Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. I just own my OC, Hitomi.

Chapter 11: Killua x Illumi x You're My Friend!

Her eyes were turning red, and Hitomi was struggling to keep them in their natural color. She couldn't interfere in their battle, or Gon would be disqualified. Then, he would be really, really angry.

But, Gon was really injured and...

CRACK!

Now his arm was broken, and did not help in her current situation.

"Hey..." she murmured. "If I can't hold back, don't even dare to try and stop me."

"I feel the same as you," Leorio said, clenching his fists. "Don't stop us, Kurapika."

"Me? Stop you?" Kurapika said as his eyes shifted briefly in red "Don't worry, I feel the same as you, guys."

She looked at Killua, he wore an expression of indifference. But, she also could tell he was sweating a little bit. That proved that he suffered as much as them.

The battle continued a little longer, and Gon had not yet surrendered. Hanzo removed from his sleeve a knife and threatened him.

"Next time, I'm not just going to break one of your bones, I'm going to make it so you would never be able to stand or walk!" he told him. "But, that's the last thing I want to do, so please give up."

"That's doesn't sounds good," Gon said, seriously. "I don't want to have my legs chopped off. But I don't want to give up either. Let's find a solution!"

Hanzo was taken back by his words.

"Y-You..." he murmured. "What makes you think you're in any position to negotiate?!"

That comment caused the girl's eyes turn back into its natural color again, in surprise. The atmosphere suddenly enlightened, leaving all people there surprised at the simple boy's words.

However, both Killua and Hitomi jumped when they heard a snicker. They turned around to see Hisoka, doing his best to hold his laugh.

"Hisoka's laugh is scarier than Hanzo..." she murmured.

"You're right..." he agreed.

Hanzo, on the other hand, got angrier.

"If you're going to make a fool of me, I'll cut you up for real!"

"Yeah, but still, I'm not going to give up, no matter what. If you cut me up, I'll probably bleed to death," Gon said, before looking at the referee. "And if he kills me, then he's the one who fails, isn't that right?"

"Y-Yes," he muttered

"See? That wouldn't be good for either of us, would it?"

Both Killua and Hitomi tried to look away from the laughing Hisoka, before looking at Gon and Hanzo once again.

"What's going on?" Killua said, surprised. "Nothing has really changed, yet the tense atmosphere of just a moment ago is totally dispelled just like that."

"I could never tell that Hanzo could be that taken out of guard because Gon's simple mindedness," Hitomi smirked. "He's just too natural but unpredictable."

Now, Hanzo was really annoyed. He pressed his knife against Gon's forehead, causing a bit of blood ran down his face. He tried to threaten him for a while, but it was fruitless. Tired, he turned around, before putting back his weapon in its place.

"I give up. I can't kill you and I can't think of a way to make you surrender. I'll try again in the next round," he declared.

Everyone was surprised, but relieved somehow. Gon, on the other hand, wasn't.

"It can't end like this! It's not fair! The two of us should come up with some other way to fight each other!"

Hitomi facepalmed.

"Are you an idiot?!" Hanzo snapped. "You're never going to surrender, no matter how we fight, right?!"

"But I'm not happy winning like this!" Gon shouted. "That's why we have to think together on something!"

Killua and Hitomi just sighed.

"In short, you want me to fight you in the earnest, even though I'm ready to forfeit this match," Hanzo said, seriously. "But not only that, you want me to help you think some way that'll let you win the way you want. Is that about right?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling.

Using all his strength, Hanzo hit Gon, causing him to fall unconscious to the ground. Because of that, they took him to the infirmary.

"Idiot," Hitomi rolled her eyes.

Fights passed by quickly. Hisoka won against Bodoro and Hanzo against Pokkle. Bodoro and Leorio's match was postponed because he was really hurt. The following one was Pokkle vs. Killua.

The two of them glared at each other.

"Ah, I give up," Killua said, surprising Pokkle. "Sorry, but I just don't feel like fighting you. Congratulations."

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "I knew it..." she thought.

The next match was Killua and Gittarackur's one, which worried the girl just a little bit.

"Be careful," she told him, "He's really dangerous."

"Yeah, I know." he smirked. "I'll win. It'll be fun"

"Just let's hope you stupidness doesn't kill you," Hitomi sighed.

Once the match began, Killua put himself in a fighting stance, like a cat stalking its prey would do. However, the boy paled when he heard his enemy talking.

"Kill," he said.

