A/N: This is my first story in a long time, and the other one I posted years ago is still unfinished, although it will be, soon.
The story is set after the end of 2011 anime, so you can encounter some minor spoilers if you haven't watched the whole thing. I've read the 2016 manga chapters too – my story will sometimes incorporate the developments presented there and sometimes it will deviate a bit; I will not be including the Dark Continent storyline though.
All characters, with the exception of my OC, belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, whom I greatly admire for bringing them to life. I wish him all the best, and especially good health to finish his great story! I hope I can do his characters justice, and make it an enjoyable read for some of you.
On to the story.
Edit April 2017: When reviewing the story stats I noticed many people check chapter one, but there are less views for the subsequent chapters. If you give a chance to chapter 2 as well, I hope you won't be disappointed.
Moonlit
The moon hung low above a forest clearing, its full face illuminating multiple figures moving fast, contradicting the serenity of the moonlight with their violent moves.
That's it, Illumi finally lost it, thought Killua, vowing never to use the word 'illuminate' again as he fended off several skilled attackers controlled by his brother's needles. Each of them – Killua, Gon and Kurapika - were in a similar situation now, facing multiple opponents. Illumi may have lost it, but he came prepared.
I told you before, little brother, you don't need friends. Friends will betray you. Time to stop this senseless adventure of yours before you get hurt, and come home.
Illumi's words still rang in Killua's ears as he did his best to gain the upper hand against the men attacking him relentlessly; their skill didn't match his, but they had the advantage in numbers. He couldn't believe his brother tried to pull the same number on him, still bent on showing him the right Zoldyck way.
After he and Gon had gone their separate ways, Killua travelled the world with Alluka; he'd had a lot of fun, but he missed his friends. So when he left Alluka home, after spending considerable time fixing her relationship with their family and entrusting her to Canary, he wanted nothing more than to see Gon, Kurapika and Leorio again. All of them were happy to agree to spend a weekend together, with exception of Leorio, who, still finishing his studies at the university, informed them he had recently bought out a house in the country with his university mentor where they were now busy organizing a clinic.
This was supposed to be a carefree time for the three of them reminding themselves how to be teenagers and have fun. Towards the end of the weekend, they meant to visit Leorio, whose newly opened clinic was not that far from where they were staying. And so they had had fun, at least until Illumi decided to show up and try to whisk his beloved little brother away, fueled by his misguided, smothering love.
"Give it up, Kil." Illumi's emotionless voice brought the boy back to reality.
"No!" shouted Killua, his voice angry and defiant, "I'm not going with you! I'm not leaving Gon and Kurapika!"
"Oh?" Illumi's brows arched above his huge, dark eyes, "Simple enough. I'll just have to kill them, won't I?"
The bushes behind Killua's back rustled and he heard unhurried steps; he quickly jumped to the side in case the newcomer was another of Illumi's puppets.
"Ooooh, kill them? I told you once before what would happen if you try to kill Gon."
A new voice sounded before Killua regained his stance, and his eyes widened. He knew this voice. He hated this voice. But now, he loved it, realizing that Illumi ignored a very volatile, violent, red haired variable in his plan.
"Hisoka." Illumi didn't seem surprised. "Do not interfere."
"Oh?" Killua glanced at the magician, who appeared deep in thought, his long fingers covering his mouth and his chin.
"Mhhhmmmmm…." hummed Hisoka, flexing his fingers, "…not going to happen, my dear Illumi."
Yes! Killua cheered in his mind. If somebody told him a mere hour ago he'd be happy to see Hisoka, he'd punch them. Now, the magician appeared out of the blue when they needed help, just as he did several times in the past. Hisoka had flawless timing, Killua grudgingly admitted to himself. The younger Zoldyck had no illusions about the situation; he knew the magician would expect something in return, but now was not the time to worry about it.
Hisoka strode through the battlefield at a leisurely pace, casually throwing his cards at the opponents blocking his way to the older Zoldyck assassin.
