Disclaimer: The Zaoldyeck family and Hunter X Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi.
A/N: This is set just after Alluka's powers were discovered by the rest of the family.
Chapter 1 - Confided
She blinked as he was suddenly standing there in front of her, his back merely inches away from her.
He was always agile and did things that her eyes couldn't follow, but he was never really out of sight. Despite with their… home (it was home because he was on it) being rather enormous with tens and hundreds of rooms on it, he would always manage to be around (well, maybe except when he had 'missions'). The rest of their… family (it was family because he was part of it) were occasionally around too, but they weren't as close to her as he was. He was the only one who knew about her secret and never did change because of it. He'd ask for a wish just for the sake of her face returning to normal. He never said it out loud that he did the wishing for her and not for himself, but she'd always known.
After all, no one else knew just how much of a selfless person he was better than she did.
She'd remember those wishes he had asked before: shake his hand twice; high five on both hands; do the peace sign; climb the stairs twice; push him on the swing; pull her hair up; play thumb wars with him…
Smile for him.
Ah, those little wishes were the ones stuck on her memories the most. She never did forget the warmth he always had despite the numerous pesters she gave him. He was that much of a patient person. Sometimes he'd pout at what she asked, other times he'd complain at how troublesome she was, but never had he left her despite these negative qualities of her.
'"How silly," she remembered him scoffing when she asked him if he was afraid of her because her requests killed one of their butlers. Her secret was out on the rest of their family now and so, it was no longer just their (his and her) secret. He'd ruffle her hair and pinch her cheeks and look straight at her.
His eyes had told her his answer.
She remembered smiling at his silent yet firm response and he had smiled back too.
He had never been fazed by what the rest of the family was now considering to be a curse.
Looking up, she realized that he had grown taller again. Just a little time ago, they were just the same height even though she was younger than him. He was growing, indeed, but inside, he was still that same boy she had always been with.
Still the same as ever, that much she knew as she watched him continue standing there in front of her despite what their father was telling him.
"Why?" His voice broke the silence in the room. His voice was cold and defiant. She wished she could look at his face right now but he was standing there firm, looking straight ahead. Why was he getting mad? She had never heard him this mad before. Their father wanted her to be kept inside the room they were in. It was not so much of a big deal for her, really. They were still going to be together.
Right…?
"Killua." She heard their father spoke in a stony voice that was much more serious than the usual tone he used. "This is for Alluka's own good."
"You're just—" His words were cut the moment she placed a hand on his left arm. He stiffened at first, as if hesitating to look at her with his current self. She remained composed and waited for him to turn towards her. Managing to calm himself a bit, he averted his head to gaze at her.
She saw a mixture of anger and sadness darkening his eyes, and yet he tried to hide them as he looked at her. He was always like that, hiding things just so those negative feelings won't affect her nor anybody else.
"Alluka." He tried to put a smile on his face as he ruffled her hair. For some reason, she could feel the tension thickening as his hand landed on her head. Their father's eyes remained set on the two of them but her brother didn't stop his movement. "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
He was shouldering her problems again, she could tell. Ah, what was that painful clutch on her chest…?
"Onii-chan." His teal eyes widened in recognition as he realized that a request was coming from her. "Onii-chan, agree with what Father is saying."
There was evident surprise in his features after the words spilled from her lips. He was about to shake his head off the request but she stopped him before he could do so. "Everything will be alright." She pulled of a bright smile as she repeated his words from earlier. He remained looking at her for a short while and that pang in her chest appeared again when a helpless look hovered on his face.
"Smile, smile!" She tried cheering him up and he couldn't help but let a small, smile fall on his lips. She knew that her own smile could easily pull those lips of his into a smile.
He reached for her hands and squeezed. "Yeah, it's fine as long as we're together…"
As she jumped onto him for a hug, he couldn't help but worry about what their family would do next. He hugged her tighter and silently vowed that he would never let them harm this little one on his arms.
Their father's eyes narrowed in worry as he turned away from the sight of affection the two displayed. His decision was surely to affect their family's heir, but as the current head of the family, he had no choice but to do something about this curse.
His own child or not, he was going to separate that one from the rest of the world, including his own son.
-tbc-
A/N: Ahhhh, I so love Killua and Alluka that I can't help but write about them. Review…?