"Huff… huff…" Tsutae was forced to stop before she rounded the next corner, resting her left palm against the jutting stone as a support. She had been moving at a moderate pace, keeping aware of her surroundings, but Tsutae's stamina was already depleted. Sweat was collecting on her forehead, crystal beads trailing down to her chin where she was forced to wipe them away. The few raven strands that had escaped from the needle-hairpins had plastered themselves to Tsutae's cheeks, causing her face to feel itchy. The more time it was taking for Tsutae to regain her breath the more aware she was becoming of her trembling legs and the amount of energy required to purely stand upright.

The estate was bigger than she had first thought, and far more empty. Countless doors and shoot off corridors have been passed since Tsutae left her temporary bedroom, it was impossible to explore them all at the moment, but she had yet to sense another living presence. However, Tsutae took a final deep breath and pushed away from the wall to continue her search. Maybe if she just kept walking, taking corner after corner until she discovered a staircase or something…

That first step was difficult, making Tsutae feel as though she was walking on the deck of a ship in the middle of a raging storm instead of down a cave like hallway on solid ground. There was, however, no choice but to go forward and confront someone on her terms rather than to meekly await whoever came to visit her next.

It didn't take Tsutae that much longer to find her first staircase, this one leading down to a lower floor. What would be awaiting her there? Could she finally find someone… though with all the effort she was expending it was becoming difficult for her to remember why she was seeking someone out in the first place. Fatigue was causing her feet to scuff the ground with every step if her focus began to lax.

Tsutae looked around before carefully placing her right foot on the top step, transferring her weight gradually until she was positive it would hold her. The rest of the descent was slow, every step being as carefully tested as that first one.

Vanessa had incorporated pressure sensor traps in every staircase in the branch family's house, training her children to watch their every step or else they could fall into traps… in those cases Tsutae had literally fallen into a deep pit that was rather difficult to climb out of. The exercise had done more than teach Tsutae and Hakka to watch their feet though; it had trained their eyes to recognize the signs of well concealed traps and, now, it was an automatic response to avoid the tampered areas in their own house. Tsutae could go from one end of that large house to the other, blind and deaf if she must, without setting off a single trap. But the main house was new terrain. There could be traps Tsutae may never have conceived of hidden around every corner.

Finally, Tsutae reached the bottom of the steps, and released her breath. The entire ordeal had tried her nerves, adding to the mixture of emotions she was already feeling in her gut because of everything. One glance back up the stairs and Tsutae turned away; she was beginning to feel the urge to run, to panic. It was unexplainable – what did Tsutae have to fear? Except for maybe her uncle, her grandfather, her aunt, her older cousin… Tsutae gulped. She had to move on before she was completely rooted in fear or gave into the feeling of wanting to escape – by whatever means available.

Tsutae's nails dug into the only un-splinted area of her right shoulder as she hugged herself tightly. There really was something creepy about being in this place alone for so long… the constantly changing shadows from the flickering torch light wasn't helping calm her either. With a hurried few steps Tsutae moved on, walking forward to see a choice of three corridors; one to the left, one in front, and the last one to the right. Tsutae had chosen to go right the last time, so this time she went left… Internally hoping she was making the correct choice.

Milluki's fists slammed down upon the desktop, his frustration mounting as a growl was directed at his monitor. How could he still not have finished the game?! There was no way a genius like him could be having so much difficulty!

Looking down to his hands Milluki realized he had crushed the contents of his last bag of chips. Now he would have to get more. He would spend all night finishing the game if he had to, because he knew he had to finish the game! No genius such as him would give up before conquering this challenge. But to do so required snacks.

Roughly pushing himself away from the collection of computers Milluki stomped his way out of his room and began his journey to the kitchen. Going anywhere in the estate took up precious gaming time but he just couldn't concentrate without those snacks.

