Hunter x Hime: Chapter 11
The Zoldyck Estate
...
"Wow, look at the scenery!" Himeko exclaimed in awe, looking out of the train window. The Hunter exam had officially come to an end a couple of hours ago, and after the celebration Gon, Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio set out to the Zoldyck estate in the Republic of Padokia. Kurapika was able to book the soonest tickets and after rushing through the traffic they managed to make it there on time. The journey was quite long, and except for Gon the others managed to take turns to take a short nap. Gon however remained stubborn and only had his thoughts fixed on getting Killua back, not wanting to imagine what he must be going through.
"Kurapika, pass me some of the snacks!" Gon told Kurapika to which he quietly passed a bag of snacks to Gon, while he had his eyes fixed on the tablet screen. Gon happily took the packet off him, opened it and started sharing it out before he ate his own share.
"Be quiet you two, this isn't a school trip," Leorio scolded the two kids to keep their voices down, noticing that they were getting a couple of odd looks from other passengers. As Killua was unfairly disqualified, Gon didn't want to start using his Hunter license just yet. The quartet decided to buy the economy seat tickets online instead of just getting free first class tickets with their licenses. While the others were talking really loudly, Kurapika was quietly typing away on his tablet. Everyone who passed the Hunter exam was given a small tablet with a really strong network connection along with their Hunter license. The tablet could be used anywhere, had a very long battery life and was conveniently small in size; perfect for a Hunter to use whilst travelling.
"What are you doing?" Leorio asked him, seeing how he wasn't the slightest irritated by them talking loud enough for the other passengers to hear.
"I'm looking more into the Zoldyck family," he answered while reading a big chunk of text. "They seem to be quite famous although no one has seen them before. Even their estate is a tourist attraction."
"At least we won't have any trouble getting there," Himeko commented, thinking how seemingly easy it was for Kurapika to just look up the Zoldyck estate and find it in a short amount of time. There were articles after articles on these notorious assassins, which was indeed very surprising.
"Kurapika, can you try using your license to find out about my dad?" Gon asked, seeing how much he manage to find on just Killua's family.
Hearing this, Kurapika opened a new tab, "Sure, what's his name?"
"Ging," Gon answered, "Ging Freeces!" With a Hunter's license, there should be no problem to find out information about other Hunters, but for some reason Ging's profile was blocked. Kurapika tried refreshing the site, but it was no use at all.
"I can't access the information," Kurapika informed them as he tried accessing the page a couple more times before giving up. For some reason any information about Ging and his whereabouts were off limits to ordinary Hunters. They were starting to doubt that anyone, not even veteran Hunters could access the page.
"Wow Gon, your dad must be someone really important," Leorio said in astonishment, to which Gon just grinned. "That reminds me, I feel like I was kept in the shade about Kou."
"Kept in the shade?" Gon asked in confusion. Since Gon was unconscious during the Himeko's fight with Bodoro, he didn't hear Kurapika's conversation with Killua. He had no clue why Himeko was so abnormally strong for someone her build, he just assumed that she trained a lot in the past to become this strong just like Netero suggested.
"Yeah, it seems like everyone knows something that I don't know," Leorio said in a frustrated voice. It bugged him when everyone around him were talking about something he had no clue about. "She told Kurapika and even Killua knew. Kou is closer to us than she is with Killua, it's making me wonder why she's coming along in the first place when those two are like cat and mouse."
"I have a heart too you know," she raised a brow at his rude tone, "besides, I promised to repay him for the information he gave me, and it hurts my pride if I break a promise like that."
"Kou, what do Kurapika and Killua know that Leorio and I don't know?"
"I guess it won't hurt telling you now," Himeko shrugged indifferently. "I was going to tell you sooner or later, so let's just use it as a time pass until we get to Killua's place!"
"You can start telling us about your powers!" Gon pointed out. "You were really strong back then, how long did you train?"
"I never actually trained Gon." Himeko started telling the two everything she had told Killua and Kurapika. From her clan's massacre, to her being sold into a research lab by human traffickers, she didn't miss out one, single detail of her story. However the more she told them about herself, the more unbelievable the story started heading. First of all the news that she was from a noble clan was more than enough to shock Leorio, especially coming from someone like Himeko who didn't display any lady-like traits. But following the story about her families murder, and an illegal human research project the story just got a whole lot crazier.
"You were sold into a research lab?" Leorio asked in shock, to which Himeko could only nod silently. She didn't want to show it, but the fact that she had to hold down one of her shaking hands with the other showed the others how frightening the experience must have been for her. She was a rational thinker, she liked to think more than fight and that alone was one of the reasons she managed to live so long. If she just ran into fights without thinking first, she wouldn't be alive right now. Other than that, they knew for a fact that although she always tried to put up a tough exterior, she was still only a child.
"Hundreds of children were sold to a team of researchers to try out a new drug," she began to explain. Losing your family all in one night was one thing, but having all kinds of nasty drugs tested on you was something they couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Drug?" Leorio questioned, not liking where this was heading towards. Putting two and two together, he had already figured out that this drug she was talking about must've resulted in her inhumane strength, but because of the medical knowledge he had, he knew that something like would come with a heavy price. Nonetheless, he wanted to keep listening to her, and this drug she was given.
"Yeah, I believe it was called B-2405," she answered, recalling the exact name of something she came across years ago. Just thinking about injections made her feel uneasy. "I'm not sure what it stands for, but it's supposed to alter your DNA and make you stronger, or at least that's what I think."
"B-2405, huh? I think I've heard of it before," Leorio told her. "I thought it was just a rumour, but I heard about an experiment that went horribly wrong, it killed most of the test subject. The drug was simply too strong even though it was given to them in very small dosages. The side effects were too overwhelming for most of them too handle. But I thought it was a rumour, I didn't think it would be true." Leorio's wide knowledge on this subject impressed Kurapika, Himeko and Gon. He said he wanted to become a doctor, and it seemed like he was well informed when it came to the medical field. He was very serious about his career path after all, so it was no surprise at all. Something he believe to be a simple myth turned out to be true, and although he didn't want to imagine what such a drug could do to a body, he couldn't help but be curious. Himeko said the drug was supposed to enhance your strength by tenfolds after altering your DNA. In the medical field, such techniques were too advanced so he was interested in how this drug actually worked and how it was made in the first place. That aside, ethical issues were enough reason for such experiments to be banned by the government, but then again this was an underground research facility.
"You're right, less than one hundred children actually survived the side effects," Himeko stated, "I just happen to be one of them."