Automatically, Killua stopped his attack. Her eyes flew open because of the nickname that only a few amount of people would use to call him.

"I guess you never realized," the guy said.

The enemy began to remove the needles from his head, causing it to change radically. His hair grew up and turned black. He raised his face, letting the others see his emotionless, black eyes.

"B-Brother..." Killua murmured, still in shock.

That was a big shock for the others who were there too. Killua had a brother.

"Yo," The guy raised his hand in greeting. "I heard you stabbed Mom and Milluki."

"So?"

"Mom was in tears, you know?"

Leorio glared at Killua. "I can't blame her, after being treated like that by her own son. He's a horrible brat, after all-!" he said.

"She was so happy." Killua's brother said, making Leorio fall into the floor. "She said he was so happy that her little boy was all grown up."

Nobody could help but sweatdrop at the unexpected comment. The girl looked, amazed, at both brothers.

"Now I can understand why Killua tried to escape..."

"But she was still worried about you being out on your own. So, she asked me to check up on you," he continued. "But what a coincidence. I never knew you wanted to become a Hunter. I'm here because a Hunter License would be useful in my next job. Sorry for hiding for you, but what about you?"

"It's not like I wanted to become a Hunter," Killua replied. "I just felt like taking it."

"I see, I'm glad to hear that. Then I can give you this advice without any worries," he said, in the same tone of voice as always. "Kill, you'll never make a good Hunter. Your calling is as an assassin."

Just like the others, Hitomi fighted to not jump in there and hit that Gittarackur guy. She could see that, little by little, Killua's face was being covered by more and more cold sweat.

"There's no light in you, just darkness." he said.

"You're wrong..." Killua thought

Meanwhile, Hitomi's fists clenched tightly. Her eyes were struggling to remain violet.

"You have no desires or ambitions of your own."

"He's wrong," Hitomi thought, gritting her teeth.

"The only thing that makes you happy is when you're involved in someone's death."

"You're wrong!" Killua shouted, but he was not the only one to do so. He looked at Hitomi, who had just said the same thing at the same time as him.

She was shaking in anger and seemed to fight against her own impulses. She sighed and took a step back, with her fists still clenching.

"Hitomi... Are you defending me for real?" Killua thought, in disbelief.

Gittarackur, in the other hand, just chose to ignore her.

"No, it's true," he said, Killua gritted his teeth, "because you were brought up to be this way by our dad and myself. You know it as well as anybody."

Hitomi took a step closer again, but Kurapika put a hand over her shoulder to stop her.

Killua, however, gazed at his feet.

"It's true. I'm not interested in becoming a Hunter," then, he raised his head again and fixed his gaze in his brother. "But do have something I want."

"No, you don't," he said, confident.

"I do!" he exclaimed. "There are things I desire."

Despite his flat expression, he somehow looked surprised. "Then tell me, what is it?" he asked.

He stared at the floor again, avoiding eye contact with everyone, including Hitomi. He knew that she was also waiting for an answer.

Somehow, he was afraid. How would she react if he said something like that?

"It's not the time to be wavering," he thought, determined.

"You don't really want anything, do you?" his brother said, after a while.

"I do," he glanced at the girl for a second and then looked at his brother. However, his gaze got stuck in his feet another time. "I want to be... friends with Gon and Hitomi."

Hitomi was taken aback at those words. She would have never thought that Killua could ever in his whole life say that, let alone in front of her.

"Friends, huh?" she blushed at the thought in embarrassment. As far as she remembered she had never have a friend of her age.

A tiny smile crossed her face and looked at the floor.

"I don't wanna kill anymore. I'm sick of it," Killua admitted. "I wanna be friends with Gon and Hitomi, like a normal kid. I wanna hang out, like a normal kid. Just be normal."

Hitomi scratched the back of her neck, unsure of what to do or say.

"That's impossible. You can't possibly make a friend."

Those words made the girl's smile vanish in the air and glare at him. Her embarrassment disappeared and her anger returned once again.

"You can only see other people in terms of whether or not you can kill them. That's how you were raised," that guy was annoying the hell out of her. "You're just confused because you've never met someone like them and don't know what to do. It's not that you really want to be their friend."

"You're wrong..." he said in a soft voice. His blue eyes shone with sadness.

"If you stay with them, eventually you'll get the urge to kill them, just to see if you can actually do it. Because you're born a killer."

"Maybe you're right. But I would never kill neither Gon nor Hitomi," he admitted. "I want to be their friend, and I'd never kill a friend."

