CHAPTER 14

"Father, you called for me." A young male voice said from the door.

"Ah, Killua. Come here and take a seat." A tall muscular man with long silver hair sitting on a huge chair turned around and motioned towards a smaller chair on the opposite side of the desk. The older teen, Killua, approached quietly and sat in front of his father with a straight face. "So, do you know why you're here?"

"I suppose I have another job to do." Answered the teen with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, of course, but it's not just any job. You've just turned eighteen and have successfully completed most of your training as an assassin. All that's left is one final task to prove you're ready, which is why the next job is also a test in which you'll have to fend for yourself. Until now you have completed countless jobs on assassination, which have all had a duration ranging from a couple days to a couple weeks. As you already know, there are specific jobs that, even though being rare, take much longer than that. You haven't been sent on any of those until know because they require a certain maturity and a strong mind that only come with experience. A couple hours ago we received a request that is a long term job. I thought about it and have come to the conclusion that you are ready, son."

"Thank you."

"The target is the successor to the throne of Eastern Padokia, who will be chosen sometime during the first half of the next year, as is tradition. You are to infiltrate the royal guard and find out who it'll be before it is announced and kill your target before security tightens around them. This job calls for the ability to constantly keep your guard up and at the same time act like one of them, a great understanding of what develops around you and the judgment to pick allies if need be. It shouldn't be necessary to remind you that your background and real intentions should not be known by anybody. Completing this job will graduate you into an adult in this household and will allow you to immediately become the head of the family should something happen to me. It's a difficult task, but I trust you will be successful."

"I will not disappoint you, I am ready." Killua answered with determination. Father, I will make you proud.

"You are dismissed." The grown man said with a slight smirk, to which the younger one stood up with a slight bow and left with a serious face. He walked down the hallway and saw from the corner of his eye a shadow. He sharply turned around and saw that Hayuri was there leaning on a wall with a contempt smile on her face.

"H-Hayuri? What the hell are you doing here?" Killua whispered and frantically looked around in case someone was watching them. He made sure they were alone and rushed to her side. His family better not find out they were friends, or she would face the same ending as-

"Why? What's wrong with that?" she tilted her head in question. "Isn't this your house? Why would it matter? You can tell them that we're fr-"

"Stop! Quiet!" he pushed her against the wall and covered her mouth with his hand. "You have to leave now, all right? We'll meet later."

"But we may not be able to do that, so I personally came here to tell you some good news." She said removing his hand and smiled. Killua leaned forward, showing that she had his full attention. "I've been chosen as the successor of the Western Padokia throne! Who would've thought that they'd choose someone with no royal blood!"

Killua wanted to say something, he honestly did. But he couldn't. His throat went dry and his hands started shaking. What was he supposed to do? Help Hayuri? Betray his family? How could he even choose one? How-

Suddenly laughing was heard and he turned around to see that Illumi was standing on the hallway just behind him. He was hysterically laughing while holding his guts. He suddenly stopped and looked up with a deadly serious expression. His killing intent spread throughout the place and his voice resounded with words filled Killua with horror.

"Do it quickly."

"I'll do it later." Killua said with a calm expression while he tried to think of a way out for her.

"Will you do it or will I have to do it?"

"I said I'd do it later. Don't meddle in my business. This is my job, not yours." Killua said and felt his hands sweating in anticipation.

"You're wrong Kil. This is not your job, it's the family's." He said as he took some needles in both hands and threw them at Hayuri at lightning speed.

"No!" Killua said and stepped in front of Hayuri, who seems prettified by his brother's aura. He felt his whole body pierced by ice cold iron and opened his mouth to scream.

Killua suddenly woke up and kept his sweating body still, as he looked around to find that he was in his room at the royal guard's trainees' wing. He slowly sat up and realized that it was the middle of the night; 3 am. However, he decided to get up to avoid having any more nightmares.

He wondered why the memories of his talk with his father would be followed by a nightmare involving Hayuri. He wondered if it was a possible scenario, but in the end decided that it was impossible for someone without royal blood to be chosen as the heir to the throne.

He decided to get ready for the day beforehand. They had been training on their lowest scores for two weeks. Although Killua had been the second best score on short range combat, he had to work on that, since his scores had been perfect on every other subject. He had been sparring with different trainees these past weeks and had pinpointed a couple things that he could work on, which would allow him to finish his fights in a shorter time.

He almost hadn't seen Hayuri during this period, since she had been assigned to work on her stealth. He had only seen her a couple hours a day while they ate, but he truly missed training with her. It's not that he wasn't making any advances while training with others; it had actually been a good change of routine and he had learned a couple more things about his own fighting style. He just missed being in her company and having fun together. However, today they would have their first real task since they became trainees and all 30 of them had been put in 5 different squads. He was glad that he had been assigned to the same squad as her and would get to spend some time together, even if it was during work.

