Chapter Four

Earth

...

A ray of sunlight crept through the closed curtains into Himeko's room. It was the weekend, a perfect opportunity for her to catch up on sleep. Her parents went out to shop for groceries, so it was just her and her brother in the house.

"Himeko, I'm going out with my friends today." Her brother shouted from downstairs.

"Hm.." Himeko let out a soft groan, trying to let her brother know that she's heard what he said. Her voice however was not loud enough to reach him downstairs, causing him to come upstairs and open the curtains, lighting up the whole room. Himeko opened her eyes slowly, not wanting the bright room to blind her. "What are you doing?" She groaned.

"I'm going out, watch the house." He repeated what he said downstairs. Himeko slowly got out of her bed and yawned after doing a few stretches.

"I heard the first time you said that." She pointed out. "I'm going back to sleep, so close the curtains before you leave."

"Cool. Want me to bring you some food on the way back?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"Diet?"

"No, just get out!"

Himeko watched her brother walked towards the window to close the curtains again, where she could see someone oddly familiar waving from outside. It was Killua, who was sitting on a tree branch trying to get her attention. She looked back and forth from the scar on her wrist to Killua and tried to pinch herself a couple of times.

"You know, I might as well just wake up and clean the house." She ran out of her bed and blocked the view outside. She didn't want her brother to see the silver haired boy with the horns on his head. "No need to close the curtains!"

She managed to push her brother out of the room, leaving him in a state of confusion. She then closed the door and opened the window.

"It's about time, I've been waiting her for so long!" Killua complained. He jumped into her room through the window and started to look around. "Hm, I've never seen a room this colourful before." He looked around the room that was full of stuffed animals she's been collecting since she was little and the colourful furniture.

"That's beside the point." She stopped him. "Why are you here? If my brother saw you, I don't know what might have happened." Killua continued to walk around the room, ignoring what she had just said. "Oi, pay attention when I'm talking to you."

He sat down on her bed. "Calm down, I can only take on a physical form in Nyx. On Earth, I can only be seen by people with abnormally high spiritual awareness. The fact that you can see me here means you are either abnormal or special; whichever you want to use to describe yourself works. Some humans would only be able sense a strong presence without being able to see us or some would only be able to sense us for a moment. Others won't sense us at all."

"Why are you even here? I thought you wanted to go back to your world!"

"Unfortunately pretty boy has bound us both together." He said, raising his hand showing his wrist that was fully healed. He then pointed at Himeko's wrist with the scar that was yet to fade. "With this contract going on, we can't survive too long without each other. I have to stay here until you break the contract off, otherwise we'll both grow weak. I already got permission from pretty boy to stay."

Himeko took a moment to think. Was it really safe for her to be in the same room as a demon?

"Relax!" He said, reading her mind. "I can't do anything to you while we are blood bound. If you die, I die with you. If I die, you'll die with me." It made her let out a sigh of relief. However, not matter how calm he looked, Killua was furious. He didn't understand why he had to babysit a mortal that could only live up to eighty years on average. He himself was immortal and can only be killed in battle. That thought alone angered him. "I'm warning you though, don't try and get the wrong idea. I'm not looking to become a friend of yours, I came to watch over you until you can break the contract off. After that, I'll go back to my demon ways."

Killua turned to the window as soon as he sensed another presence. Three to be exact.

"Let me warn you before that." Kurapika was the first one to step into the room through the window. "Lay a finger on her, and I'll kill you." The tension between them was bad. They hated each other before they met, but now they hated each other more because of their guts.

"Look who we have here, the knights in shining armour." Killua mocked as the three entered the room.

"It's you." What Himeko thought was just a mere daydream just proved to be reality. Not only that, they were all in her room right in front of her. She didn't know who to trust and who not to trust. Sure, Kurapika, Gon and Leorio saved her but she didn't know what their motives were. Let's not even talk about Killua, he was trying to control his urge to kill her since he entered the room. She didn't know what happened, but he seemed different from a month ago. Something must have happened while he was away.

"I figured it was time for us to meet again." Kurapika said. "First of all, we should explain our current situation first."

"I have something to say before that." Himeko interrupted before Kurapika could say anything. "I'm glad you all came here because I've been wanting to thank you all for such a long time now."

"That's our duty as you guardians." Leorio replied proudly.

"But, there is a line I want to draw." She interrupted them again. "I just wanted to thank you, that's all. I've changed my mind over the past month and decided that I don't want to know anything, so don't bother telling me because I won't listen. Whether Killua is a demon or you three are part of some Sailor Scout, I don't care. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful but you can't win me over with just one rescue mission."