"What would happen to them afterwards?" Gon asked not seeing the point in this horrible experiment. If more children died than actually survive, it meant that this experiment failed very badly, but at the same time after seeing the extends of Himeko's abilities he couldn't deny the fact that it did work on her for some odd reason. It could just be dependant on the individual's genetic material, and everyone who survived, including Himeko had some sort of superior gene compared to the others that made them live through the experience. Of course Gon wasn't able to comprehend that much, only Leorio and Kurapika were able to come up with a logical explanation, but that didn't change Gon's curiosity.
"They would be trained until they were strong enough to be sold into a wealthy family as bodyguards," she continued to explain. "Just a handful of us would be more than enough to serve the mafia."
"The Royal Beasts," Kurapika added, "I don't know much about them, but they are elite bodyguards that work for the wealthy in the background."
"Hey Kurapika, try finding information on the Hunter website," Leorio suggested. Hearing this, Kurapika didn't hesitate to type 'Royal Beasts' into the search box. Surprisingly, there were a few matches of which some where not even related to what they were trying to find. However, hidden in a list of articles was one that stood out.
'Research facility burnt down.' Himeko immediately pointed at that specific article as it stood out to her the most. Not just that, the article was from three and a half years ago, so it matched the date she was able to escape. It talked about an isolated research laboratory that was abandoned for decades. With no civilisation around for hundreds of kilometres, no one paid attention to the facility and this was most likely the reason why. The facility was found in ashes, and there were quite a lot of human fragments discovered at the site. Since Kurapika was using a site for Hunters, he could easily access a list of victims that were identified in the piles of ashes. Most of them were unfamiliar to her, especially since back then her own well being mattered the most to her. However, she spotted one boy who seemed oddly familiar. She recognised that youthful, freckled face and wavy, reddish-brown hair. Akira Nakae; a name she completely forgot about, but once she was reminded of it she started to feel sick in the stomach. She couldn't remember why, but there was this feeling of guilt that crept up her spine seeing his name in the list of deceased. Maybe it was the fact that she recalled seeing him and that he didn't managed to escape like she did.
That was all there was though, there was no information about the drug, any known antidotes or specialists and most importantly, no one knew who created the drug and why. "It would have been too good to be true!" Himeko sighed in disappointment.
"Seems like the experiment is still kept very secretive and confidential that even Hunters can't access the information," Kurapika concluded.
"Have you experienced any side effects yet, Kou?" Leorio continued to ask her questions he just couldn't keep to himself. After all, he wanted to know the dangers of this superhuman drug.
"I don't really like using my strength to fight, so I haven't experienced and after effects," she started off, "but when we were given the dosages, light side effects included nausea, high fevers, vomiting, headaches and dizzy spells, so nothing serious. However, as they increased the dosages, these became a lot worse and there were a lot more serious complications," she continued to explain and then began listing all the side effects she had seen in other test subjects. "Heartburn, coughing up blood, chronic muscle pain and abnormal heart rhythms were present in most. A lot of children died of heart complications and strokes, but most children killed each other."
"Killed each other?" The three listeners were in shock.
"For some reason a lot of the children just lost control. They weren't themselves anymore; it's as if their DNA was completely altered. They became blood thirsty beasts."
"That's awful!" Gon exclaimed in horror, imagining that Himeko could have ended up that way too.
"I was able to escape along with some of the other children, however I don't know where the other children are right now or what they might be doing." Himeko said. Putting her aside, the other children who were stuck with her would have had a different fate if they weren't sold into research. They'd be in school, most of them would have become geniuses while others would have skipped class. They would have been like ordinary children, so a couple of needles was more than enough to change that. For her on the other hand, not much would have changed. Sure, she wouldn't have been as strong as she was right now, but thinking about it for a moment, she would have still had the same goal; to find the people who turned her own household into a graveside. She wouldn't have dared to go anywhere near the Hunter exam, but that wouldn't have stopped her from trying to find a different way to catch the culprits.
"If a lot of higher ups are being quiet about this, then there is a chance that the research is still going on to create even stronger super humans," Leorio informed them. He had a point there. "If they have a lot of supporters, no matter how messed up the research is and no matter how unethical it might be, it would still be going on. They probably have a lot of wealthy people backing them up with their money, so all the government can do is keep quiet and prevent the information from being leaked out to the public. If it did leak, it would cause an uproar!"
"That is indeed true," Kurapika agreed with him, "although the government likes to look like a friend to the public, it doesn't change the fact that a lot of dirty work happens behind the scenes."
"Do all wealthy people have those bodyguards?" Gon asked in slight confusion, "I mean Kou is also from a wealthy background, but she didn't have them."
"This is a really touchy and controversial topic, so not everyone would even dare to support unethical research. It's most likely underground bosses and the mafia supporting and investing into these guards," Kurapika continued to explain. "In other words, this research should be illegal and banned for that matter, but the government can't do much about it other than staying quiet about it."
Although he wasn't exactly satisfied with the answers he got, he still had to put up with those. Kurapika and Leorio were just messengers, they told him everything they could conclude from whatever Himeko had told them so he couldn't attack them. Changing humans against their will and then selling them off into a stranger's household like some sort of guard dog was one of the cruelest things he had ever heard of. But since Himeko still looked slightly agitated from the conversation, Gon decided to drop it there. After finishing the conversation on Himeko, Kurapika once again typed away on his tablet.
"What are you looking at Kurapika?" Gon asked.
Kurapika momentarily stopped typing to look at him before answering, "The date for the annual Yorkshin City auction."
"Why, is there something you want to buy?" Leorio asked.
"No, but they will definitely go to steal," he answered, remembering what Hisoka had told him after their battle, "They will be there!"
"By they, do you mean the Phantom Troupe?" Himeko asked to which Kurapika nodded.
"After the match, I met up with Hisoka who told me that they'll be there," he explained, and that was when Leorio remembered Kurapika excusing himself to go to the toilet. Kurapika did take quite long, so Leorio assumed he got lost looking around the large building, but it turned out that he was talking with Hisoka.
"Hisoka?" Leorio asked in disbelief, "You actually trust that bastard?"
"I think Hisoka might be telling the truth," Himeko confessed, "He even told me about seeing my brother a couple years ago," she told them about her own encounter with Hisoka just a while ago, "Hisoka is looking for entertainment through us. He definitely wants to see Kurapika go against the Phantom Troupe and watch from a distance, but you should definitely think twice about it Kurapika. Leorio is right, we are talking about Hisoka here."
"No, I decided that I will go no matter what," he interjected before they could talk him out of it further, "I've been waiting for this chance, and I won't let it slip away." Kurapika was more determined than ever, but looking at him like this, the other three could only worry. He may be consciously starting to dig his own grave and not be able to get out of it once it's too late.
