PROLOGUE 2
Author: Gon-kuuun, it's your turn for disclaimer!
Gon: "All of us don't own Hunter X Hunter!"
Author: Of course we don't. Any impressions from the first chapter, Gon-kun?
Gon: Are you sure Kurapika's my brother, if I have to choose...I feel like he's much better as my mother…
Author: Oh, not a parody from "Sweet Home" doujinshi, ne? Is it truly come from your heart?
Gon: Sure it is…I think.
Author: I'm sorry, Kurapika. How do you respond on this, Mommy?
Kurapika: Will you PLEASE shut up?
CHAPTER 2: IN THE PENTEST
There was only one time when every single member of the Zoldick family gathered together and talked face to face: dinner. Thank goodness, if we didn't have dinner regularly, we would have forgotten how our own brothers' faces looked like.
Tonight, as usual, nine members of the Zoldick family enjoyed the delicatessen prepared by our personal chef. Yes, we did have a personal chef, as well as personal servants, personal maids, and all of the other personals, but I still had to take care of my grunting stepbrothers' ''personal'' needs. Why don't you just put your cards on the table and dress me up as a bell-hop? Or at least, order me to dine with the servants. Getting close to you every evening was so making the terrible memories I spent with you along the day come back to my mind it almost burnt my brain cells.
Even so… we're back to dinner topic. Silva, my stepfather who pretty resembled Killua, sat at the very end of the dining-table, between Zeno, my step-grandfather, and Kikyo, my stepmother. We hardly prayed before we ate, but Silva always had something to be announced as a substitute. Yes, I did not call him Otoo-san. So what? It was my discretion.
Silva started his announcement of the night.
"Ahem… good evening my wife, father, and beloved children, today I, as the head of the family will announce authentic news. This news I obtained from Right Nostrad, the King of our land, and… "
"Just skip the rubbish, hurry up!" Millky blundered out.
I gave him a disdainful look. Seriously, it isn't very wise to cut your father's speech, and I am saying this from a stepchild's point of view.
"It is needless to say that your rudeness cannot be expiated by money or valuable goods. I also think that your shameless rush in useless hopes to abbreviate the announcement is ten times as unimportant as the announcement itself," I told him without looking, drinking my cup of tea.
"I take that as your so-called 'rudeness', Kurapika," Millky bellowed.
He gave me a dreadful look as if was thinking to stab me with his knife. It wasn't as frightening as you think, since he sat right next to me and I was still peacefully drinking my tea.
Killua let out a chuckle from his seat in front of Millky and whispered something to Gon, who was sitting on his left. Gon didn't reply back to him, but he suddenly seemed very interested to Millky's actions.
Illumi, on the contrary, didn't seem to make any reaction to the fuss happened in front of him, and so did Zeno and Kikyo. Silva decided to continue,
"Hn… all right. It goes like this; the King invited us to a party, which is going to be held to search for his sons-in-law. As a matter of fact, we will only come to enjoy the feast because we… have no business with the search. It's pretty favorable, isn't it? Although for only the food… "
"FOOD?"
"Can we freely kill anybody there?"
"Horray! Party!"
"Yeah, Gon, let's explore the castle!"
"Play?"
Okay, those were Silva's children's comments expect for me, you could just guess who said which…
As for me? Why not commenting? I didn't think I should waste my energy for useless talking. I continued to enjoy my dinner as Silva answered his children,
"Yes, Millky, there will be food provided there in plenty for everyone; Illumi, don't besmirch our family's name, those who come there are the higher-ups and we are not allowed to kill them; yes, Gon, it is going to be a glorious party; oh, Killua, you can explore the castle but there are limits; and Karuto, you can play around as you like."
It was so patient of him to answer them one after another… compared to the bull-headed Kikyo?
Silva clearly decided that he was done talking. Every pair of eyes of the family members shifted back to their dinner-sets and everything came back to our usual silence during eating. For several minutes I could only hear the faint sounds of the forks and knives touching the plates and chopping the meat; we Zoldicks are silent by nature, silence is the most basic principle compatible in our whole lives and doings, and "no mercy" as principle number two. I was inexperienced as Karuto in killing people mercilessly though.
I thought about the announcement while chewing my meal without producing any sound…A party, huh? I never had any interests in parties, so just let people around me wandering around there like little dummies. I preferred staying home if all of them would go to the party. I would make sure that the night I was all alone in the house would be the happiest part in this recent ten years of my life.
"Uwaaa… Killua, that's my fish!" squealed the black-haired of the twins, breaking the silence.
"No way! Since when has it become yours?"
