I let out a sigh, standing on my usual perch in a tree half way between the outer wall and the Zoldyck estate… mansion… castle? There was honest to god no effing word I could use that could describe that place. It was big enough to house three cities and then some. And that was only their house. They owned a freakin' mountain!

But… the mountain was why I was always here. Starring at the night sky, wondering what it would be like to be a part of that family. It would probably drive any outsider insane. Heck, it probably drove the family itself to insanity by the time they reached their thirties.

'Cause for some reason or another this family of assassins didn't die! Currently there were three or four generations, I couldn't remember, living there. The most heard of was the newest generation of course, they were the ones currently taking most of the contracts.

Illumi…

Killua…

Milluki…

Kalluto…

Alluka…

Wait a second… facepalm. I've been hearing about these boys for years but I never thought of all their names at once. The family was fond of names with double l's apparently. How did I miss that? Right… because I didn't really care too much about them.

The main reason why I was on the mountain tonight, just like every other night for the past nine years, was because of Mike. The guard dog.

He was just so loveable!

And to ride him was a thrill! Not that Mike really liked being ridden like a pony. But, he didn't get much choice in that matter.

The branches and shrubs below me began to shake and rustle. There was no wind, so it had to be that loveable silver coated mutant wolf-dog. I didn't know the actual species name, wasn't really worried if they were rare or common place. I just liked the fact that I could jump on his back, grab the scruff of his neck, and enjoy the wind rushing against my face as he raced among the forest.

After all these years, I felt confident I knew the forest better than any of the Zoldyck's ever would. Unless they had recently taken to kicking their sons out and making them live in the metaphorical dog house. Snicker.

Now that picture would be worth more than the combined bounty on their heads. Not that I would sell it… ever. It wouldn't even make good blackmailing. I would just keep it in my personal collection along with all the other pictures I had accumulated over the years. And yes, most of those were of Mike.

"ARRRRRRROOOOOOO!" Mike. He was here, howling at the moon. I smiled and crouched lower, one knee pressed against the branch for support as I timed my jump. This part was tricky. If I missed by the slimmest degree… no more moonlighting for me. Ever. I would be num-num in his tum-tum.

Heck, doing this was still thrilling. My stomach was fluttering with butterflies. I watched, breathing evenly, as Mike appeared across the large-ish clearing. He knew I was here. My scent was all over this forest, but I was still an intruder and like a good little guard puppy Mike came to me every night. And every morning I walked along the tops of the outer wall before jumping down and walking away. Unscathed. Alive. And feeling like I was the only one in the world capable of flying.

Mike was running straight at me, full speed. I gulped. Tensed my legs. Counting the seconds before I jumped. No hesitation.

100ft away…

50ft away…

20ft away…

JUMP!

My arms stretched out, my tank lifting to show off my belly, as my jean-clad legs straightened so I resembled a starfish. My tinted blue hair was cut short in the back, but my bangs hung to my shoulders. The wind whipped them out of my eyes. I was smiling. The landing would be purr~fect. Just like always…

Hweu-weh!

A piercing whistle cut through the air. Mike turned and ran towards the sound before I could land on his back. So I continued to fall.

I plummeted towards the ground for seconds before my body turned, angling myself towards the ground, hoping I could roll without inflicting too much damage to my shoulder. This was gonna hurt…

"Fuck," the expletive slipping from my lips as I felt the jolt of my shoulder connecting to the ground. I continued to roll, my body connecting to the ground with enough force that I was going to have a lot of bruises forming by morning.

Tonight was not my night, and I was gunna find the bastard SOB who ruined it! You only got a chance like this once a month! To ride in the night without a moon to light your way. To feel the wind rush by in total darkness, relying on your instincts to duck and dodge objects potentially lethal. To know that what you're doing could only be experienced by one in a billion people, if they were lucky.

With a growl I picked myself up and brushed the loose dirt from my black ensemble. I stretched my muscles, feeling that nothing was out of place from my crash landing. I shook my head, wondering how much mud was gonna be in my hair. I'm sure I rolled through something gunky.

Oh… EW! Please don't let it have been Mike's shit! I seriously don't need to wash mutant dog turd from my hair! Ick!