The girl couldn't take it anymore, her patience reached its limit. She took a little bit of air and exhaled it to calm herself. Hitomi then took a step forward.

"If fed up with that guy!" she exclaimed. "And with you too! Man, saying that 'I want to be friends' stuff..."

Both of the brothers looked at her, surprised at her sudden appearance. However, she went on seriously.

"Killua, I honestly could care less if this guy is your brother or not, but he's a jerk. If he were a good brother, then he would have to know you better than that."

"You again," Gittarackur said, glaring coldly at her. "What did you mean with you are fed up with us?"

"Exactly what I said, dumbass. First, you messing up with his head," she said. "And second you, Killua, saying that you want to be friends with us...!"

Killua looked down, feeling a little depressed at her words.

"You already are our friend, big idiot!" she completed her sentence.

He was surprised at that statement. He looked at her, in amazement and shock. Hitomi, again, looked at her feet.

"At first... I just thought of him as an annoying kid, nothing more, and I pretended to dislike him. However, as we spend time together, I started to forget that bad feeling about him and I felt another thing like... like friendship," a warm smile formed in her lips, looking at the shocked boy. "I know that sounded stupid, but it's true. Also, I'm sure that Gon would have said the same thing. You're already part of us, Killua."

Gittarackur was as shocked as Killua, although he didn't show any expression. He placed a hand on his chin and began to think.

"That's a problem. So Hitomi and Gon already consider you a friend, huh?" after a while, he raised a finger. "Okay, then. Guess I'll have to kill them."

Everyone's eyes widened, including the white-haired boy's ones. He struggled to move, but no muscle replied. Something was holding him back.

"An assassin doesn't need friends," he declared, taking out four needles. "They only get in the way."

It looked like he was going for Hitomi first, whose eyes glowed intensely in red, as she held a dagger tightly. As soon as Gittarackur started to walk towards her Kurapika stood in front of his sister with his eyes the same color as her, followed by Leorio and other participants, with the intention of protecting the kid.

"Move," he said, coldly.

"As if," Leorio said, browsing a knife. "We will protect Hitomi and Gon, no matter what."

The boy was about to attack. However, Kurapika spoke quickly.

"You said you needed a license, right?" he said, making Gittarackur stop. "If you kill any of us, you'll fail the Exam and Killua would pass automatically."

He placed a hand on his chin, thinking. Finally, he raised his finger again, indicating he had the answer to his own question.

"I know! I'll pass first and then kill Hitomi and Gon."

Killua's face turned as pale as snow and more sweat ran down his face. The guy asked the president if it was allowed, said that it was correct.

"Did you hear that, Kill? It looks like in order to save your friends, you've got to defeat me. Can you fight me for a friend? You can't do it," he turned around and began walking towards his younger brother. "Because what's more important to you at this moment is whether or not you can defeat me or not, not your friends. And you know the answer already. 'I can't defeat my brother', 'Never go against a superior opponent', I've told you that many times before, haven't I?"

He extended his hand, and instantly Hitomi remembered her fight against Gittarackur. However, Killua didn't move. He didn't touch him. He just spoke.

"I give up," he muttered. "I lose, Illumi."

Everyone was surprised at his reply, while only Hitomi frowned. There was something about him that was nowhere close to normal. He was easily scared.

As if the Killua she knew had vanished into thin air.

"Oh good. No need to fight now then," Illumi put a hand in his brother's shoulder, still feeling Hisoka's killing glare. "I was kidding, Kill. I was never actually going to kill them. But the way you were talking talking was so unexpected, I was just a bit concerned. So I had to test you. My heart was racing there, you know. I'm glad we finally got that cleared up."

After that, he got closer to his ear and whispered something terrible: "You're not qualified to have friends. There's no need for them, either," he said. "Just listen to our dad and myself and do the job as before. And when the time comes for you to get a Hunter License, I'll let you know. But for now, you don't need one."

Like that, Killua lost his soul.

Hitomi and the others looked at the boy, who was walking away. Finally, he leaned himself in a wall. She ran towards to him, followed by Kurapika and Leorio.

"Killua," Kurapika called him.

Then, Hitomi furrowed her eyebrows. His eyes were just... lifeless. They were empty, dull, and they weren't icy blue anymore, they were the darkest shade of blue she had ever seen in her life.

"Come on," Hitomi grabbed his shoulder and shook it. But no avail. "Wake up, Killua."

