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Miss Nellie Carruthers looked down at her hands and marveled.
Though a few of her wrinkles had become pronounced, the majority of them had faded away into two-dimensional bliss, making her look overall at least five years younger. She caught sight of her reflection in a nearby puddle and stopped to observe, trying not to strain her back while doing so. She squinted her eyes and observed herself; her soft nose, plump cheeks, and—Miss Nellie smiled at this—her pale eyes now looked ever so blue and sharp. It was as if she'd regained a flame of her youth.
She drew back and set her hands behind her. Her back still did hurt, she had to confess. But the scene before her almost made her forget it all. The beautiful sheen on the water was stunning, and so was the painted sky. It was not the same as the real world, but she admitted it held its own sort of charm.
Miss Nellie was not one to panic. It wasn't good for her heart, but even before she'd begun to feel the effects of age she had always handled matters with serenity. She had been calm when her son had brought in a snake and begged to keep it as a pet, when she had been informed her daughter got into a fight at the tender age of seven, and when her grandson revealed that he had spent half the day watching television on his iPod or iPad (she wondered if there was a difference).
She'd seen this type of artwork on his screen whenever she stopped by. The world around her now was animated, yes, but it would not faze her. She was always collected and this would not change now. She had to accept her circumstances.
"Miss?" A soft voice came from where the alley opened into the street. A young man in a suit appeared before her, his blond hair dangling down helplessly as to cover his eyes. "May I help you?"
She smiled and stepped towards him into the light. "Thank you, young man. I was wondering what to do. I seem to be lost, in a peculiar sense."
He offered her his arm, and she took it politely. "Do you know where you want to go?"
Miss Nellie pondered this for a moment. "I have a place I wish to be," she finally settled on, "but it is by no means a place I can go. For now I suppose I will accept my place here and wait until I can return."
He seemed confused, but it didn't stumble his words. "Is it far from here?"
"I imagine it to be so, yes," she said amiably. "Very far."
The nice lad inquired a bit further, showing confusion when the answers he wanted didn't line up with the answers she gave. She didn't blame him for it. Instead, she admired the way he kept his cool during such a time. He'd asked if she had a place to stay, to which she truthfully answered no. Miss Nellie could tell immediately whether a person had bad intentions, and she suspected this man to be honorable. So when he asked if he could arrange a room for her at a hotel his acquaintances were staying in, she responded with a yes.
They chatted about the weather and birds that flew by every now and then as they walked. When they arrived at the door of the quaint hotel, Miss Nellie gave her own name. "And yours, young man?" she asked.
His words hung on his tongue before he turned them airborne. "Kurapika."
She ran the name through her head. "Thank you, Kurapika. You've been such a great help."
After he arranged for a room key, they entered an elevator and rose a few floors before coming to a stop on the fifth. Kurapika held open the metal doors and she strolled out, his lips in a thin-pressed line as she guided her to a certain door. His knuckles rapped sharply on the wood.
It took several moments before the door burst open, revealing a tall, lanky man with shaded spectacles and jet-black hair that Miss Nellie herself longed for. Her own hair had grayed over the years, becoming wispy in sight and touch. She envied his healthy roots.
"Kurapika!" the man burst out, jaw open wide. "You haven't contacted us in months! We thought you were dead, you stupid idiot! Where were you?"
"Now," she interrupted, and stepped between them. "I admire the concern you show, but shouting in a hotel will trouble others. With the way you care about your friend, I find it easy to believe you'll be able to have a calm chat with him."
The man looked bewildered. "Who...?"
He wasn't permitted to finish his sentence, as two young boys popped out from behind him, one with dark hair that defied gravity and the other with snow-white locks that did likewise. "Kurapika!" they were shouting as they pushed towards the front, but their eyes landed on Miss Nellie.
"Hello." Folding her hands before her, her head tilted to the side as her eyes crinkled. "You all look like lovely people."