"What are you planning to do, Leorio?" Himeko asked, trying to change the subject. "You got your license after all!"
"Me?" He asked, before he got the point after looking at Kurapika's darkened expression, "I will apply for Medical school. Now that I have a Hunter license, I don't have to worry about the cost anymore. I just have to study for the test." Hearing how determined Leorio was, the mood amongst the four finally brightened up again after all the serious talks. They were all fixed on their own goals. Gon was still going after his father, Himeko needed to find her brother, and she knew the first place to look was the residence of the Inoue side clan. Leorio has his license, so all he had to do was burry his nose into books and start studying, while Kurapika had to find a way to take part in the underground auctions that were going to take place in September. Right now however, they all had the same goal in mind; they had to find and bring back Killua.
The crew arrived at the Republic of Padokia and took a tour bus to Kukoroo mountain. Luckily for them, there were tour buses going to Killua's estate. Being friends with someone from an infamously famous family sure had its advantages. All the Zoldycks needed now was a little gift shop in front of their estate that sold t-shirts and keychains with the phrase 'I heart Zoldycks' on it. The bus stopped at a large stone wall, and the tour guide got out of the bus followed by all the tourists. She started going over a brief history of the Zoldycks, and how no one has ever seen them. Apparently even a single photograph of them could sell for millions, making Leorio wonder why no one had ever told him about it before. But then again it raised the question; if a mere picture of them was worth millions, how much would their heads be worth?
While she was busy talking, two men marched towards the stone wall and a small wooden door by it. Judging by their expressions, they weren't there for a friendly visit, and they definitely weren't going to be satisfied with a Zoldyck t-shirt either. They meant business. "How do you know these infamous assassins even exist if you haven't seen one before?"
"Touché!" Himeko thought. After all, no matter how dumb the men looked, he did have a very smart point. But then again, she's seen, touched and even smelled Killua, so he did exist. "Killua was running around all over the place so plenty of people should've have seen him!"
"We'll put an end to this urban legend," the other man declared, before they both marched towards a little hut in front of the stone wall. No kids, that was not a gift shop, it was a stake out for the watchman, who turned out to be an ordinary old man. The old man was trying the stop the two from entering, but all they did was snatch the keys off him and push him to the ground before confidently storming in through the small, wooden door.
"Jeez, now I'm going to get shouted at for feeding Mike at odd hours," the old man sighed. A couple of moments later, screams were heard followed by complete silence. The rest of the tourists watched intensely and were shocked when a huge hand dropped off two sets of human bones through the small wooden door. Everyone ran back inside the bus and headed back down the mountain except for the four Hunters who remained to bring their friend back.
Once the tour bus was finally gone, the old man got out a broom stick and started cleaning out the mess Mike made. Seeing this, Gon used the opportunity to approach him, "Excuse me, do you work here?" he asked the old man.
He was surprised to see that people still remained behind even after all that fiasco, "Yes," he answered, closely analysing the strangers. He remembered seeing these four in the crowd, so he was very sure that they would have left Kukuroo mountain with the rest of the tourists, but seeing how they stayed behind only interested him further, "and who might you all be?"
"We are friends of Killua," Kurapika told him.
"Young Killua's friends?" he questioned in disbelief, "That's quite the rare occasion, he has never brought back any friends."
"With his brother acting the way he does, I wouldn't be too surprised either," Himeko pointed out, "That's besides the point, we were wondering whether we could see him."
He looked at the four strangers who claimed to be Killua's friends once again, and for some odd reason just the determined looks on their faces was enough to convince him. However, knowing how strict the Zoldyck household was, he tried to think of a way for them to get inside without getting eaten by Mike. With just one absurd idea in his mind, he invited the four into his little hut and informed them that he'd try and phone the butler's residence. He picked up the phone sitting on his desk before dialling the numbers, and then waited for someone to pick up.
"This is Zeboro speaking," he answered the phone as soon as someone picked up on the other side. "I have four of Master Killua's friends here who want to see him." Following this, Zeboro was just quietly agreeing to whatever the person on the other line said. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you," he said before putting down the phone. Gon and the others saw the disappointed look on his face, meaning the phone call was unsuccessful. "I'm really sorry, but I couldn't get permission from the head butler."
"I want to try," Gon immediately protested, not wanting to take no for an answer. Zeboro couldn't help but sigh before dialling the number and handing the phone over to Gon. After two rings, someone picked up on the other line.
"Hello, you've reached the butler's residence," an unfriendly, and deep voice answered. The voice was unemotional, almost robotic even.
"I'm Killua's friend," Gon didn't hesitate to answer, "I want to see Killua."
"I'm sorry, but the young master can't see anyone right now. Go back home." After he turned Gon down, he cut the call on him, leaving Gon frustrated. However, Gon didn't want to give up there and dialled the number once more, only to hear the same person pick up.
"Hello, you've reached the butler's residence," the voice answered in the same, monotonous voice.
"I won't leave until I see Killua!" Gon exclaimed, startling everyone else with his loud voice before slamming the phone receiver back down. He took in a couple of breaths trying to calm himself down. Gon only ended up getting frustrated himself, and seeing him so angry was quite a rare sight for everyone.
"Calm down Gon, taking out your anger on the phone won't solve anything," Leorio calmed him down, "Just try again one more time."
"That won't do anything," Himeko pointed out, "We have to remember who Killua really is. He isn't a kid who lives a couple of blocks away from us, he is the heir to an assassination business," she explained, "Assassin or not, it still doesn't change the fact that his parents and butlers wouldn't want him to interact with normal people like us. You can go to the Inoue clan right now and claim to know their heir, and they would give you the exact same answer."
"Kou has a good point," Kurapika couldn't help but agree with her line of thinking. Maybe it was because she was in a similar position when she was younger, but since he himself couldn't interact with outsiders either while in the Kurta clan, he understood where she was coming from. Asking the butlers, the watchmen, Killua's mother or father won't be any use. Their answer will aways be the same.
"That doesn't matter, we'll just go inside and rescue him!" Gon said stubbornly, making the others sigh. If Gon wanted to do something, he wouldn't take no from anyone, and right now he wouldn't take no from the head of the Zoldycks either.
"I can't let you do that, I can't feed young Master Killua's friends to Mike," Zeboro refused to let them inside. Gon however didn't give up, he did not want to use the Testing Gates since he was against the whole idea of getting tested to see your friends. He was fixed on passing through the wooden door until Zeboro took them inside and decided to show them Mike. Mike was not an ordinary dog, you could say he was reduced to a mere machine. He kills any intruders and Zeboro was merely in charge of cleaning after Mike's mess. Mike's empty, black eyes scared everyone, especially Gon. Unlike Kurapika, Leorio and Himeko, he was someone who could easily get along with any animal, but Mike was different. Mike only lived to kill anyone who wasn't allowed on the premises, there was no other motive in his eyes.