Resentment built with every step and Milluki was utterly absorbed with his internal rant until he felt the imposing presence of his older brother; Illumi was just beginning his descent of the stairs when Milluki froze in his tracks. There had always been something about the older raven haired boy that unsettled Milluki, but he could never translate the feeling into proper words. The closet was perhaps to say Illumi reminded the twelve year old of a void, utterly dark and without feelings; Illumi was the personification of the angel of death. Nothing Milluki ever accomplished even compared to Illumi and his capabilities – which said greatly the amount of respect and fear the self-absorbed otaku had for the eldest son of the main family.

The seventeen year old Illumi briefly stopped with both feet planted on separate steps, and turned his head to catch a glimpse of his younger brother standing above him. Illumi noted Milluki's little jerk of his shoulders as the two locked eyes, but he moved on. Illumi had no reason to concern himself with the younger boy at the moment as there was a job pending and he had some distance to cover before he could complete it.

Snapping himself back together Milluki nearly decided to return to his room without a fresh stock of snacks after seeing Illumi, but his stomach rumbled low in protest and he was forced to grudgingly continue on. By the time Milluki was half way down the stairs Illumi had vanished and that made the raven haired boy feel a little more normal. It was rare for the two to come in contact anymore, not since Illumi focused on training Kil (the little brat who was supposed to be the heir), and only if Illumi needed to use Milluki in order to gather extra information to assist in a job (which was rare).

Balling his hands into fists Milluki forced his thoughts away from both the older and next younger Zoldyck son and onto ways to defeat that videogame. His attention was caught however when, from the corner of his eye, Milluki spied his cousin. The way she was moving told Milluki all he needed to know at the moment; that she was up to no good.

Maybe this was his chance! He still hadn't forgiven her for the delay she caused at dinner over a day ago, preventing him from fulfilling his hunger as quickly as he wanted, so now was the perfect time for some pay back. A gleeful yet cruel smile grew on Milluki's face as he cautiously began to approach, not to near but enough so that he couldn't lose her when she rounded corners. He would have to stay alert; if Tsutae turned around, even a little, Milluki would have next to no time to hide – though the only place to truly hide was in the upper shadows near the ceiling, and if she looked up he would be completely busted.

No way his cousin would be brilliant enough to look up, Milluki thought with a smug smile, she wasn't even aware that she was being followed. Milluki was too good and knew the layout better than she ever could. It was his home, he was a member of the main family with superior intelligence and skills and she was nothing but a part of the secondary family, barely ever worth mentioning.

Tsutae paused again as another dizzy spell seized her and nearly sent her tumbling forward. She was nearing her limit, as pathetic as that sounded. Why was she so utterly weak tonight? If she didn't concentrate on herself a little more instead of her surroundings she would find herself passing out, not an appealing thought concerning where she was. It was probably just as well at any rate, over an hour of walking and no one was around, keeping so on edge was expending needed energy.

Pushing off the wall with her left shoulder Tsutae focused on what was in front of her. Green eyes widened when she saw the light, the non-flickering light, beneath a closed and heavy-looking doorway some distance down the hallway. There was very little hesitation as Tsutae decided this was as good a chance as any when looking for people. Who knew, right? Maybe she had been lucky and stumbled upon the kitchen. Part of her dizzy spells was because of a lack of food in her stomach, finding both the kitchen and people would be killing two birds with one stone.

Unlike Vanessa's expectations of her, Tsutae required more food than was deemed 'acceptable' for an assassin… Tsutae softly snorted out loud as she stumbled forward. Hell, her brother wasn't any better than her in this aspect. Tsuate knew Hakka ate like a pig every time he was out of their estate. At least she attempted to live up to their mother's expectations, though in Vanessa's eyes Hakka had already surpassed them a long time ago.

Rage boiled in the pit of Tsuate's stomach and the thought of food turned revolting for a brief minute until she pushed the feeling away. Now was not the time to think of those two. Tsutae had enough to worry about without focusing on her immediate kin.

