia, on the other hand, absolutely wasn’t.
“Have you sent anyone around to the Nostrade Family’s headquarters to contact him?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?” asked Mizaistom. The reason had to be more than Cheadle not having found the time. He was proven correct when she lowered her voice and leaned in, covering her mouth with her hand by resting her head on it in the same stance Mizaistom had already taken. Around a sip of coffee, she told him.
“Because if anyone in the Association loyal to Pariston gets wind of where I’m searching for a new Rat, they might move to find Kurapika first. Then, they’ll either bring him to their side, or give him a very good incentive to reject our offer. If for some reason he doesn’t agree to either option, then, there’s a high chance we’ll never find him no matter where we look.”
The easy, loose grip Mizaistom had on his coffee tightened along with his jaw. He wore an expression sour enough to curdle the six pots of creamer in his mug with a single, withering glance.
“Vanished,” he said, echoing the word dully as it appeared in his mind.
“It might be a possibility,” agreed Cheadle. She glanced to the side, though both she and Mizaistom had been monitoring the vacant break room and most of the empty floor around it with their En since they’d arrived. It was one of Pariston’s little legacies from his time as vice chairmen that Cheadle didn’t trust having such a top-secret conversation with Mizaistom in the chairman’s office. It seemed more than natural that Pariston might still be holding a theoretical ear to that particular wall.
“I want you to find him,” said Cheadle at last. “You have the team and the resources for the job, and no-one will think twice about you and your company taking an interest in a Hunter working for a criminal organization.”
“Yes, but unfortunately the Ritz Clan operates in a region where my security company rarely does business. I’ll need a much better reason than ‘just because’ to mobilize my people. Also, bear in mind I’m not a Blacklist Hunter. I don’t chase after criminals.”
“But you’re the only one I can trust, Mizai,” said Cheadle, not pleading but telling him this as an obvious fact. “I haven’t been chairman long enough to get a feel for who I can depend on, so, I’m forced to fall back on old allies, the people I’ve always relied on. In addition to that, as a member of the Zodiacs, you’re somewhat obligated to assist me in running the Association, and right now running the Association comes down to garnering support for the Dark Continent expedition.”
“You estimate Leorio’s influence over the Association to be that high?”
“Of course I do. I believe it. I wouldn’t have given him all my votes in the election or offered to be his advisor if he won if I didn’t believe he was worth backing, and others agreed.”
“What I remember is you wanted to defeat Pariston, same as all of us. You would’ve given your votes to anyone who had a chance of defeating him.”
“Perhaps I would have,” admitted Cheadle. She lowered the hand propping up her face and began to rotate her coffee cup thoughtfully on the table. “But at the same time, I felt he deserved it,” she said, the firmness of her voice reminiscent of the conviction with which she’d persuaded her supporters to cast their votes for Leorio during the elections. “Leorio would’ve made an excellent chairman for us, not just one better than Pariston, but a good choice overall. The moment I saw him running to his friend Gon from the stage, I realized there was so much more to him than crude speeches and a lucky punch. I think I realized at that moment what the whole rest of the Association not distracted by politics or paid off by Pariston had already realized. Leorio was a solid choice.”
“And, for now, he’s a solid choice to replace Ging,” said Mizaistom. “Except we have to replace Pariston with a mafia lackey first.”
Mizaistom’s attitude didn't discourage Cheadle. She was used to him always seeing the worst and harping on it. “I’m sure Leorio had a reason for suggesting Kurapika,” she said. “You’ll have to go to him for details to track Kurapika down. You’ll be able to ask him more about it then.”
“I’ll be sure to. I’m curious myself to hear why he’d suggest such a person to join us. In fact, I’m curious how a med student even has connections to the mafia.”
“He said Kurapika’s an old friend.”
“I suspect there’s more to it than that. You don’t sign up a friend for such a dangerous mission.”
“I couldn’t have him go into detail over the phone.”
"Over the phone?"
"Yes. I called him between his classes."
"You had his schedule?"
"His school provided me with it."
"How did you convince them to do that?"
"There was no time to waste."
"And then you made the call? The same day?"
There was a pause. The cup in Cheadle’s hands ceased rotating. She sighed.
"What are you getting at, Mizai?"
“Have you considered that maybe this recommendation of Leorio's has been an indirect way of turning you down?”
Cheadle pursed her lips. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that people don’t like to use absolutes like 'yes' or 'no' when put on the spot, but in your case, you’re incredibly forward when you make requests of people you don't know, and you have a bad habit of putting those people on the spot immediately. Leorio might’ve felt you were forcing his hand one way or the other, which is understandable. Sometimes you’re like that even with me, but you and I are on more equal footing, so, I can always decline. A Rookie Hunter, however, barely over twenty and still in school, being asked by the sitting chairman of the Hunter Association to drop everything and go on a mission to the Dark Continent…well, that’s somewhat different.”