As I stood there, praying that what I was pulling from my hair was not dog shit, I felt a presence slip closer and closer to me. They were good. No one else would have noticed the subtle shift in the forest, but I had been in and out of this area for years. I knew what this wood felt like in the calm of night. In the middle of a storm that sent every animal to a burrow underground.

This was not a natural presence. Though it was close. Whoever it was, was really good at being stealthy. Could it be a Zoldyck? If it was, I was so screwed.

But I played dumb. Keeping tabs on the presence while I started to "freak" out loud about the gunk in my hair. My fingers brushed through my bangs, plucking other debris at the same time I pulled out slender needles that were used to "pin" back my bangs. They looked decorative but were sharp. And shiny. I liked shiny things that were deadly.

The wind picked up again and I shivered, pulling my arms towards my chest, careful to keep the needles from sparkling in the starlight.

Behind me… no, slightly to the left. Some feet back but still close enough for me to hit. Can I do it? ...No. They'd move before I could even throw. But I can't let them attack me either.

As I pondered, an owl hooted. In a split second I took the opportunity. I "jumped" startled by the sound. I turned quickly and threw the needles to where the presence was.

Or had been.

"Shit." I cursed, pulling another needle free from my bangs as my eyes traced the darkness for movement. Yup, I was screwed.

I half turned as something flew past my ear. A little too close to be a comfort and hit a tree a few steps behind me. The sparkle it gave off attracted my eye. Yeah, it was my needle.

Something flashed in the corner of my other eye. I turned my head and my eyes widened as a barrage of roundhead needles flew my way. There was no time to dodge, so I crumpled – flattening my back against the ground and saw the very pointy instruments fly over me. Before I had time to regain my feet something was straddling my chest.

A very cute something from what I could see.

Wide, black eyes that starred down at me without blinking. A slim, but strong black clad body similar to my own was holding me down. Though, from this position, it was obvious that it was a very slim guy. A guy with long midnight hair that tickled my exposed stomach.

Laughing would have been my first reaction if not for the fact that he was holding a thin wire against my throat in an obvious threat that if I moved, I would be strangled.

Not cute.

If it had been anyone else sitting on me like this, it would have been no problem to flick my hand up and under the wire and roll him off before any damage could be done. But this guy had to be a Zoldyck. Not only was the wire pressed just enough against my throat to make getting my hand underneath impossible, the wire seemed sharp enough to cut my throat if I moved.

Oh, and the obvious fact that he was pinning my arms down with his legs.

I couldn't move without him knowing instantly.

"Why are you here?" The boy asked in a voice so monotone it could put people to sleep. It nearly lulled me in and he had spoken less than five words! I opened my mouth, wondering if I could talk without slicing my own throat, to answer when another voice called through the woods.

"Aniki?!" His head whipped around, and so did my eyes as a little boy, around nine, walked into the clearing. This kid was adorable with his silvery-white hair and purple-ish eyes, hands in the pockets of his sky blue sweater and wearing jeans.

He reminded me of a little kitten. He was that cute!

"Aniki, you left in the middle of our game. Who's the old lady?" Old lady?!

"Go back home Kil."

"But aniki-"

"Now."

The little boy left with a pout on his lips, feet moving sluggish yet ghostly through the trees. After he disappeared I heard that same whistle from earlier echo through the trees.

I looked up at the black cloaked boy, hoping to take advantage of the distraction as he refocused his attention on me. But there was none. He was already starring back down at me, fathomless eyes reflecting no emotion.

"Why are you here?" He asked again.

XXX

A/N: Yes this is another fanfic I'm writing. Mainly because I'm avoiding working on Hollow Target at the moment, and this story seemed too cute to pass up.

For those reading and wondering, yes this is a "flashback" kinda story. It takes place roughly three years before the beginning of Hunter X Hunter.

Also, I'm writing this mainly (besides for myself) for my friend (who is trying to destroy my brain) Razorblade Mistress. It was meant to be a one shot but… well, it's gonna be a few chapters longer than that XP

Enjoy people! …while I go think of where the hell this story is going to go.