"I told you that going through that door was no option," Zeboro said. "The only way to get through into the premises is through the Testing Gates." Zeboro started explaining the principles of the Testing Gates. They were simply there to test whether you were worthy enough to step into the Zoldyck estate. The smallest gate alone weighed two tons ,and they only got heavier as they got bigger.
"Gon, Kou, stay back. Kurapika and I will try," Leorio said before stepping forward. Gon's injuries were still not completely healed, so he was told to stay back. Why he told Himeko to stand back, she was starting to wonder herself. After all, she was physically the strongest out of all four of them. The two tried to force their way through and open the two ton gate with as much force as they could used, but with little success. The gates didn't move an inch despite their struggles.
"Try pulling!" Himeko suggested and this time, both Leorio and Kurapika tried pulling the gates towards them, but with not much luck either. "Push it up!" No matter what they tried, the gates didn't move an inch from their original position and they started to wonder whether you could actually open the gates. "Let me try!" The pair stepped back and let Himeko try to open it. She took a deep breath before pushing with all her force but surprisingly, even for her the gate wouldn't move an inch.
"Does this gate even open?" Leorio asked Zeboro, but Zeboro just decided to demonstrate to prove that the gates did open.
"I'm a little out of shape," He said while everyone looked at him with awe. The first gate actually opened when he pushed with all his strength. "Master Killua opened the third gate when he came back."
"Third gate?!" Gon asked in surprise, "That would be twelve tons!"
"Gon, it's actually sixteen tons," Himeko and Kurapika could only correct him while sighing at Gon's poor math skills. "Killua must be really strong, I can't even open the first gate," Himeko thought before she looked at the gate once again. For some reason, the thought of Killua being able to handle twelve tons with ease while she couldn't even handle two hurt her pride a little. Even with the effects of an artificial stimulant she was much weaker than him, and it wasn't too long before she asked Zeboro whether she could try again. Zeboro had nothing against the idea, if she was able to open the gates then they could see Killua a little sooner. She walked up to the gate and once again started pushing with all her force, but nothing changed.
"Strength isn't the only thing this gate tests," Zeboro informed them, "It's also testing your ability to control your strength." The old man was speaking wise words that had a lot of truth to them. Even after being given this enormous strength, Himeko didn't train to use it as she wished. She had no time and very little interest to do so anyway. In her opinion, she was stronger than the average man which was more than enough for her, so there was no point in training further, or that was what she once thought. "It seems like you are quite strong, but your abilities to control that strength are lacking. No matter how strong you are, if you can't master your own strength, it could be the death of you."
"I want to try again, just once more!" She stood in front of the gate with a lot more determination, but this time she tried not to just use brute force like she did previously. Zeboro noticed that and watched intently to see whether she could actually open the gate this time. Gon, Kurapika and Leorio also watched, hoping that she could at least move the doors one millimetre. Himeko gave it one final push before the gate open just a little and then shut again. The force of the gate closing caused her to fall back.
"Look, you did better!" Zeboro smiled at her, helping her back up on her feet. "I will train you all to open the gate properly. It usually takes months to do, but I think a couple of weeks is will do for you all."
Zeboro opened the gate again and let everyone through. Gon's eyes were fixed on Mike, who was quietly sitting by a couple of trees staring at them with his empty, soulless eyes. They headed towards a little house that was in the middle of the forest. Zeboro opened the door for them and the interior seemed pretty cozy and simple. Looking around, they could get used to this. Simple furniture and a warm fireplace, what better way to spend the cold winter days than to sit there with a cup of hot cocoa?
As they stepped in and removed their shoes, they were all given a set of slippers to wear around the house. Not expecting much, they slipped into the slippers but tripped and fell flat on their faces when then tried to walk in them. They didn't even manage to make it a metre past the doormat, wondering why they fell in the first place.
"What the hell is this?" Leorio shouted angrily, trying to get back up and failing miserably with the slippers weighing him down.
"Slippers, they weigh twenty kilos each," Zeboro smiled at them innocently, as if any common household would hand their guests twenty kg slippers. He noticed them struggling, and although he too wore the slippers he was comfortably moving to the kitchen to start brewing the visitors a cup of hot tea. He knew that they'd eventually get used to the weight, whether it was going to take hours, days or even weeks, so he didn't bother to help them back up on their feet.
Himeko was the first one to get back up. Having her lightweight running shoes traded for shoes that weighed more than three quarters of her own weight took a while to get used to, but at least she managed a lot better than everyone else. One step at a time, she tried to help her friends back up on her feet before dragging herself inside to help Zeboro.
"Oi brat, don't walk around so casually with those twenty kilo slippers on. We understand that you're a superhuman, but don't rub it in!" Leorio yelled at Himeko, seeing how she was nearly in the kitchen area while he was still lingering around by the front door.
"Training has begun!" Zeboro announced as he handed Himeko the heavy tea set she nearly dropped. He decided to train Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio for the next one and a half weeks, while Gon was told to rest. But determined to rescue his friend, Gon snuck out every night to train himself. Not just for Killua, but the fact that Hisoka and Hanzo helped him pass the exam irritated him too. Injuries aside, he had to get stronger and if no one let him do it during daytime, so he just had to do it during the night while everyone else was supposed to be asleep. Although Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio noticed a missing Gon every night, they decided to keep their mouths closed and watched him every now and then so he wouldn't overexert himself.
"It's a man's thing." Himeko rolled her eyes remembering Killua's words whenever she saw Gon's empty bed at night. In her opinion it wasn't their pride they wanted to protect, it was just their stubbornness that refused to let them give up. But then again, that was her opinion and she was a girl, so maybe there was something that she could only understand if she were a boy. She didn't really care whether the boys agreed with her, but her theory made a lot of sense the more she thought about it. Gon was stubborn, Killua was stubborn, Leorio was stubborn, heck, even Kurapika was stubborn as hell. That was more than enough evidence she needed to prove her point. There was no such thing as a man's thing because women had pride in the things they did too. To her it seemed like they were using that phrase to continue being stubborn, and to stop her from talking them out of something reckless, "Man's thing my ass, just make sure none of you actually get hurt out there!"