Throwing open one side of the double doors Tsutae rapidly blinked her eyes to take in the room before her. It was unlike any she had ever seen before in a Zoldyck place. Light flooded the entire room to reveal the glistening pool of water off to the side. The rock walls were bare of the weapons Tsutae had seen in the one other training room she had been in, and besides the in ground pool there was nothing different about the floor. Titling her head, a small fraction of disappointment that this wasn't the kitchen passed before Tsutae began to wonder what the room was used for. She couldn't think of anything except maybe to teach each new generation how to swim…

Walking over to the edge Tsutae crouched to dip her fingers in the water, discovering with a small gasp that it was icy.

Milluki was just entering the aquatic training room when he heard his cousin gasp. He watched as she jerked her hand away and peered closely at the reddening digits. With a small, smug, smile tugging the one corner of his lip up, Milluki decided it was time for that pay back.

It took the mildly overweight boy only a fraction of a second to travel the distance needed - Milluki's hands pressing against the shoulder blades of his cousin just long enough for her to realize someone else was there but not long enough for her to twist and grab a hold of his wrist to bring him in with her.

Tsutae's upper torso turned enough to catch her cousin's figure in her peripheral vision as she was helpless to plummet into the cold water; freezing liquid flowing into her open mouth and splashing the back of her throat. Panic flared for an instant as the cold numbed her body and Tsutae had to consciously think of how to swim. Her right arm was useless, but she managed to kick with her legs to get her head above water and gulped new air into her lungs in between coughing up water.

Standing just beyond the edge of the pool was Milluki, enjoying a laugh at his cousin's appearance as it resembled that of a drowning rat. From her position Tsutae was only capable of glaring with maximum venom at the markedly younger boy, who was too absorbed in his mirth to even take notice. With two quick strokes Tsutae was back at the wall, right beneath Milluki's feet, and jabbing one of the needles that had previously been holding her hair back into the boy's foot. It pierced right through to the stones before Milluki noticed, he automatically trying to jump back out of surprise but the needle prevented him from doing so completely.

Tsutae pushed herself up and out of the pool in the time it took Milluki to dislodge the needle, carelessly tossing it aside with excessive force to bounce far out of both their reaches. Standing with her feet apart and water dripping from every part of her body to puddle beneath her Tsutae faced her cousin. The boy's features had shifted from the initial mirth to annoyance as he too fully faced her.

The standoff between the two Zoldyck's was filled with an unnatural stillness, neither moved and time itself seemed to slow until it was broken with an irritated huff from Tsutae. Her good arm was folded across her chest while the splint encased one hung uselessly at her side and moisture slowly seeped into the materials to weaken the entire splint. Before long Tsutae could probably peel the whole thing from her arm without much effort, though the bone had hardly begun to mend itself.

"What?" Tsutae snapped.

In a spacious and perfectly coordinated bedroom upon the third floor of the main Zoldyck estate lay a woman on her side between the dark purple silk sheets of the bed. The king sized mattress was not the softest, but it was luxurious enough for the woman who was slowly awakening. Her eyes blinked open and she slide her hand over the glossy pillowcase, watching her fingers play across the material with half-concealed orbs. Kikyo Zoldyck was awake.

The matriarch rose into an upright sitting position, moving with tranquil ease as the sheets pooled in and around her lap. The dark hair that was usually concealed beneath one of her multiple hats cascaded down her back and traced the form of her slender body until her form began to curve.

Whenever the raven haired woman awoke she would find herself alone, her husband never to be found. In the early days of their marriage Kikyo had questioned if Silva had any feelings whatsoever for her, as he never shared their marital bed longer than was necessary or required, nor had he ever fallen asleep before Kikyo. It was not until after the birth of their first born son, Illumi, did Kikyo learn it was not a lack of feelings for her, but because of his feelings that Silva never wished to disturb his wife's sleep. Kikyo had not been raised an assassin, she had never been trained to stay awake for days without sleep, and Silva saw no need to do so so far into her life.

For all the times Kikyo cursed her husband and his ways, especially lately since the arrival of their niece, there was a deep bond between the two. It could hardly be classified as love, for it was not the traditional love you found in romantic novels or fairy tales, it was something else.

Using her perfectly manicured fingernails to comb the knots from a small portion of her hair Kikyo decided she would get ready for the day. Time of day meant little in this household, a thing Kikyo had learned early in her marriage, and she was free to awaken or retire any time she wished.

