Chapter 43: A Beautiful Heart
In an instant, Ronin's eyes changed.
The deep black irises shifted into a glowing crimson, carrying two black, comma-shaped marks spinning within them.
It was an eye completely different from the traditional Scarlet Eyes.
Kurapika stared in shock, unable to comprehend the transformation.
"My eyes changed when I desired the power for revenge," Ronin said slowly.
"This... how? What..." Kurapika stammered.
"It's nothing to be afraid of. Although they look different from the Scarlet Eyes, every ounce of power contained within them comes from our people," Ronin said, his voice detached, as if narrating someone else's story.
"The first Tomoe belongs to me. The second Tomoe... is my father's."
Ronin spoke softly, but to Kurapika, the words struck like thunder.
"You absorbed Uncle's eyes?" Tears shimmered in Kurapika's eyes.
He couldn't imagine the desperate resolve Ronin must have had to make such a choice.
"Yes. I stole my father's gouged-out eyes back from Uvogin," Ronin looked down at his hands. "I wanted the strength to kill Uvogin. I wanted the power to slaughter the entire Phantom Troupe."
"And so, my father's eyes responded to me. They dissolved warmly into my own, becoming my strength, becoming a part of me!"
This was the narrative Ronin had prepared beforehand.
It wasn't entirely a lie. Each pair of Scarlet Eyes did provide him power. And whether it was due to the karma of absorbing them or his own desire, destroying the Phantom Troupe was inevitable.
Kurapika was shaken to his core.
After a long silence, he asked slowly, "So... does that mean the eyes of our clansmen will become your strength?"
"Yes. After my father, I absorbed another pair. That was what gave me the capital to fight Uvogin in the ring," Ronin admitted.
Then, he asked cautiously, with a hint of apology, "Kurapika, do you blame me?"
"How could I?" Kurapika shook his head vigorously. "This is the will of our clan! I only feel... relieved!"
"Brother Ronin, you have been acknowledged by our people. They were willing to give you their strength. I believe this is their trust in you, their hope that you will carry their power and live on!"
By the time he finished speaking, tears were streaming down Kurapika's face.
Ronin stood up, handed Kurapika a tissue, and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I will live well. And I will make those butchers pay the price."
The images of his clan being tortured to death in the village square were the clearest memories Ronin had inherited.
Even in his dreams, he often revisited that hellscape of despair.
The elderly, the children, the women—no one escaped the torment of those demons.
And the worst devil among them, the one who reveled in torture, was the short, sadistic Feitan.
"We will reclaim every single pair of eyes. And through my eyes, our people will witness their revenge personally!" Ronin swore an oath.
Kurapika stood firmly beside Ronin.
Although part of him felt that Ronin, carrying the will of the entire clan, shouldn't be consumed solely by revenge, thinking of what Ronin had endured stopped him from speaking.
And really, did he want to stop it?
Kurapika asked himself. The answer was no. He wanted revenge too. He wanted to eradicate those executioners!
So be it.
We will start anew after the vengeance is done.
"By the way, why did we come here?" Kurapika asked, wiping his face.
"To find someone. Her ability can help us. She has a particular interest in collecting human body parts, so she might have information on the Scarlet Eyes," Ronin explained.
Kurapika didn't react strongly to this.
Ronin was slightly surprised.
"The person who listed the Scarlet Eyes as one of the Seven Most Beautiful Colors in the World is the one who truly deserves to die. Most collectors are just following trends," Kurapika said with a resigned rationality.
"Stopping people from coveting the eyes is impossible, at least for now."
Ronin had underestimated Kurapika's maturity.
But looking at the boy, who was even younger than his manga counterpart, it was easy to forget he wasn't even fourteen yet.
"However, for those who harbor malicious intent towards the eyes, I won't be merciful," Kurapika added ruthlessly.
Ronin nodded. That was the right attitude.
"So, when do we start Nen training?" Kurapika asked eagerly.
"No rush. For you, it's best to awaken Nen naturally. That builds a solid foundation and allows you to go further in the long run," Ronin knew that haste makes waste.
Currently, without the Scarlet Eyes active, Kurapika struggled past the 150th floor of Heavens Arena.
To be ready for Nen awakening, Ronin believed Kurapika needed the physical capability to reach the 190th floor.
So, Kurapika needed to train.
"I need to train too. Let's start with weights," Ronin said.
Neon Nostrade sneaked out of her house again in the morning.
She loved "still" things—things that "couldn't breathe." It felt like removing organs from the living and turning them into specimens gave them a new life, a new meaning.
However, finding places that displayed human organs in Mordin City was rare.
Neon wasn't interested in whole corpses soaked in formalin, even if they contained organs.
The Natural History Museum of Mordin was her favorite haunt. It had many taxidermied animals and jars of preserved animal organs.
But Neon knew a secret. Some of those weren't animal organs. They were human.
Someone had killed a person and hidden the organs in the museum. Thousands visited daily, but Neon hadn't seen anyone else notice that the disguised organs were human.
Today, as usual, Neon stood in front of a display case containing a heart.
Perhaps because it was disguised, this heart had a magical allure for Neon.
She desperately wanted to take this "monkey heart"—which was actually human—home with her.
Unfortunately, the allowance her father gave her wasn't enough to buy it.
Some like-minded people she met online were curious after hearing her stories and kept asking about the heart.
Neon regretted telling them. She was terrified that one day, she would come to the museum and the beautiful heart would be gone.
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