Although Zeboro trained all three of them, he split them up into two groups. He wanted Kurapika and Leorio to enhance their strength and become stronger, while Himeko had to learn how to control her strength and use it effectively. Training varied, but they mostly just did a week and a half's worth of house chores with heavy cleaning equipment. Despite all that, they all wore the fifty kilogram suits at all times and the suits were then increased to one hundred kilograms. Zeboro only allowed them to take the suits off when they went to bed.
Ten days later, it was finally time to see the results of the intensive training, or household chores even. The crew along with Zeboro assembled in front of the testing gate. They took their suits off and dropped them on the floor, causing the ground beneath them to shake a due to the excessive weight. Somehow, they just felt a lot more refreshed when they took their suits off, almost as if they were a completely different people, much stronger people for that matter. One by one, they tried to open the gates. Gon and Kurapika were able to open the first gate while Leorio and Himeko managed to open the second gate and they were now worthy to step on the Zoldyck's ground.
Zeboro then pointed towards the mountain where they could find the Zoldyck's mansion, and after thanking Zeboro, they left to bring back Killua. They followed a path Zeboro instructed them to take that would eventually lead to the mansion, and came across a young girl who stood in their way.
"I won't let you go past this line," she declared, drawing across the path. She was the butler apprentice, Canary; the girl that took out a Blacklist Hunter along with his men when she first joined. A mere butler apprentice, and the staff working for the Zoldycks were on a completely different level than her.
Despite her warning, Gon stepped forward and when he took a step past the line, he was beat up and thrown back, away from the line again. Gon got up and tried again, only to be beat up again. Gon spent hours trying again and again but would only get beaten up.
"Why aren't you stopping him, isn't he your friend?" She shouted at Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio who just watched Gon quietly. They did not answer, knowing Gon almost too well, they knew that their words weren't going to stop him. Not only that, if Gon wasn't trying to make an effort to get past the line, they would.
"I won't give up until I see Killua!" Gon stated, as he walked towards her again and stepped over the line. Canary was taken back by Gon's determination, remembering the time when Killua asked her to befriend him. Being under constant surveillance, she had to turn his offer down but looking back now, she had always wanted to befriend him. The fact that Killua had actually found a caring friend, or friends for that matter, who made it this far to help him, made her the slightest bit happy. She was conflicted by the duty to obey the Zoldycks, but she actually just wanted to help Killua reunite with his friends. She was touched by their actions. "Aren't you going to hit me? I stepped over the line," Gon reminded her.
Canary took a couple steps back, "Please save the young Master!" She pleaded before she was knocked out. Leorio was the first person to run towards her, checking whether she was alright. While Leorio, Himeko and Kurapika were caught up in the commotion, Gon looked around to see where the shot came from and saw a pale woman with a sun umbrella and wearing a vintage style, purple dress along with a young boy with short black hair in a black kimono.
"How dare you, you make it seem like we treat Kil badly!" The lady screamed at Canary, in an ear piercing, high pitched voice.
"You…" Gon was angered by her actions, and it didn't take long for them to realise that she must have been one of Killua's relatives, remembering that his older brother called him by the same, ironic nickname.
"I'm sorry for the late introduction, I'm Killua's mother and this is Kalluto," Kikiyo introduced herself, "I've got a message from Kil. He said 'thank you for coming, but I can't see you all right now.'"
Gon wasn't satisfied with the message from Killua, but at the same time that was the only thing they've heard from him in weeks, "Tell Killua that we will stay here for a few more days before leaving!" Gon replied to her message from Killua.
"I will do," she said, turning back around to head back to their mansion. Once Kikiyo left, her youngest child Kalluto was still standing there, staring daggers at Gon. Gon started wondering why he was doing that seeing how he dud nothing to anger him, but they both snapped out of it when they heard Kikiyo's loud voice again. "Kalluto, come back here immediately!"
"Yes, mother," Kalluto mumbled back before following her mother back into the voice. After they left, Leorio decided to tell them Canary's condition after bandaging her, "It's nothing serious, she is just unconscious," he informed them. Seeing how Canary was just trying to recover from the shock, Gon, Kurapika and Himeko were finally relieved.
Back at the Zoldyck mansion, Milluki was still torturing Killua. Although he could easily break free, he willingly acted along these past days to give his older brother some satisfaction, "How dare you hurt mother an I and run away from home?" He asked, continuously whipping Killua to try and teach him a lesson.
Killua opened his eyes and yawned, "You are still not done?" he questioned before he mockingly apologised for hurting him before running away, "I'm really sorry Milluki-nii, I swear I won't do it again." Knowing that he was just playing around, Milluki was just angered even further. Before he could continue giving Killua another beating, their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a phone call from their mother Kikiyo. She informed Milluki that Killua's friends were near the butler's office, only surprising him. Killua who had sharp ears was able to hear what his mother was saying on the other line, and since it was news about Gon and the others, he couldn't help but feel somewhat happy knowing that they came all this way just for him.
Milluki just snickered at the thought of four mere humans having the guts to make it this far into their estate, "You should have just forced them to leave when you had the chance to," he laughed in amusement, after hearing the full story from his mother. However, his laughter was cut short after he heard the sound of iron chains breaking echoing through the basement. He looked at his younger brother, only to see that amused, mischievous face being replaced by a dead serious, threatening look.
"If you touch any of them, I will kill you!" Killua threatened Milluki after pulling off one of his iron chains. Milluki knew that his brother had zero respect for him, but he also knew that Killua would only threaten him if he stepped over the line. Milluki gulped and cut the conversation short. After putting down the phone, Killua's grandfather Zeno entered the room and told Killua he was free to go, to which Milluki threw a fit for spoiling Killua. Killua easily broke free and mocked Milluki for not being sorry about stabbing him before running away. Zeno informed Killua that his father wanted to see him before he made his way out. Once Killua left the cell, Milluki continued to throw a fit about everyone spoiling Killua to which Zeno just replied by telling Milluki that Killua is special. Milluki agreed, admitting that Killua was indeed talented, a lot more talented than even Illumi, but he went on to criticise his weak mentality and mocked his wish to make friends.
During this time, Canary woke up and volunteered to take Gon to the butler's office where they could contact the Zoldyck family directly via phone. Gon asked whether it wouldn't trouble her but she just said it won't. She proceeded to take them to the butler's office. As Gon and the others were going to the butler's office to contact the Zoldycks, Killua headed to his father's room. His father Silva greeted him and told him to come inside and take a seat next to him. Killua felt a little uneasy having a father-son conversation, knowing that the whole family knew about him running away and befriending Gon. He thought his father was going to scold him for disrespecting his mother and going off making friends with strangers, but instead Silva asked him to tell him about his friends and the Hunter exam. Killua quickly became more comfortable to talk about his friends and the events of the exam. They both had a couple of laughs over the ease of the Hunter exam and Gon's naivety but Killua then decided to ask Silva something.