"I was really bored… so I followed you, my dear friend." He said, his voice bearing a distinctive mocking quality, "There's only one person that makes you lose your cool and stop being mindful of your surroundings. And that person usually happens to be accompanied by my favorite fruit…" he winked at Gon.
"I waited to see how the situation unfolds, being a curious individual that I am," he continued, "But I can't let you pick my fruits before they ripen, I'm sure you understand that, hmmm, Illumi?"
"So," Hisoka stopped and made a mock salute towards Illumi with a card, "Today I'll satisfy my curiosity by fighting you. I have wanted to, for a long while…" he finished with a smile.
Illumi didn't reply; he struck immediately, but Hisoka was too fast to be taken by surprise. Both men were moving almost too fast for the eye to follow; in a blurred flurry of movements, cards and needles cut through the night air. Killua watched in awe, the magician and the manipulator almost breaking his concentration to the point when he barely dodged the next attack from one of Illumi's puppets. The young hunter knew that although Hisoka was effectively helping them, all of them needed to be extra careful not to get in the way of the tornado made of speed, strength and ambition that now only paid attention to the strong opponent in front of him, not sparing a moment's thought to any collateral damage he might cause.
Illumi launched another flurry of his deadly needles, and Hisoka jumped out of the way inhumanly fast, no doubt using his bungee gum that he must have attached to one of the trees; Killua noticed the magician still managed to parry the attack with his own barrage of cards. One of the projectiles hit Illumi's cheek, leaving a bloody mark, and Killua had to admit that even though he was far from liking Hisoka, he had to admire his strength. His brother was the one who taught Killua how to fight, and he knew better than anyone that Illumi was not an easy opponent, but Hisoka didn't seem fazed, he was clearly enjoying himself. At this point, Kurapika, Gon and Killua disabled most of Illumi's puppets and Killua was able to watch the fight in more detail.
He and Gon needed a lot of practice and experience to reach the level those two were at. If somebody had asked him before what the outcome of a fight between Illumi and Hisoka could be, he'd probably bet on his brother, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. He knew Illumi's prowess, but he had a nagging suspicion he has not seen Hisoka's full abilities yet.
As in answer to his thoughts, Hisoka spun around fast, stretching his arms wide in response to Illumi's attack. At first, Killua wasn't sure what was happening, not until Illumi's needles suddenly flew right back at him with even stronger force, bounced back with Hisoka's bungee gum. Killua was immediately reminded of the time when Hisoka, he and Gon faced off against Razor during the infamous Greed Island dodge ball match, and how Hisoka used Razor's strength against him to end the match in their favor. At this moment he already knew who would emerge victorious. Illumi managed to dodge many of his own projectiles, but not all. Several needles hit his body full force, throwing him against a nearby tree. Hisoka didn't waste time; he jumped towards Illumi, and plunged his fist into the assassin's gut. The older Zoldyck choked as blood spurted from his mouth, and the magician's lips widened in a maniacal grin. Hisoka wasn't unscathed himself, bleeding from several wounds, some of them appearing to be quite deep, but he didn't seem bothered by it.
"Well," he said, "This has been fun, Illumi. We should do it again sometime in the future, hmmm?"
Killua watched in awe, and noticed Gon was approaching Hisoka from behind, surely feeling curious. Killua frowned; something was wrong, Gon… he was too quiet. Gon had a strange connection to Hisoka that Killua didn't like, and he would be bouncing all around the place, his habitual logorrhea kicking in. Killua's eyes suddenly widened in understanding.
"Hisoka…!" he yelled, but it was too late.
Illumi's huge, dark eyes widened, and the man who was not Gon hit the magician's head with both of his hands, sending him on the ground. Hisoka's reflexes still allowed him to throw a card that embedded itself in the impostor's forehead, but the damage was already done. Hisoka writhed on the ground, his body tensing up.
As Killua ran towards Hisoka and his brother, he saw two more of Illumi's puppets emerging from the tree line. Before he reached them the two men picked Illumi up and retreated. His brother must have been hurt badly, but Killua couldn't bring himself to care. Kurapika and Gon were at his side now, watching Hisoka's trembling form, each of the three teenagers analyzing the situation in his own way.