He did some physical work out and trained his nen basics as always and was ready to leave at 4,30 am. He walked out of his room and slowly made his way to the main garden, knowing that he still had at least half an hour to kill. He was suprised though; when he got to the meeting place he saw that Hayuri was sitting on a bench with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. He sat down next to her and stayed silent for a minute or two, knowing that she must've sensed him long ago since she was using zetsu.

"You've always liked training surrounded by nature." He said softly, as not to startle her.

"You've always liked interrupting me as well." Hayuri smirked with her eyes still closed.

"Jeez, I can come back later, if you want." Killua scoffed and moved to sit up but was stopped when she took hold of his hand.

"What's done is done, so I might as well enjoy your company, right?" She smiled looking at him and Killua simply leaned back again. He was quiet for a couple seconds before speaking up again.

"Why are you here so early?"

"I often come train my basics in the gardens before my day starts, so I decided to do it at the meeting spot today. Although, I didn't expect you to be here early as well."

"I woke up and finished my training long ago." Killua looked up to the stars. "I couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to do my routine earlier this time."

"Why couldn't you go back to sleep? Had a bad dream?"

"Yeah."

"What was it about?"

"Nothing important."

"Come on." Hayuri pressed with a serious face and Killua turned to look into her determined green orbs. "It must've meant something to you if you couldn't go back to sleep."

"Well..." he sighed in defeat "I won't be specific about it. But I dreamt about my family. They wanted me to complete a job that I didn't want to do, because it would be detrimental to someone I cared about. They put a lot of pressure on me. It just... turned out nasty." he said, but Hayuri remained silent for a while. "It may sound stupid, but it was quite stressing to be in that situation."

"It's not stupid, Killua." She quickly answered. "Actually, I've seen that happen where I work at as well. They expect complete loyalty and dedication from every member and they don't tolerate treason." Hayuri spoke and her voice shook a little. "Once, a member tried to steal a treasure that we'd gathered in order to pay his child's treatment. He was executed and I saw how conflicted he had been. It was horrible." She stopped talking and her hold on his hand tightened, which startled Killua, who had forgotten their hands were joined.

Both stayed silent for a while, each downing on their own thoughts for a couple minutes. They were broke out of their state when a third presence started approaching them. Killua moved to sit on the other side of the bench, further away from Hayuri. A thin man came and greeted them with a nod, to which they responded with the same gesture. Five more minutes of silence and all six members of the team had arrived.

Killua had been assigned as the squad leader, since he had the best scores of all. They were supposed to gather some intel on a radical anti-monarchy group that had been causing some trouble. They were suspected to be working on an old factory in the outskirts of the capital, and they were suspected to operate at night. Killua decided to get there at the crack of dawn, just before they left, when they were the most tired and the day guard shift was jet to begin. They stopped 50 meters away from the building and Killua looked around noticing that people still seemed to be working inside, since he could feel the presence of at least a dozen civilians inside. He crouched down as his squad formed a circle around him.

"Everything seems according to plan." He whispered and looked around to check everyone was listening. "Remember that this mission is only intel gathering. We don't want them to know we're here. We don't want to fight them. This is a big organization and doing any of these will only alert them of our knowledge of them. So, be as silent as ghosts and get as much intel as you can. Always use Zetsu and don't make any noises. Just in case, we'll be going inside in the pairs that were previously decided. You remember who your partner is?" he said looking around and receiving nods from everyone. "Good. If you find a threat that could harm any of us, press the red button on your ear piece and it'll alert everyone else with a ring. If this happens we'll meet back at this spot and, if for some reason we cannot, we'll meet up back at the palace. Let's meet back here in 15 minutes. Is everything clear?"

Everyone nodded once again and they sprinted through the parking lot, blending with the shadows and being practically invisible to the common people. When Hayuri tried to move forwards, Killua held her hand to stop her. She frowned but crouched back down and turned her head to look at him.

"What are we waiting for?" she whispered.

"We'll get the side that they don't." He said pointing to the two other pairs. One of them entered through the front, and the other through the right. Killua mildly pulled Hayuri's hand to let her know that it was time. Both ran through the open space at top speed and got to the left door in a matter of seconds. Hayuri checked their surroundings as Killua used a nen infused needle to open the steel safe door. It clicked open and he slowly and quietly opened the door, immediately checking if anyone was inside. It was clear and he signaled for Hayuri to follow him inside and she silently closed the door behind her. Two seconds later they were sprinting through the hallways and stopping at every door to check what was inside. They came across storage rooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, and other useless rooms. They also found no one around, which was a bit strange. After a while they found a stair that went to a lower level, and they went down. They immediately heard the faint grumble of voices and put their guards up. As they slowly got closer to a closed door, Killua realized that Hayuri's steps were fainter than before. It seemed that her training had helped her improve significantly in two weeks. When they got to the door, both realized that some sort of meeting was being held inside. Killua motioned for them to go check the other rooms while the rest of them were busy with the meeting.