"Dad, do you remember telling us about the Inoue clan?" He cautiously asked his father.
"Yes, I did," he answered, wondering why his son was bringing this up all of the sudden, "what of it?"
Killua didn't know whether he could trust his father or not. After all, he didn't know what kind of relationship he had with the Inoue clan. Silva just didn't want his sons to accept any requests involving the Inoue clan, and he himself didn't accept any either. However, that wasn't enough for him to be sure that they weren't on bad terms with each other. Silva also once told Killua and his brothers to stay away from the Phantom Troupe, but that was because they were exceptionally strong and even he had trouble getting rid of them, and not because he was on good terms with them. He could tell him about Himeko and her brother still being alive, but that might be a wrong move to make. She was a friend of Gon, and if anything were to happen to her Gon would approach the Zoldycks and risk getting killed, especially since Illumi still had an eye out for him.
Seeing how his son just stopped his story midway, Silva figured that he knew more but Killua didn't trust him enough to continue. "I've known their Head for quite a long time. We weren't exactly what you could call friends, but we weren't exactly strangers either. You could say that we looked out for each other in one way or the other," Silva started to explain. "He was quite an eccentric fellow which I liked, but he was quite secretive too. I have been to his estate once before you were born, but I was only able to meet his oldest son who was going to be the next heir. His son was just a few years younger than Illumi, but he was an exceptional child just like you."
Killua knew that Silva wasn't the kind of guy who would go around and make friends with anyone this easily. His grandfather Zeno was more laid back, and Killua would expect him to make a few acquaintances outside their clan, so this conversation made Killua look at his father in a new light. He knew that Silva and the Inoue head were fond of each other for a reason, and he did not want to know the reason as he may regret having asked.
"Why are you asking?" Silva asked, knowing that his son must have come across some kind of information on the clan while he was at the Hunter exam. "Did you perhaps meet someone from the Inoue clan?"
"The youngest child of the Head is still alive and the oldest might also be alive," he tried to keep his answer as vague as possible.
"So, Hachirou's children are still alive? That bastard didn't even tell me he had another child." He then looked at Killua who was quietly staring at the floor. He knew that Killua knew more but decided not to ask, so instead, he decided to change the subject. "Do you want to see your friends one more time?" Killua looked up, surprised and startled by his father's offer. "You don't have to be scared. I realised that you and I are different after you ran away and I can't raise you the way I was raised. If you want to see your friends, I'll allow you as long as you promise me to never betray them."
Killua happily promised his father that he would never betray Gon and with that, he left the room. He came across Kikiyo who tried to convince Killua by telling him that his friends had already left, but Killua shot her a glare before moving past her. He went to the butler's office where Gotoh told him that his friends were on their way and Killua ordered him to inform him immediately when they arrive.
Once Gon and the rest have reached the butler's office along with Canary they met Gotoh, the head butler. He had told them that Killua was on his way and offered to play a game while waiting for Killua's arrival. They decided to play a game of coin tossing where Gon, Himeko, Kurapika and Leorio had to guess which hand the coin landed in. The first few rounds were pretty easy as they managed to guess everything correctly. However, Gotoh decided to make things more serious. If someone gave the wrong answer, they were disqualified and if they all failed, they wouldn't be able to see Killua again. Also, they were given a three second time limit and if they didn't answer in the given time, Canary's life was at stake.
The game of coin tossing got a lot harder than what could be called the practice rounds. Leorio gave the wrong answer at one point, followed by Himeko in the next round and then Kurapika in the following, leaving only Gon behind. Gon requested for a knife to make a cut on his swollen eye and reduce the swelling, which improved his vision before Gotoh continued. He was able to guess correctly for the next few rounds and the game ended with Gotoh and the rest of the butlers giving them a round of applause and apologising for making the threat as it was only meant to be a joke.
"What a tasteless joke." Himeko commented only loud enough for Kurapika and Leorio to hear, to which the two nodded in agreement.
Not too soon after, Killua entered the room and a smile grew on his face as he saw Gon and the others. "Gon!" He exclaimed cheerfully, before looking at the others, "And um…. Kurapika, Reorio and you!"
"What's with the long pause?" Kurapika commented.
"It's Leorio, not Reorio!" Leorio corrected him angrily.
"This 'you' has a name!" Himeko pointed out.
Killua ignored the complaining trio and laughed at the bruises on Gon's face, while Gon pointed out how Killua's face was no better. Some things and people never change, after going through so much during the past couple of days the pair acted as if nothing happened. In a way Himeko couldn't help but envy their mindset. Although she was happy to see Killua again, she still couldn't forget the fact that the butlers just threatened to kill them over a loss in a coin flipping game. It sounded too ridiculous to be true, which made her think about it even more and Kurapika and Leorio shared the exact same thoughts as her.
After their reunion, they eventually decided to leave after bidding Canary and the other butlers goodbye, and took the train back. Whilst on the train, Gon told Killua about everything that happened while they were at the Zoldyck estate, and knowing that this was his house he was talking about, Killua wasn't the slightest bit surprised. In fact, the coin tossing game Gotoh made them play was all too familiar to him. During their conversation Kurapika asked Gon why he didn't use his Hunter license to get the train tickets. Gon explained that a couple of people helped him pass the Hunter exam, including Hisoka who just handed him the badge during the fourth phase. He told them that he did not want to be indebted to him, and will only start using his license after punching Hisoka and returning his badge.
"Do you even know where Hisoka is going to be?" Killua asked Gon, and this was honestly the first time Gon actually started thinking about Hisoka's location.
"Nope, not at all!" Gon smiled, not having a clue on Hisoka's whereabouts.
"Then how are you going to fight him?" Killua started yelling at Gon, "You can only fight him if you know where he is!"
"I know where he will be," Kurapika interrupted him, "In September, there will be an auction in Yorkshin city. Hisoka told me that the Phantom Troupe will assemble there, and it's very likely that Hisoka will be there too."
"So, I guess that we'll be there too in September, right Killua?" Gon asked Killua.
Killua just sighed, knowing that there was no other lead to Hisoka's current whereabouts, "I guess it can't be helped."
"What are you all going to do now?" Gon asked, seeing how they all looked ready to depart once they got to the airport.
"I'm going to find a job as a Hunter to get me into the auction before september," Kurapika answered them. "I've looked into a couple of places that hire Hunters as bodyguards, so for now I'll be going there and seeing if they are currently hiring people."