Kurapika sighed. He thought it was going to be much easier than that. "That's fine then, we won't tell you anything. Our mission is to guard you and follow your orders."

"In that case, I'm done. Please get out of my room."

Kurapika was the first one to act. He walked towards the window without saying a word while Gon and Leorio were contemplating whether that was the right thing to do.

"Kurapika." Gon called his name. He was going to ask whether he was fine. Kurapika was someone who strictly follows orders with no buts, and he was someone with a strong sense of justice. It's not that Gon didn't have the same strong sense of justice, he just liked to bend the rules sometimes to accommodate everyone's needs. Someone who can't even hurt a fly, that's the kind of person Gon was.

"It was an order from her." Kurapika told them firmly. No matter how much he wanted to stay close-by and guard her by her side, he couldn't. He couldn't turn down her order for his own judgement. "Our job isn't just to guard her, it's to follow every single order she gives. Let's get out!"

Leorio understood Kurapika and didn't want to argue back, so he followed Kurapika. Gon was watching them both helplessly, while Killua showed no signs of wanting to leave. He couldn't after all.

"Do you need a special invitation?" She turned to Killua.

"Just a friendly reminder, I wouldn't have come back if it wasn't for your magic trick." He pointed out.

"Thanks for reminding me about that problem. Kurapika, before you go can you unbind us?" She requested.

Kurapika turned around and lowered his head. "Unfortunately, only you can undo the contract." He told her.

"What are you waiting for then?" Killua asked Himeko. "Go on, unbind me."

Himeko looked towards Kurapika for guidance, but all he could do is shake his head.

"Unfortunately you do not have the power to do so yet. Making a contract requires little spiritual energy, while releasing the contract requires a lot more. I'm sorry to say this, but you're unable to undo the spell until you have the powers to do so."

"So you are trying to tell me that I'm stuck in this good for nothing world?" Killua shouted. "She will probably need a few decades to get enough power to release the contract, I can't stay here for that long."

"That's not true." Gon interjected. "We can make her powers awaken long before that. It all depends on her capability to learn. That's what our master has told us."

"You see now?" Killua asked. "I can't go anywhere because of you and pretty boy. Even if I did go back to Nyx, I'll be dragged into all kinds of arguments by my brothers Lust, Pride and Greed. Remember, if I die, you will too."

Kurapika who was listening to Killua did yell back at him this time. He would usually get Killua to apologise to Himeko for being disrespectful, but this time something else caught his attention. "Pride…" He thought. That word itself made his blood boil. "The Deadly sins, huh? Which one are you?" He asked.

The Deadly sins were quite infamous in Gaia. Their ruthless and inhumane acts caused terror amongst the innocent Gaian's living in Gaia for centuries. Lust, Pride and Greed or Hisoka, Kuroro and Illumi were the three most notorious ones too.

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything." Killua answered with no emotions. The conversation got Leorio and even Gon thinking. The Princes of Nyx were their enemy. To think that Killua was one of them and to think that he was bound Himeko who they had to protect at all costs. It was a really bad combination. This wasn't all they thought about. They thought about the countless of innocent people that were brutally murdered by the hands of them. Kurapika and Leorio seemed extremely out of it.

"I'll stay until you unbind me from you." Killua told her firmly. "I've got no other choice." He then turned to Kurapika and snapped him out of his thoughts. "I don't know what secret technique you've got but the sooner you get her to unbind me the better for all of us."

"He does have a point." Himeko thought. "I can't live on with a demon around me. Also, if you haven't noticed yet I'm a girl. I can't be stuck around boys all the time, I need my privacy too."

Killua just watched everyone in the room absorbed in their own thoughts. "So, what's your decision." He asked her.

"Fine, I'll improve my powers in order to unbind us as soon as possible. Until then, I'll allow you all to stay but that's it. After Killua and I are released, I have nothing to gain from being around you."

Hearing those words, Gon couldn't help but smile brightly. Leorio soon followed and Kurapika just let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he could somehow convince her to hear them out at some point.

"Thank you so much, Lady Himeko." Gon was the first one to speak.

"Like I said, I'm doing this for myself only. Also, please refrain from calling me Lady Himeko. Himeko will do. I have no intention of becoming the main character of some kind of shoujo manga."