Hayuri found a room that was packed with blueprints of what seemed to be some monumental buildings, but there was no text that indicated what they were. She found some specifications on building materials and building structure along with them. She wondered if they worked in architecture in there of if there was something fishy going on. She didn't touch anything, so she could only see what was on top of the desks and inside some partly open drawers. Hayuri walked out of the room and met Killua on the corridor, who had also just left another room. He seemed to have found something interesting, since he had this serious and knowing look in his eyes.

Both walked a couple steps further when voices were heard just by the door to the meeting room. Hayuri grabbed Killua's hand and dragged him into the first room that she came across, which turned out to be a small walk in closet. Killua quickly entered just behind Hayuri and quietly closed the door behind him. The closet was barely big enough for both of them to enter, and they were surrounded by sweepers and other cleaning elements. As soon as Killua closed the door behind him, they heard the door open up and everyone in the meeting room get out while loudly talking. Killua leaned closer to Hayuri's ear, so that she could hear him as he almost inaudibly whispered.

"Don't you dare move."

That's when Hayuri realized that they were surrounded by barely standing stuff. Any movement could cause instability and make everything come crashing down. She could barely see in there, but the door to the closet had a small grille for ventilation and it allowed her to see around a bit. She didn't only see all the mess that they were surrounded by, but also the position that they were in.

Due to how narrow the closet was, Killua's body was just about to touch hers, as her back was against the wall and his back was against the door. Killua was putting as much distance between them as he could, by pressing his fore arm against the wall to her right. However, the distance was too close for comfort. It seemed that he was also aware of their awkward situation, because he was facing away from her. Thank goodness, because if he didn't Hayuri was sure that she would be able to feel his breath on her face. She gulped and tried to see what was going on outside, since the voices were still clear and loud in the corridor. That was when she realized that, since Killua's back was pressed against the door, his hair was poking out through the grille. She inwardly cursed and raised her hands to grab his shoulders and pushed him to her. He seemed started by this and turned his head to look at her in question.

"Your damn fluffy hair is poking out through the grille." She softly whispered as she turned to look at him. She then realized how close they were right now. His chest was now pressed against hers and his chin was almost brushing her shoulder as he looked at her. His eyes, that had been confused when he turned his face to her, now seemed startled as he looked down at her. His face was a couple centimeters away from her and now she could most definitely feel his breath on her face. She could feel his hot air tingling her nose and her lips. The feeling that it evoked in her was completely unexpected. Her heart started beating erratically and she feared that everyone in the fucking building would hear it. Killua was still looking into her green eyes with an expression that she could not pinpoint, as she also kept on staring into his sapphire orbs. She felt as though some sort of spell had been cast on them, since time seemed to stop. However, one of the men outside passed just outside their door while loudly laughing, bringing both out of their daze and making them realize the situation. Killua immediately looked away and Hayuri raised one hand to cover her blush as she kept on holding his head him in place with the other one.

It appeared that everyone had left the hallway by now, but they still had to wait a little longer before going out. Hayuri thought for a moment that her feelings would go back to normal now, but this deep silence seemed to be making things worse. The feeling of his firm chest against her was making her mind think of stuff that she most definitely should not be thinking. Most definitely not in this situation. Much less with Killua! Her erratic heart wouldn't calm down and she just knew that he was aware of that fact. In this silence, she knew that Killua's sharp hearing would immediately notice that she was a bundle of nerves. She wished that she had that ability too, so that she could know if he was feeling the way that she was. Hayuri slowly turned her head to take a quick glance at him, but he was looking away from her so she couldn't see his expression. She looked away again and felt her hands sweat a little from the constant anticipation that she'd felt. It seemed like a freaking hour had gone by, when in reality they had been in there for only a couple minutes.

Her face was almost touching his shoulder as he was leaning forwards and his face was almost buried in her own. She could feel his breath on her skin and she felt goose bumps on her arms and neck. His manly scent of musk was filling her and she couldn't help but softly close her eyes as she tried to drill it into her memories.

After a while she decided that if she didn't do anything she would lose her mind. She slowly breathed in as she tried to clear her mind, and then slightly tilted her head towards him. Knowing that they were close enough for him to hear her out, she opened her mouth and whispered.

"I'm going to lean forward and see if we're clear." She informed him. Killua stiffly nodded his head two times in agreement. Hayuri leaned towards the door, further pressing her body into his. His chin was now leaning on her shoulder and her mouth and nose were pressed to the side of his chest. His body was now flushed against her own and she could feel the heat that it radiated, but forced her mind to focus on the task at hand. She looked around through the grill and noticed that she had a good visual of most of the hallway, which seemed to be empty.

It seemed indeed like it was the perfect time to flee that place, but somehow Hayuri was doubting. Was it because she feared they would get caught? No. She wanted to stay close to Killua like this. But she was a realistic person and knew that they needed to get out of there, so she gave him the truth.

"It's clear. Let's go."