"I'm going to prepare for my entrance exams before entering medical school." Leorio told them, proudly showing off an application form he managed to fill in, "But I guess I don't mind meeting up in Yorkshin city in september if you three are also going to be there, right Kou?"
"Yeah," Himeko nodded in agreement, "If everyone's going to be there then I guess it's a good opportunity for us all to meet up again. Besides, we can help Kurapika and Gon too while we are at it!"
"What will you be doing?" Gon asked her.
"I'm going to try visiting my relatives from the side clan," she answered, before looking at Kurapika. "I'm not sure if they'll be willing to accept me, but I can just give it a try, right?"
"Right!" Kurapika agreed. He was glad that she decided to visit the other clan after he had told her to, "By the way, do you even know where their mansion is?"
But that was when she realised, "Now that you mention it, I don't," she rubbed her neck sheepishly, making all of them look at her with dumbfounded expressions. She was as clueless as Gon when it came to these sorts of things.
"How are you going to find out?" Leorio questioned her, wondering how in earth they were going to figure out where the Inoue clan lived. According to Himeko, they were a lot more secretive than the Zoldycks, so it was going to be much harder to find them. Himeko then got her Hunter tablet out and started looking more into it.
"I'm going to try finding it on the Hunter website. After all, no matter how secretive we are, the Inoue clan does employ Hunters from time to time to run errands for them," she informed them with confidence.
"Errands?" Leorio raised a brow slightly offended by her statement, "Does your clan think we are your servants or something."
Hearing this, she decided to look up and seriously think about Leorio's question, "Now that you mention it, yes, yes we did actually think that!" She answered his question, which only ended up offending everyone even further including herself. "I'm really sorry, I swear I never actually thought of Hunters as errand boys," she tried to clear her own name, "if I did then I wouldn't have become a Hunter myself." Seeing her so flustered, Leorio just patted her back in amusement, admitting that he was only joking about it, and Kurapika and Gon eventually joined in. Killua didn't laugh as he didn't find the joke particularly funny while Himeko was just sitting there in confused. She then turned back to her tablet and typed away before finally finding the location. "Found it!"
"Really?" Gon asked in surprise. For a mansion that was supposedly really hard to find, Himeko managed to find it quite quickly. But then again, that was because she knew some names Inoues who shifted to the side clan, and knowing that the Heads of the clans would usually request for Hunters, she just tried to look for any jobs one of the previous Heads of the clan made. She eventually managed to end up with their address once she dug in even further. "Where is it?"
"It's in the middle of no where!" She sighed looking at the map. Once again, this was something she expected knowing that her own estate was isolated within the woods too. "I would have to walk quite a lot and there is no transport around there."
"How are you going to get there without getting lost?" Killua asked, remembering how long it took her to find her way back on Zevil island. "You suck at directions."
"Well, it's not my fault that we aren't some kind of tourist attraction," she shot right back at him. "Us Inoues like our privacy, we don't want strangers trying to break in and then kill them with an overgrown watchdog."
"How about we just book the tickets for now?" Leorio asked, trying to bring some peace between the pair. Leorio, Kurapika and Himeko booked their tickets online. Kurapika's flight was first followed by Leorio's and Himeko's flight was an hour later. The only ones who didn't book tickets were Gon and Killua who still haven't decided where they wanted to go or what they wanted to do until September.
"I can show you something you can do on your tablet that might help you get there," Kurapika offered now that he knew how hopeless Himeko really was. She didn't really look like she had much experience with technology either, especially after he saw how she was still using an outdated flip phone and how slow she was when typing something into the search engine.
"Really, you'd do that?" Himeko asked, feeling over the moon after seeing how he was coming to her aid.
"Well, if you are as hopeless at direction as Killua claims you are, we can't just let you search a whole island with no transport for a mansion," Despite being slightly offended by his lack of trust in her skills, Himeko was still more than happy when Kurapika offered to help her. After all, they didn't speak much after the conversation they had back on the ship a few weeks ago and she started getting a hunch that Kurapika was purposely trying to avoid her at times. But before she could hand him her tablet, Killua took it off her lap.
"What was that for?" She asked, but Killua didn't answer and just kept typing something while everyone was quietly looking at him. "Hey! I asked you a question!"
"Be quiet," He cut her off before she could complain even more, "I'm just trying to help you!"
"Jeez, if you wanted to play on it you could have asked first!" She continued complaining, but Killua just ignored her and continued setting something up. Himeko eventually stopped complaining and occasionally tried to peek at what she was doing, only for Killua to cover the screen even further so none of them could see what he was doing. "Don't break it!" She warned him, doubting whether he was actually trying to purposely download a computer virus onto her new device. He continued to ignore her and once he was done, he gave her device back.
He pointed at one of the newly installed icons, "Once you get off the plane, press this icon and turn the GPS on. After it's turned on, it will give you the directions to get to the place. I made it foolproof, so not even an idiot like you wouldn't end up walking around the whole island twice."
"Thanks…. I guess." She was slightly taken back by the fact that Killua just helped her out, and although that sudden act of kindness earned him one point in her good books (previously he was at -35 and now he was at -34), she still was slightly creeped out by his change in behaviour. She tried listing all the possibilities of why he was suddenly so nice, reasons ranging from him having hit his head while he was back at the Zoldyck estate to one of his family members having drugged him into acting creepier than usual. In reality, Killua was just grateful that she joined Gon and others to come and get him back. She could have just set out and gone her own way after the Hunter exam, but she chose not to. But she just thought that anyone would do the same thing, and couldn't just let him go back with a psychopathic older brother. "Don't tell me that you actually like me now!"
"Like hell I would," he immediately found himself denying any weird ideas she got. "Just don't get lost, I don't want us to wait in Yorkshin just because you ended up on the other side of the world."
"Doesn't Killua sound like one of those tsunderes?" Leorio pointed out, before starting to mock his tone.
"Shut it, old man!" Killua yelled at him, as he found himself embarrassed. He may have been brought up as a cold hearted assassin, but when he got complimented or when someone thanked him he can't help but get embarrassed and shy away. It was quite strange, especially since his own family must have favoured him as a child, yet he was still not immune to receiving and dealing with compliments.
"Baka, it's not like I wanted to help you," Leorio mocked Killua in a girly tone, and not too soon after, they started arguing as usual.
Once they arrived at the airport, they promised to meet up again in Yorkshin City on the first of September. Kurapika, Leorio, Himeko and Killua exchanged phone numbers before Kurapika and Leorio bid their goodbyes and left first. Himeko's flight was an hour later, so she decided to stay behind for a little and roam around the airport with the boys.
"What are you two going to do anyways?" She asked them, wondering whether they had finally figured something out. "I mean, you two still have time until September."