It might be some people's dream to become the main character of some kind of action and adventure manga, but having experienced what it's really like she didn't want to get involved. She was born human, no more, no less and therefore she didn't have any special powers like them. Fighting against demons was something she did not want to do because she simply couldn't do it.

"That reminds me, where will Killua be staying?" Gon asked. Compared to the other two, Gon easily warmed up to Killua. Sure, he was shocked to hear that the Deadly Sins were his brothers but it didn't mean Killua was a bad person.

For the past month, Gon, Kurapika and Leorio stayed at a local shrine which was close to Himeko's town. Killua had to move around every now and then as he couldn't enter the shrine. It was still Winter on Earth and sleeping outside was a pain.

"Why doesn't Killua stay here?" Gon suggested in a quiet manner. He knew getting Kurapika's approval would be impossible, but he still tried.

"Are you out of your mind Gon?" He snapped.

"How about we all stay? We will be able to guard Himeko from a closer distance and the little demon will have a place to stay." Leorio added to Gon's suggestion. Compared to the streets, the shrine was warmer but it was overcrowded since a lot of the Gaian's tend to stay there. Kurapika knew Leorio asked for his own selfish needs, but he also knew it wasn't for him to decide. He looked at Himeko to make her decision.

"Great. Why don't you just invite every single demon and everyone from the Sailor Scout over?" She asked in a sarcastic tone. "Don't forget that old hag that tried to eat me the other day! We can watch movies all night, have pillow fights, paint each other's nails and do each other's hair. Oh yeah, I forgot." She continued and her voice got louder. "Maybe we can't because his whole race wants me as their midnight snack!"

"I won't stoop that low for someone like you." Killua commented. No matter how much he hated his brothers, he still had pride as a demon and he won't let anyone take that away. "Maybe you should start sorting out your personality. It's the worst!"

"There is nothing for me to sort out. Once you are on my bad list, you'll stay there. Maybe you should try harder to sort your personality out." She replied. No matter how friendly she was at first glance, Himeko had a really bad attitude. Everyone finds out after a while and only some choose to stay with her. That's why she keeps a small group of friends who she knows can handle her without back chatting about her. It was her way of handling people she didn't like, by giving them her blunt opinions about them. Boys in her class stopped considering her as a possible girlfriend because of her personality. She could be a total bitch sometimes, the exact opposite of what how she was when she first met Killua, Kurapika, Gon and Leorio. In other words, she was the type who was either extremely liked by someone or just hated.

"You bitch, I'll burn you!" A small, blue flame appeared on the tips of his finger.

"Stop Killua. Remember, if she dies, you will die too." Gon tried to stop him.

"Who said I'm going to kill her? It's a lot more fun torturing your victims," his eyes were colder than before. He didn't come to sign a peace treaty, he came to end the blood contract and kill her.

"Stop at this instant!" Kurapika stopped him. "That settles it, we have to keep an eye on you from now on. I won't let you roam around this world alone, I request permission for all of us to stay here."

Himeko remained quiet. Killua wasn't bluffing when he said he'll burn her. He was going to do it.

"Do as you like," she gave in. She was doing it for her own safety.

"Before we continue, I have this," Leorio handed her a whistle. It was a plain red whistle. "Try blowing it."

She took in a deep breath and blew the whistle, but she couldn't hear anything.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Killua screamed covering his ears. No one else seemed to be affected.

"That's a whistle only demons can hear. The stronger the demon, the louder the sound. It never served a real purpose in defence but Kurapika thought it might be useful to wear off demons with the loud screeching sound," Leorio explained, "I never really wanted to use it and only brought it along since Kurapika insisted, but now I think it might be necessary."

"When we are not around and the demon is about to attack, blow the whistle and use the opportunity to run," Kurapika added. She took a moment to look at the whistle and decided to safely keep in her fist.

"Now that we are settled, how about we explain you where we come from and who we are?" Leorio suggested.

"There is no need," she opened her mouth again after a long period of silence, "Like I said before, I'm doing this for my own benefit and that will all stop once the contract is undone. Until then, I'm allowing you to stay but that's it. After I'm done, you'll leave!"

With the whistle still in her hand, she left her bedroom and headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. The four boys were left behind in the room.

"She is harder to convince than I thought," Leorio said.

"Leave her for now, she has a lot on her mind," Kurapika replied. He looked at Gon whose eyes were fixed on Killua. Killua was in his own thoughts, and looking at him Gon grew worried. A voice inside Killua's head kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

Once you've become strong enough, kill her and return to my side.