And sometimes our regular silence is broken by a simple argument such as who would eat two fish on the table.
"You've eaten yours! And that's my fish!" Gon burst out. He jabbed his own fork into the fish, which was halfway being forked away by Killua.
I didn't show any interest to their childish struggle for the sake of a single fish, because I was eating mine at the moment.
"It is not! This is… !"
"PLOK!"
I rose up my head to search for the source of that unfamiliar sound.
Huh? The fish they were fork-fighting for slipped off when Killua pulled it forcefully and landed on someone sitting on Killua's right.
"………………………" (threatening silence)
Sigh…
"Killua……… "(threatening voice)
I told myself, this would not be any good.
"A… gomenasai, Onii-chan," Killua cackled.
"Gon………... "(threatening voice)
Cheer up, Kurapika, at least you aren't involved in your brother's anger this time. I gazed up to the guilty twins and watched them taking my usual role as the accused.
"Not me! Killua!" Gon stood up in defensive.
"Why me?!" Killua contradicted.
"Because you did!"
"Both of you…" (threatening voice)
Gon and Killua squeaked in fright. I made bold to look at Illumi…The sweet, sticky fish soiled Illumi's face like splashed ink on a piece of paper.
...It didn't really make much difference, really.
"Onii-chan…funny, "said Karuto innocently.
Nobody dared to laugh at the comment.
"Nii-chan, that kind of thing is nothing big, you don't need to be mad…" said Millky with mouth full of food.
"Wanna try…?" asked Illumi threateningly while getting ready to throw nails with one hand and fish with the other. It seemed that Illumi's mood was getting worse because of Karuto's words…for God's sake, Illumi, you have fish seasoning all over your face, that's digusting!…I'd rather look at the blue whale beside me.
Illumi's left hand approached my plate and put the bone-of-contention fish on my food.
Hey!
I had the urge to protest him, but I didn't do it in the end. If I had done it, who knows what Kikyo would have done.
Afterwards the atmosphere was reverted to the usual silence, albeit duller, and I also had to eat a bonus of a horrible fish, fresh from licking Illumi's face...so unlucky am I, as always…kuso…
After dinner session, all members of the Zoldick family continued their own activities; including myself. I continued my devil-may-care housework, which was washing the dishes. Before I tidied up the dirty plates on the dining table, Kikyo had yelled to me,
"Kurapika! Remember to wash the glasses, too! And never use your nen, if I once again see you using your nen for washing, YOU have to take care of Mike for a clear month! Remember that!"
"Hai, hai, "I said, putting the plates in one high stack.
Kikyo sniffed and left me alone with the messy table. I heaved a deep sigh.
I knew, that the thing my stepmother regretted most was my knowledge of nen. When I was young my father taught me the basic skills of nen mastery. "Nen" was the ability to use a power invisible to many of ordinary people in the world, which could only be managed by certain people; whoever they were, the number of nen users found even by another nen user was very limited, due to the constant practice which was obliged to be accompanied by difficult and sometimes exhaustingly complicated mind control of oneself needed for learning to control nen. This was why only strong-willed individuals could master nen.
Nen, for certain people, was known as a double-edged knife as nen could reinforce the pure powers of their own bodies…and at the same time complicating the matters as long as the opponent also took advantage by using his or her nen. This severely applied to my current condition.
Mirage, as the class A black-listed criminals, had been undoubtedly using nen in their actions. There were millions of proves from survivors who had witnessed their attacks or had experienced a fight with them, and people who had secretly surveyed the troupe's deadly ambushes, that Genei Ryodan was positively and dreadfully made into a super killing machine beyond compare in the land all thanks to their nen abilities.
I kept strengthening my nen with all my anger and grudge…seeking for revenge…I even discovered and learned how to use four basic principles of nen altogether by myself when I was eight…this ability, I assumed, was the one called "hatsu" as my father once told me, "the final principle you will learn after the first four…"
EPILOGUE 2
Gon: Ah! It's nen!
Author: Yes, it is. However, some points will differ from the original nen © Yoshihiro Togashi.
Gon: And Killua doesn't like fish that much.
Author: It was Kurapika's homemade fish.
Gon: For real?!
Author: No. But I thought you'd like a mother who can cook.
Gon: Kurapika, can I call you 'Okaa-san' from now on?
Kurapika: (sweatdropped) Rejected.
Author: Gon, don't forget to call Leorio 'Too-san'!
Kurapika: Wait a second!
Author: I don't own 'Sweet Home'. Comments, critics, and… well, flames are always welcomed. See you next time!
TO BE CONTINUED