"I guess you are right," Gon agreed with her, before turning to Killua hoping he would have a clue on what they were going to do next. "Killua, what are we going to do?"
"We are going to train of course!" Killua started scolding him. "Do you think you can lay a finger on Hisoka when you can't even beat Hanzo?" To make things easier for Gon to understand, Killua picked up a stick and drew two faces on the ground with some distance in between. One was meant to be Hisoka and the next one was Hanzo. He extended a line from Hanzo around ten metres, maybe even more than that and marked that point with an x. "Your level is around here!" He shouted from back there.
"That kinda pissed me off!" Gon muttered offended by Killua's honestly. "Well, where are you in terms of strength then, Killua?"
Killua thought a little, before using the stick to point somewhere a couple of meters next to Hanzo. "I'm so humble!" He grinned proudly, seeing how impressed Gon was, clearly not being close to humble.
"Wow, that means you are nearly as strong as Hanzo!" Gon exclaimed in awe, before looking at Himeko. "What about Kou then?"
"Don't worry, I don't want to know!" She simply didn't care about her ranking and she knew she still had a lot to learn, so she'd rather learn at her own rate. After all, she had all the time in the world. Besides, she knew Killua was going to extend the line an extra ten metres and draw and ugly face right at the end of it and call her that. Just as she expected, Killua started running down further, passed Gon's point, hop over the fence and drew an ugly face with demon horns over there before sending her a picture of it from where he was standing. Then he returned, and putting jokes aside he pointed at a spot between Gon and his own level.
"Around here I'm guessing, she's stronger than you Gon, but still a lot weaker than me of course," he told them proudly. Seeing how he put her down like that, Himeko casually walked up to him, kicked him in the shin and walked right back. "Ouch! What was that for?!"
"Just, I felt like doing that!" She shrugged, smirking at the sight of him in pain. "Aren't you meant to be stronger than me? You should have been able to handle such a weak kick with ease!"
"Why you?!"
Gon didn't hesitate to intervene, "That was mean, Kou!" He pointed out, seeing how Killua was genuinely in pain. "Apologise to him."
Himeko turned to Killua and stuck out her tongue, "Sorry!" She said in a mocking tone. Their conversation was shortly interrupted by an announcement, and the trio stopped arguing to pay attention to what was going to be said.
'Calling passengers for the flight to Kioto.'
"I guess that's my cue to leave," she told them after hearing the announcement. "Make sure to train real hard before we meet again. You don't want to get left behind in my dust, do you?"
"We'll just see about that," Killua happily accepted her challenge.
Gon nodded in agreement, "You too, I will definitely get stronger!" She picked up her rucksack to start heading back inside, but suddenly remembered something. The two boys watched her roam through her overpacked rucksack to find something. "What's wrong Kou?" Gon asked curiously, but then she smiled in satisfaction after she finally found what she was looking for.
"Before I forget!" She threw something at Killua and he caught it. "It's the payment I promised you." He opened up his hand and found a small box of chocolate that was surprisingly expensive. He didn't really expect her to take him seriously and go through the trouble of buying him chocolate, and even if she did he expected her to buy him something much cheaper. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just bought one that appealed to me," she explained after seeing how surprised he was all of the sudden. "Anyways, I'm off."
"Good luck, Kou!" Gon waved as they remained behind and watched her leave.
...
Himeko got off the flight after four hours. She spent four hours sleeping on the plane since she hasn't gotten any proper rest since she started the Hunter exam, but she couldn't help but worry what would happen at the mansion.
After leaving the airport, she turned on the GPS and clicked on the icon Killua told her to click on. It told her to take a taxi to Mount Ataago. According to the information on the tablet, she can take a taxi until she reaches the mountain, but she would have to walk the rest from the mountain. She had enough money for a taxi ride, and took a taxi to the mountain before getting off there. She then looked at the tablet which told her the directions in details. It told her to enter a forest that was right next to the mountain. Thankfully, the directions were quite easy to follow even for someone like her.
After four hours of walking, she finally came across a tall stone wall. She remembered that their mansion also had a tall stone wall surrounding it too and decided to climb over it with caution and then climbed down. This side of the wall looked very different from the side she just came from. The trees were nicely kept, there were fields of flowers that were carefully arranged according to their colours and there was a clean stone path; it reminded her too much of her own estate. She followed the path closely and ended up at another gate after two hours of speed walking with another wall surrounding the place.
"The mansion should be past here if this place was built after the original!" She thought before walking up to the gate and found two guards.
As expected, she was stopped by the pair of guards who were surprised to see a visitor. "Hey you, stop right there!" One of the guards commanded.
Himeko stopped walking, "Of course, I completely forgot that there would be guards around the place," she thought and looked up at the tall, muscular men.
"Who are you?" The other man started interrogating her, "Do you realise that you are trespassing on private property?"
"I'm Himeko Inoue, the youngest child of the Head of the main Inoue household, Hachirou Inoue." She introduced herself, expecting them to let her inside. However, the guards just blinked a couple of times before they started to laugh.
"Main Inoue branch?" One man laughed, "They died in an accident four years ago."
"Listen kid, just because you have black hair and blue eyes doesn't make you part of the Inoues," The other guard explained, trying to keep a straight and serious face.
"What do mere guards like you know about the Inoue clan anyway?" She asked furiously. Whether she liked her house rules or not, she didn't like the fact that two lazy guards who probably didn't even do their job properly looked down on her. "You are employed by higher ups of the clan, but that's about all you would be told. Don't act as if you know anything about the Inoues, you are just our guards and nothing more. Don't assume you are special for being chosen to guard us."
"Kid, we are going to give you another chance to leave on your own." The guards started growing furious hearing Himeko ridicule them. "If you don't, we will kick you out by force!"
"I'm not leaving because I am the daughter of Hachirou Inoue!" She yelled stubbornly, refusing to move an inch.
"You brat!" One of the guards muttered before he raised his hand, but before he could proceed to his her, he was interrupted when the gate opened from the inside.
"What's all the noise about?" A boy asked, stepping out of the main estate. "Is this really how you treat a guest of the Inoue clan? You're portraying us in a bad light."
The guards quickly got on their knees and lowered their head, "We are extremely sorry, young Master."
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to," he continued to scold them, "Apologise to her!" The guards turned around and bowed a couple of times and quietly returned to their positions on either side of the gate. The boy's gaze turned from the guards to Himeko, whose eyes were solely stuck on him.
"Hakuryuu onii-sama….."
A/n - Zoldyck arc done in one chapter. I just summarised most of it since nothing major would have happened even if Himeko was an extra. Off we go to the next OC based arc ;D