Killua was angry at his brother, but anger never made him lose his temper. He wasn't aware that now Illumi was able to change somebody else's appearance, not only his own, and the fact that his brother, being already that strong, kept adding new abilities to his repertoire was daunting. Killua was sure Illumi had been planning to use the puppet somehow to ensure his victory over him, and that is why he made it look like Gon, that is why he kept it hidden until he was forced to use it. He got the resemblance perfectly, down to the aura, and used it against the magician, knowing he would not bother to turn away sensing Gon's approach. Although he knew that without Hisoka's help, he likely would have been taken by his brother, Killua still fought the resentment towards the man, mainly for considering him a bad influence on Gon. He was tempted to just leave him there, but he knew the other two would not agree.
Kurapika had mixed feelings. His relationship with Hisoka was business-like, give and take. He wasn't overly fond of the man, but remembered that he helped him during his attempt at the revenge on the Phantom Troupe, even if he did it for his own, selfish reasons. Now, he helped them out, and Kurapika wouldn't leave him there without returning the favor. He quickly analyzed the situation; the solution was surprisingly easy.
Gon was shocked. To him, Hisoka was indestructible. He wasn't sure what was the exact nature of his feelings towards the magician, he just knew that Hisoka inspired him and pushed him to be strong. He also understood Hisoka's need to constantly test himself again strong opponents, knowing firsthand the heady rush of adrenaline that made him feel alive in such situations. Gon remembered fighting Hisoka, and how much he loved it, even knowing he didn't really stand a chance against him yet. Hisoka, in his own way, was one of the first people to show real interest in Gon, and the boy had to admit he liked his attention. Gon was also furious with Killua's brother, for using somebody who looked just like him to hurt Hisoka. His hands clenching angrily. He wasn't sure what he felt towards Hisoka, but he was sure he didn't want him to be in pain. Not like this.
"What should we do, Kurapika?" Gon sounded distressed.
"We have to help him!" Gon turned to his best friend next, his eyes pleading, and Killua was reminded yet again that his friend and the magician shared a strange bond, one he did not like or approve of. Still, there was nothing he wouldn't do for his best friend, so he'd accept that.
Kurapika replied immediately.
"Leorio's our best chance of helping him. We need a car." He said.
Killua nodded.
"I'll get us one."
Barely fifteen minutes later, Killua parked a car on the road leading to the clearing.
Kurapika frowned.
"How did you get it so fast?" he asked.
"Well, I…"
Kurapika shook his head and sighed.
"You nicked it, didn't you?"
Killua shrugged. "Yes. But don't worry," he reassured the older teen, "I'm going to put it right where I found it, I promise."
The Kuruta shook his head again.
"Fine," he said, "Now we just need to figure out how to pack him in the car…"
The three of them looked at Hisoka, before Gon tried approaching him. A minute later, he was sporting a bleeding lip and several bruises as Hisoka made it clear he didn't want to be touched.
It was Killua's turn to sigh.
"Gon," he said, "Distract him." Gon nodded and approached Hisoka again, doing his best to dodge long, flailing arms and cards flying in all directions.
Killua crouched from behind, silently hoping that the magician's senses were dulled enough by pain for him to execute what he had in mind without losing a limb. He took a deep breath and, using the distraction created by Gon, threw both of his yo-yo's, wrapping the reinforced cord around the magician to prevent him from moving.
Hisoka threw his head back and screamed, his eyes wide and unseeing, and Killua understood that whatever Illumi did to him, he never wanted to experience himself. The magician's face was contorted in pain and his body was shaking. Killua gathered his aura into his hand, and delivered a precise blow to Hisoka's neck, rendering him unconscious and thanking his lucky star that he managed to restrain him earlier, or else he'd end up badly hurt himself.
The three friends hauled the magician into the car. Kurapika took the wheel while Gon and Killua sat on the back seat with Hisoka between them to prevent him from moving in case he woke up.