Even though Kurapika and Leorio tried talking with him, nothing happened. He just stayed there, motionless.

The girl gritted her teeth. In a way, it was sad for her.

A while later, the match between Leorio and Bodoro started. The two were positioned facing each other, ready to fight.

"Start!"

Before anyone could move, blood was already spilled. A hand stabbed Bodoro, before it was withdrawn. The man limply fell into the ground.

Hitomi just watched her friend, whose pale face was stained with crimson blood. His empty, lifeless eyes matched with it perfectly yet in a terrible way.

The girl, in shock, noticed him walking by her and going to the door. She didn't turn around, but heard how it closed itself along Killua's departure.

Killua was gone and, maybe, forever.

"It can't end like this..."

All of sudden, she turned around and ran after him as fast as she could. After a few seconds, she found Killua.

He stood there, just glancing at her. His eyes had already lost the shine they used to have.

"Killua! Where the hell are you going?!" she yelled.

Claws approached her. They stopped there, pressing against her chest but without piercing her skin. Hitomi just stayed here, looking at him fearless. His blue eyes regained their usual bright, but she could see confusion in them.

"Good, he's waking up, I guess," she thought.

Instantly, he withdrew his claws and stared at her. He looked like he remembered what happened, because he directed his gaze to his feet.

"Why didn't you dodge it?" he asked, in a soft voice.

"Because I trust you," she said, making him look at her. "You said that before, you'd never kill a friend."

He was taken aback. He stood there, motionless.

"You didn't answer my question," she said. "Where are you going?"

"Home," he murmured.

"Feeling homesick, aren't you?" she joked lightly, before getting serious once again. "Come on, Killua, we both know you hate being there. So, why?"

Killua didn't said anything. Hitomi clenched her fists.

"You know what? Go. I can't hold you back, but I can come after you," she said. "And I will."

"Don't be stupid!" his eyes flew open in worry. "They will kill you."

"It's go or die," she answered, solemnly looking at him. "If I don't go after you, the guilt of not going will kill me."

Killua just looked at her for a couple of seconds. He hid his eyes behind his bangs and started to run away.

"I don't deserve this, Hitomi," he thought. "I don't deserve friends like you and Gon."

And the door closed behind the boy.

Hitomi was furious and her eyes were shining in the brightest tone of scarlet you could've ever seen. She kicked the door of the place where they had been in while taking the Exam.

Bodoro had been taken to the hospital, but died shortly after, as they told her.

She stood in front of Illumi, who glanced at her with cold and inexpressive eyes.

"I'm never, never going to forgive you," she told him.

"Why is that? I just did what a good brother does," he replied. "Leading his way."

"Good brother? Yeah right!" she yelled. "You messed up with his head, made him kill Bodoro and obligated him to fail the Exam! You're just leading his way to darkness."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Anger consumed all of her mind, as the adrenaline made her have the strength enough to kick him in the belly and make him crash with the wall.

"You were the one who made him kill him!" she yelled. "His disqualification is not justified!"

She was about to make her way towards him once again, but Kurapika's strong grip on her shoulder made her unable to do so. Hitomi looked at him and scoffed, looking away.

"Still, I feel the same as her," Leorio told Netero.

"I agree with both," Kurapika added. "Killua's disqualification was totally unfair."

"We can talk about this after the orientation," Netero concluded, stroking his long beard.

The door opened in an aggressive way. Gon made his way to Illumi, and glared at him, furiously.

"Apologize to Killua," he said.

"Why?" he asked.

"You don't even know what you did wrong? Then you're not qualified to be his brother."

Illumi shot a look to Hitomi, who was glaring at him. Even though she had just calmed down a little, she was still furious about that Killua's stuff.

"Are there any qualifications to be a brother?" Illumi asked.

Angered, Gon grabbed Illumi's arm and threw him upwards. "You don't need qualifications to be friends with someone either."

The boy looked at the door.

"We're going after Killua," he said. "You don't have to apologize now, so just take me where he went."

"What're you going to do?" Illumi asked.

"What else? I'm gonna bring him back!"

"You make it sound as if he was kidnapped," he said. "He walked out of here on his own free will."

That's when Hitomi's patience reached its limit.

"You are the one who made the Killua we knew walk out of our lives, you jerk!" she shouted.

Because of her comment, Gon looked at her friend. After that, the president tried to explain the situation to the boy.

"Actually, we were discussing that very thing, Gon. In fact, Leorio and Kurapika logged a formal complaint. Hitomi did too, but not that formal precisely..."