* * *
Her grandson had posters strewn about his walls, and she'd inquired about the characters drawn on them. It seemed to her that in Japanese animation, hair was a vital factor in distinguishing separate characters, so they came in all sorts of lively shapes, colors, and sizes. It certainly explained the white hair, and the hair with greenish tints that appeared as if it could saw wooden planks cleanly in half. She wondered how the poor boy slept.
"Sorry about Leorio, Miss Nellie," Gon said. "We haven't seen Kurapika for a while, so he's shouting a lot more than he needs to."
"Ah," Killua agreed, falling back onto the bed and inspecting the ceiling with boredom. "Might take a while before they get to the topic of you."
Miss Nellie nodded, but that was all she did. While her eyesight may have been deteriorating (she had been proud of her perfect eyesight before and was crushed when her doctor informed her she would need reading glasses), her hearing was as sharp as a cat's, or so her husband had used to tease her. So behind walls of plaster that muffled sound, she could still make out bits of their conversation.
"...lost her memory... is she batty?..."
"...don't be rude... small favor..."
"...leave?... contact us..."
"...danger... business... take care of my own matters..."
Having heard the information she wanted, she sat back in the chair. They were in Leorio's room right now while he and Kurapika tried to smooth out things in secretive tones outside in the empty and carpeted hallway.
"Have you boys known Kurapika for long?" Miss Nellie asked.
Killua propped his head up, his look bordering on suspicion. "Long enough."
"A nice boy, isn't he? He is very sweet and polite."
He held back a scoff, and she did her best not to chide before knowing the full story. "Polite to others, I guess. But it's just sort of distant now. Even to us, it feels like he's trying to pull away, so in reality it's all just rude."
Her blue eyes mirrored his own. "Your honesty is a good trait."
This time Killua's scoff came fully, and though he mentioned something about not giving praise where it wasn't due, years of experience told her that the part he'd become defensive at was the word 'honesty'.
"I agree with you," Gon said, talking to Miss Nellie. "Kurapika is a good person." There was something more tugging at his lips, but he did not say.
Miss Nellie traced her finger along the mahogany table, humming as she went before coming to a stop a few minutes later. "If you don't mind my asking, what sort of business is the young lad wrapped up in? It doesn't appear to be of the normal sort."
Somehow, the air became quieter before Gon finally answered with: "The revenge kind."
"I see," she merely stated, resuming in her observations of the table. "I see."
* * *
Miss Nellie eased into the seat of her own room, letting go of Kurapika's arm that had guided her there. He asked if she wanted the curtains drawn open or closed, and she stated her preference, saying she loved the warmth of the sun. After doing his part, he pulled his heels together in front of her.
"I'm sorry it took so long. I had to convince Leorio of a few things first, as he's not good at recognizing how to deal with important matters before everything else."
A large harumph erupted from the hallway.
She looked from the door, and softly to Kurapika. "They all care for you, you know. And they worry because of it."
His expression changed from his mask of stone just a tad before it fell back to its emotionless state. He nodded. Kurapika bowed a few degrees to her, his blond hair once again overshadowing his features. "I have to leave now. Please take care of your health."
As he started to leave, she set a hand on his arm to stop him. Slowly so as not to scare him, she reached for his face and patted his cheek gently, her wrinkled hands against a confused face that she realized was lacking in love, love for himself. Miss Nellie brushed his golden hair behind his ears to reveal the rest of his face, trying to ease the boy's pain if only just a bit.
"A smile would look lovely on you, child. You deserve to be happy."
His eyes, dulled before, now shone in the sunlight that streamed in through the windows. It sent warmth across his skin, lighting up what before had been reserved and dark. His eyelids dropped as he closed his eyes and ever so slightly leaned into her grandmotherly touch, remembering with a lump to his throat.
Miss Nellie felt something truly wonderful had been accomplished when he straightened and tipped his head to her with a faint curve to his lips.