Elegantly sliding off the mattress, Kikyo sauntered across the large room to reach the walk-in closet without a care as to who could see her unclothed body. There was nothing to be ashamed of. The woman knew that despite her age she was still considered an exceptional beauty, and Kikyo used that to her advantage whenever she could. There was no trace that she was a mother of five, nor that she had at one point been on the verge of starving to death because her dimwitted father had made one too many financial mistakes with their business…

Kikyo's entire demeanor darkened at the thought and memory of her departed father; not then and not ever would she mourn his unnatural death.

Settling onto the cushioned stool that stood before the large and gleaming vanity Kikyo looked into her reflection as she awaited the maid she had summoned. Her complexion was pale, not unusual for living in a place with few windows, but her black eyes looked haunted. Another nightmare then, Kikyo thought without emotion. She had been having nightmares for almost five years now but not once could she recall anything about them.

The soft click of the maid's heels on the floor alerted Kikyo to her presence and watched the new woman's approach through the mirror's reflection. Dressed like a professional businesswoman in a black pencil skirt and brilliant white blouse the maid stopped directly behind Kikyo and without a word of instruction spoken began to brush her mistress's hair. Meanwhile, Kikyo sat with perfectly straight posture and ankles crossed with her hands resting lightly in her bare lap. It would have been the picture of a perfect high society woman, if Kikyo cared at all about societal status. As it was there was only one thing she cared about; besting her sister-in-law. So long as one son remained it would be her children which would succeed the Zoldyck line, and not Vanessa's son. Tsutae was of no threat to Kikyo or her plans and therefore allowed the matriarch to show mild affection towards the young woman, Kikyo had always longed for a daughter of her own and now she had a lovely looking surrogate. With a few cosmetic changes Tsutae would resemble Kikyo more than Vanessa in only a short time.

"Would you like the usual style mistress?" The maid asked as she set aside the brush and opened the drawer of hair accessories, assuming Kikyo would answer 'yes' as always.

"No," the maid looked to Kikyo's face in shock, "leave it down today." It took the maid only seconds the regain her composure, realigning herself once more at Kikyo's back.

"Very well mistress. Do you require my presence any longer?"

"No, leave." The maid dipped a short courtesy and made to leave but was called back a moment by Kikyo's next order, "Be sure to look in on Kalluto for me."

The small smile on the maid's lips was quickly hidden as she answered with a whispered, "Yes," and left. The youngest Zoldyck son was a favourite of all the maids in the main house, maybe it was simply because of the boy's innocence but every maid loved the three year old regardless and would care for him even without their mistress's orders.

Remaining her seat Kikyo was now alone with her thoughts once more, though they had turned to the mediocre track of what dress to wear today. There was no special agenda for the day, nothing to attend to, so Kikyo felt no need to agonize over her apparel – any dress would do for the day would it not?

"What?" Tsutae had snapped at her overweight cousin as she stood in a dripping wet long sleeved shirt and pants, the cuffs folded over so the material wouldn't drag along the ground. The boy across from her had pushed Tsutae into the pool of ice water, which was immediately beside her. More than slightly peeved at the situation Tsutae was still taking some glee in stabbing him in the foot with one of the pins from her hair. Maybe next time she could use one of her knives instead to make a nice slice instead of a hole. The thought curled Tsutae's lips into a small vicious smile. Milluki continued to scowl.

As the silence continued and their mutual distain for one another mounted to nearly tangible levels it came as a shock to Milluki when Tsutae finally moved. She walked calmly towards him, Milluki sure she was going to attack in retaliation, when Tsutae continued right past him. Not even a sideways glance as their shoulders almost brushed against one another.

Milluki spun on his heel, hands balling into fists to shout out, "Oi! Aren't you going to say or do something?"

"Why?" Tsutae stopped, tilting her head to look at Milluki over her shoulder. "I'm dripping wet and you're an immature brat who wants to do nothing but pick a fight."

