Disclaimer: We do not own anything but our respective OCs (Illyria and Ayaka/Hana), the cover was made by Sakura Hyuga and the plot is ours.

COLORFUL ILLUSION
by: Riseha and Sakura Hyuga

Chapter 1

First Meeting

Eight-year-old Illyria Zoldyck was hurting everywhere.

And not just from the outside either, her heart was still aching with her eldest brother's abandonment. Just thinking about it made her sniffle. She instantly muffled the sound and rubbed her stinging eyes to make sure there were no tears. Once her sadness was gone, it was quickly replaced by anger.

Pivoting on her heels, Illyria decided to make her way back to Old Man Netero.

Thinking about the old man and his eccentric habits made her slow her steps more. He was a good (though demanding) teacher but he expected the best of her even though the task he'd given was downright impossible. Running a hand through her long blue-black hair, Illyria raked her brain for something to do.

Netero was quite lenient, he'd allow her to play if she wanted to. Since she was just eight and all...

The nearby sound of chains creaking and swaying drew her attention. With her enhanced eyesight, she saw someone sitting on the swing set in the park she had unconsciously walked to.

Probably a girl—with the long hair and all. Her fluttering silver hair made Illyria's heart pang in pain as she recalled Killua and her father. She wondered how her twin was holding up. She was tempted to go home but Netero had told her, explicitly, that it would be foolish to do so.

Looking back on it, Illyria would never be able to recall why she felt the sudden urge to approach her. She did anyhow, and tapped the girl's shoulder.

The girl yelped, jumping to her feet and whirling back to face Illyria, a deer-in-headlights expression on her face.

Illyria was taken aback by the girl's resemblance to Killua—the same blue eyes and hair—that she thought he'd cross-dressed as a girl to find her. But after blinking a few times, she realized that this was not her twin. They just looked alike. Really alike.

"Who're you?" The girl finally asked, still looking as though she was a minute away from running.

"...Ria," the taller girl said simply. Netero had told her not to give her real name so freely. Seriously, she knew that. Did they think she was stupid? There had to be a lot of Rias in the world, so she had nothing to worry about.

"Oh," She said softly, before she relaxed and smiled. "I'm Ayaka!"

What an interesting name… She certainly looked like the part, with her bright colouring and her pretty kimono. "Nice to meet you," said Illyria politely, extending a hand in greeting.

Ayaka glanced down at her hand in confusion. "Um... do you want something?"

Illyria retracted her hand, her face turning a bit red. "It's common courtesy."

Ayaka looked puzzled. "Uh..." She blinked in thought before cocking her head to the right innocently. "Oh right! That's what the books said too!"

Books…? Illyria blinked slowly. This girl was interesting. Although she looked like the same age as Illyria, they were polar opposites. Blue eyes, brown/red eyes. Silver hair, navy black hair. And let's not talk about their personalities.

Okay, sure, Illyria was sure she was much more mature than other 8-year olds, with her upbringing and what-not, but Ayaka was a bit too much. She gave off the aura of a completely innocent and clueless child. If not for her appearance, Illyria would have thought she was 5.

…Actually, Illyria had a feeling that she was probably more mature than Ayaka when she herself was 5.

Not noticing Illyria's thoughts, Ayaka beamed at her happily before patting the swing beside her. Illyria blinked before taking the invitation. Her heart throbbed. The girl really looked like Killua. And her smile too…Illyria internally sighed. She'll never see Killua smile at her again for a long time, if at all, right? She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Hey, are you okay?" A quiet voice asked. Illyria turned around to face the girl. She was staring at her worriedly.

"Yeah…just fine." Illyria felt the lies roll off her tongue effortlessly. She was a Zoldyck after all, nobody but her family could tell if she was lying or not. But to her surprise, though, the silver-haired child frowned.

"I won't pry then." She said earnestly, giving Illyria a warm smile. "But you're away from all that trouble now and with me!" Getting off her swing, she went behind Illyria with a giggle before pushing her. "So just for now, forget your troubles and have fun, 'kay?"

Illyria blinked, feeling her hair fly in the wind as small and gentle hands pushed her back. The edges of her lips turned upwards slightly. No matter how much Ayaka looked like a Zoldyck, she wasn't one for sure. After all, what Zoldyck would be so kind and innocent? Even Alluka wasn't like that.

They continued talking and playing for the rest of the day. Illyria smiled every now and then throughout the whole session. In fact, she was sure it was her first time smiling that much. But it was hard not to, with the downright bubbling girl with her.

As night began to fall, Illyria turned to the girl worriedly. Although Illyria was sure she could walk home by herself without any trouble (and as long as the trouble wasn't Illumi, she would be fine), she felt a bit worried for her silver-haired companion.

The innocent girl would probably not make it home in one piece if she went alone.

Ayaka looked at the darkening sky with a small frown on her face. It was quickly replaced with a hesitant smile as she looked at Illyria. "Hey, it's getting a bit dark. You should go home now. It's not safe to walk in the dark."

Illyria resisted the urge to laugh. Ayaka was worried about her? Really, she should just worry about herself. "I'll walk you home then." The words slipped out of her mouth before she realized it. Wait, why was she even worried? Ayaka meant nothing to her. Absolutely nothing. She was just another child who had no connections with Illyria what-so-ever.

Illyria bit her lower lip. But still… She wasn't completely heartless.

But to her surprise, Ayaka shook her head. "Someone will come and get me." She said simply. "I'll be fine."

Illyria felt a stab of jealousy. Nobody would come get her. Not her twin, not her crazy mother, and especially not her eldest brother.

Unless he was going to try and kill her again.

Ayaka must have seen her bitter expression, because she turned around and gave her a hug. Illyria felt herself stiffen and used all her willpower to not push her away. It's just a hug, nothing else.

Illyria felt the words she had been too embarrassed to say come out of her mouth. "Will I see you again?"

Ayaka pulled back with her lips pursed. After a few seconds, she shrugged and gave Illyria a smile. "I'm sure we'll meet again one day!" She poked Illyria's cheek childishly before giving her a grin. "But next time, I expect to see you smile a lot more!"

Despite herself, Illyria felt herself smiling back as she silently agreed. She left feeling a fuzzy and warm feeling as the silver-haired child bounced up and down waving at her until she couldn't see her again.

And that was their first meeting. Illyria never really saw the silver-haired child after that even though she made it a habit to swing by the park where the two girls met once in awhile. Years went by silently, and Illyria slowly grew up, the memory of Ayaka pushed further and further back into her mind. After a while, the silver-haired girl was completely forgotten as a nice hazy dream she once had.

But of course, fate is a very cruel and interesting thing. One can never know what to expect. And that is certainly true for our beloved Zoldyck family.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Question: What do you think of this?