Cheadle sighed again. She couldn’t lie to Mizaistom, especially not when she believed his accusations were poorly founded and unfair.
“I was only speeding things along,” she argued, “not trying to force him….”
“But you went over his head, didn’t you?”
“That wasn’t my intention,” she said, slow and deliberate, forcing Mizaistom to listen and wait as she considered her words. Though during a trial Mizaistom was perfectly capable of refraining from too many leading questions, outside the courtroom he didn’t hold back. Cheadle was close to Mizaistom as both a friend and colleague, but she still despised the position such unfair rhetoric put her in.
“I asked permission from his professors and arranged an alternative course of study for him under my tutelage while on our mission,” she explained. “That might’ve been going over his head a bit, yes, but it wasn’t unreasonable.”
“And to be more efficient, you told him all about it in the same breath you asked him to join the Zodiacs.”
“I wanted to give him an incentive to agree, to know that things could be arranged if he accepted the offer.”
“Yes, and normally, so much thinking ahead is fine. But for you, you put too much value in efficiency, in pre-emptive strikes to whatever problems might arise, and while it’s an effective way of thinking when you work in medical science, it’s not a great framework for how to interact with people.”
“I want to be upfront and transparent as a leader, Mizai. It’s important that people have all the facts.”
“All the facts, yes, but not all at once. In the case of Leorio, you frontloaded him with information, and it backed him in a corner. Luckily for him, he was smart enough to find a way to wriggle out of it.”
“I was covering all the bases, offering him all the pertinent information he might need in order to facilitate a timely decision.”
Mizaistom shook his head as he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips. Before taking a sip, he said, “Yes. But, you didn’t get a timely decision.” Cheadle's jaw clenched as she waited. “What you got,” said Mizaistom, “was a condition we find this guy Kurapika, or else Leorio might be ‘disinclined’ to join the Zodiacs.”
Mizaistom drank down half the cup of coffee while it was still hot, enjoying the warmth it filled him with in contrast to the pre-wintery scene of the street below. Cheadle neglected her own cup. It was there only as a pretext and a prop, unwanted unless it could provide a good pause or distraction at times when Mizaistom's personality was starting to make him more insufferable than even Cheadle could handle.
“Maybe you’re right,” admitted Cheadle. “Maybe he thinks we’ll realize finding Kurapika is too much of a hassle. Maybe he knows for sure Kurapika will say no. This could be an indirect way of turning me down, just as you suggested. It’s selfish, causes us to go through a lot of trouble, and in the end, he could already know the outcome. Maybe I should be looking somewhere else for a new Boar. Maybe a lot of things about this situation don’t work and won’t, but this is the direction I want to go in. I want new people, people unaffiliated with any internal Association politics, those who haven’t already picked sides. Leorio ticks all the boxes of an ideal candidate to join the Zodiacs, and as far as I can see, so does Kurapika. Therefore, I’ll do what I must to convince Leorio to join, even if I have to bully him into it. I want him as the new Boar, and I will make him the new Boar. I will get what I want.”
Mizaistom almost smiled. Earnestness appealed to him. With his En already activated, he could feel the subtle change in Cheadle’s aura accentuating the resolve in her words and her determination to act in accordance with them.
“It’s true this might be a futile direction to go in,” said Mizaistom. Cheadle frowned slightly. “But, if he strongly recommends that his friend Kurapika joins us, then, don’t worry. You have me here to track Kurapika down. He’s a Blacklist Hunter, and I’ve worked with that type before. Once you know what they’re looking for, they’re pretty easy to draw out. I don’t think it’ll take long.”
“So, you’ll do it? For certain?”
“Of course.”
“Excellent,” said Cheadle. “Gaining two new members who are close to each other might even provide a safeguard against them feeling alone and pressured to pick a side between us and Beyond and...whatever Pariston or Ging might be up to now. On such short notice, this is the best possible choice. I believe that much absolutely.”
“I can’t argue against it, so I might as well believe it, too,” said Mizaistom. This was saying a lot. Mizaistom could argue practically anything if given a reason and was known to be tenacious to the point of total obstinacy once he’d made up his mind. It was why he tried not to make up his mind too quickly on matters, knowing how difficult it would be afterwards to change it.
For this reason, as Mizaistom finished his coffee and Cheadle arranged for him to get into contact with Leorio, he fought hard against establishing his own conclusions about Kurapika and who that person was too early. He promised Cheadle again that locating Kurapika and convincing him to join the Zodiacs shouldn’t take long. If he knew anything about Blacklist Hunters, then, well…but he trailed off before finishing the sentence. Sternly, he reminded himself that he shouldn’t judge Kurapika, even if he was a Blacklist Hunter, at least not yet. At least not until he’d gathered more evidence.