"I am not a brat!" He stomped his foot and growled when he saw Tsutae's little smile. Just as steam may have started to pour from his ears Tsutae disappeared from the room, leaving Milluki to stew in his growing hatred of his cousin. One day she wouldn't act all high-and-mighty! He himself would make sure of that! And with that thought Milluki stomped out of the training room with the pool and returned to his own bedroom, only then remembering about his forgotten excursion to the kitchen for more snacks.

Shivering as she walked, although the mansion was warm, Tsutae's teeth began to chatter. That water had been so cold! And now she had to either find a change of clothes, leave a trail of watery footprints (which she was already doing) wherever she went, or attempt to back track to her room. As frustrated as she already was Tsutae decided to just leave the trail of footprints and continue looking around this floor. She was still hoping to come across that kitchen; all this shivering was making Tsutae even hungrier.

Kikyo lifted the hem of her gown as she walked down the stairs dressed in plain yellow garb with trailing sleeves that ended in delicate white lace and a matching yellow ribbon choker tied around her neck. Her black flats made no sound against the stone steps as she paused once she reached the bottom. Now that Kikyo was on the ground floor, it was perhaps time for the woman to discover what time it was and marched off towards the front hall where the old grandfather clock was placed.

Turning a corner Tsutae was faced with yet another abrupt dead end in the hallway. This was the third one already. Gnashing her teeth together in anger, and to stop the chattering, Tsutae turned around to retrace her steps. Eventually she would find something other than a solid wall or empty room… maybe.

Kikyo peered at the clock's face to note the early morning hour when the sound of something squishing caught her attention. Tilting her head towards the sound she wondered what could be making such an unpleasant noise. The answer soon appeared before Kikyo as her niece stomped into the room.

Tsutae stopped as she saw the older woman with her black hair hanging down and wearing a simple yellow dress. Auntie Kikyo, Tsutae's thoughts identified the woman, this is going to be a little awkward…

"H-hello Auntie." Tsutae stumbled to say as a shiver passed down her spine. If there was one thing worse than soaking wet clothing, it was cold and damp clothing, which Tsutae was currently in.

Kikyo tsked at the sight of her niece, going right up to Tsutae and picking up a portion of dripping hair.

"Atrocious, simply atrocious! When I suggested a bath I meant one without your clothes child."

"Oh, uh, right… sorry?" The young woman really didn't know what to say as her aunt circled, occasionally pinching the damp clothing adorning her goose fleshed skin.

"Come with me." Kikyo's request was stern and Tsutae found herself following without question.

Tsutae had followed Kikyo all the way to the woman's personal bedroom on the third floor, having learned they were previously on the ground floor. She was forced into the woman's closet and faced racks of feminine clothing. Her aunt had never entered the 20th century it seemed as not a skirt or pair of pants could be seen. A feeling in Tsutae's stomach told her something not all together welcome was about to occur…

"Strip and sit." Kikyo pointed to the cushioned stool in front of the vanity mirror. "Sofia! Elena!"

A pair of women entered following her aunt's summons, causing Tsutae to pause once she had clumsily pulled off the shirt. The first to enter was familiar, dressed in a black skirt and white blouse walking confidently in heels, while the second was not though also dressed in black and white.

Looking down at herself Tsutae compared her body to those of the women and felt inferior. Oh this was not going to be a fun experience in the least.

A/N: I apologize for my long absence and please bear with me as there will be another - finals are fast approaching and I'm already neglecting essays so I hope this chapter is up to par. I also know I've been promising another Hisoka chapter and I will finally deliver: Chapter 11 - A New Hunt Begins. I wanted to work on it sooner, but certain events needed to be told first. All you lovely readers have no idea what has been going through my mind every time I think of this story... *sigh*

I'm not going to say everything I want to because that A/N would be too long but I want readers to keep in mind this is BEFORE Kikyo has the weird visor thing over her eyes... I wasn't sure in the beginning if she would or not so I was neglecting that in her previous description but it is now official that Kikyo has a pair of normal eyes (readers will understand why as the story progresses).

Thank you everyone for reading! :)