She scoffed and looked away.

"They all felt that his disqualification was unjustified, and we're trying to get to the bottom of it," Netero said. "Right now, Hitomi was about to express her opinion."

Hitomi nodded her head, and directed her gaze to the ground.

"Since he fighted Illumi, I noticed Killua was acting a little strange. Even when I tried to talk with him his eyes... were dull. He didn't talk to anyone and, the most strange thing, is that he gave up because he was scared. The Killua we all know would never do that," she confessed. "Also, when I tried to talk to him about, well... that, he tried to kill me too."

Everyone, except of Killua's brother, looked at her in shock about the last thing. She raised her gaze and glared at Illumi, still in anger.

"That's why I can think about one thing: Killua was being controlled. Illumi himself said 'Never go against a superior opponent', before Killua gave up, it could be the command given at him that time for him to not fight someone stronger than him," she concluded. "Then, why couldn't be that Illumi gave Killua the order to kill Bodoro so he could fail the Exam? I think it's logical to reach that conclusion."

When she finished taking, Kurapika stood up.

"During the match against the so called Gittarackur it became clear to us that Killua was not himself. He could've had been under the influence of hypnosis that resulted in his action," he summarized his sister's words. "Typically, a person can't be forced to kill even in the deepest hypnosis. But with Killua, killing is normal to him. It's not a surprise if he couldn't restrain himself, excepting the instances where a friend of his, like Hitomi, is the victim. That's why he could have hold back."

"The situation gets complicated because it happened during my match with Bodoro. It could've looked like he was trying to help me pass the Exam," Leorio said. "Then in that case, the one who gets disqualified should be me and not Killua."

"In any case, Killua did not act in his own accord," Kurapika concluded. "Therefore, failing him is unjustifiable!"

Netero started to stroke his beard.

"It's all based on assumptions, was no obvious order given to Killua to kill someone. And we can't prove he's been hypnotized either," he replied. "The fact that it happened during Bodoro and Leorio's match isn't much of a problem either. Before the match, I feel that the two of them were even. Bodoro was better at fighting because he had far more experience, but Leorio had more advantage in terms of his flexibility to respond to different situations. Plus Bodoro was badly injured during his previous match against Hisoka. So, Leorio had the upper hand, it wasn't necessary for Killua to help him win."

Hitomi just looked away. That old man was too stubborn.

"This is pointless. There's no point in arguing about it. I know Killua can pass if he tries again. It's too bad he got disqualified this time around, but that's okay," Gon said all of sudden, before glaring at Illumi. "But if you forced Killua to kill people against his will... If you forced Killua to kill such an important friend for him, like Hitomi... Then I'll never forgive you for that!"

"You won't forgive me either?" Illumi glanced again at Hitomi. "So... what will you do?"

"What do you think, big idiot? We're gonna bring Killua back and make sure he never sees you again!" Hitomi jumped in the conversation. "I'll go with Gon, even if he doesn't want to."

Gon looked at her and nodded, determined. A little smirk appeared in Illumi's face and he stretched his hand, like he had done with the other two. After a while, the boy jumped back.

"Well then, everybody. Just like Gon said, everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not they deserve to become a Hunter," Netero said. "You can talk as much as you want, but the Committee will not be overturning any decisions. Killua has failed and all of you have passed."

Hitomi sighed in surrender. It looked like that old man's mind wouldn't change at all after all.

"And now I would like to announce that this year's Hunter Exam is over!" he exclaimed. "On behalf of the Exam Committee, I'd like to congratulate all of you! From now on, you're on your own. You may face many challenges along the way but I want you to believe in yourself and progress forward. All eight of you have passed! You're now licensed Hunters! We have reached the end, you're dismissed."

That's the end of the chapter! I'm sorry if I made it a little too sad, but that's the way that this part is in the anime. Don't worry because, as you all now, Killua will be just fine in the end :)

Also... Oh my god! That's the first time I get that many reviews! So, thanks to Mr. Kohen, Kri, Idea, SoulXHunter, Shira4 andMissAssassinGirl11:) I hope you liked this chapter as well.

There's someone of you that made an suggestion. I'm really grateful for your idea, but I had already thought about Hitomi's Hatsu, which will be revelated later in this story :) And no, it doesn't have to do with fire... Sorry :(

And lastly, I'd like to thank all silent readers out there for... well, reading this story. I wish you liked it as well.

See you all next chapter!