~ Chapter 21 ~

He knew it from the moment he first met Killua: the Zoldyck Family was a group of people not to be reckoned with. He knew it from the tone of Killua's voice when he first mentioned them on the airship all those years ago, from the way the butlers treated him, Kurapika, and Leorio on the Zoldyck Estate, and all that had happened since…

Being faced with the reality is something different.

In the musty Zoldyck dungeons, Silva's slit blue eyes bore into Gon, reflecting the metallic panels around the ceiling and floor. The room is larger than expected, with distant walls on either side covered in thick cords shimmering like a creature's intestines. A few cords run across the floor, giving the room a cold but futuristic feeling, as if Gon and Silva occupy a realm outside of the known world. It's cozy somehow, too, given the cushions clustered on the Zoldyck heir's raised metal "throne," the only light coming from the white rings around its bottom. Nestled perfectly in the center, Silva appears to be a part of the décor, as if this is the only place he belongs.

Sweat pours down Gon's back, staining his white shirt. He swallows the thick mildew air. "So," the man remarks, sitting poised with one elbow on one knee, "you're the one who's been keeping my son away from me." His voice is low and steady, as if he's jaded to finally say it.

Before Gon can find his voice enough to answer, Illumi speaks up beside Gon.

"He requested to be brought here himself." Giving Gon the side-eye, the eldest Zoldyck sibling smirks subtly at him, his endless eyes squinting in the cold light. "He thinks he can take on the entire Zoldyck Family alone. How laughable."

Gon's heart churns in anger, sensing Illumi's plot to betray their deal. He glares at Illumi in spite of himself and the hopelessness of the situation he's put himself in.

"Quiet, Illumi."

This startles Gon, and Illumi, who turn to the Zoldyck on his throne, dignified before them. The man said the words with calm resentment, not betraying any emotion other than a soft annoyance. Silva elucidates, "He said he was here to speak with me, isn't that correct?"

Illumi concedes, "Yes, Father."

"Then you're dismissed."

Illumi processes for a moment. Then he says, trying again, "Father, are we not going to use this opportunity to gain control over –?"

Silva says no more. Illumi understands from the man's aura, which has begun to awaken from its slumber. Gon can sense it too, something ancient and massive, emerging from the depths of the Zoldyck dungeons like an olden beast from the shadows of a cave. He can't quite grasp its form – only a mass of clandestine, enormous dynamism, pacing back and forth in the back of the room. It's just out of sight. And that's the way it stays…

Illumi gives Silva a curt bow. "Understood." He turns, leaving Gon alone. Black iron doors slam shut, and then Gon is left with the enigmatic, beast-like Zoldyck heir.

"Your name is Gon, yes?" Silva asks, that aura pacing behind him.

Finally snatching up the frog that's been wriggling around in his throat ever since he noticed the open dungeon door with all the weapons inside it, Gon shoves it back where it belongs in his esophagus. He says, "Y-yes, that's right," shriller than he would've liked. Quite suddenly, he's painfully aware of being in his pajamas before the most powerful man in the Zoldyck Family – and, well, Killua's father. Though, if Ging was anything to go by, the reverence one held for fathers didn't make much sense to Gon other than for their elusiveness. Silva was just about as ungraspable as you could get, if in a different way.

Silva's reptilian gaze never leaves Gon. "Well? Why did you request to meet me here?"

The man's lumbering aura, his exchange with Illumi, and seeing past the dungeon door almost made Gon forget everything he'd planned to say while walking behind Illumi through the halls of the Zoldyck Manor – at least, what he assumed was the Zoldyck Manor. He didn't have a concrete plan when he offered to let Illumi take him; he'd hoped to have time to figure it out on the way here. With that idea scrapped, he has to make it up on the spot. "Ah, I – I wanted to speak with you," Gon stutters.

"Speak with me?" Silva queries. This seems to catch his interest, and he raises his chin, lowering his fist.

For a brief second, Gon thinks of lying, but he knows that won't do any good. It's likely this man will see right through his lies, and that he'd come to deeply regret it – if the weapons in the dungeons around him were anything to go by. Gon shakes his head. Snap out of it. Don't let the nerves get to you. This man clearly recognizes power, so I have to show him what I can offer in this situation. What will make Silva value Gon's word, keep Silva's interest? Gon doesn't know if Silva thinks of him as an insignificant nuisance, as Illumi once did, or whether he'd tear his guts out at the slightest wrong move.

Based on Silva's response to Illumi, Gon's betting on the first one.

Breaking his gaze with the giant man, Gon's voice lowers. "Illumi and Killua started fighting in front of me," he says, gradual but to-the-point. "I didn't want to see Killua get hurt, so I decided the best thing would be for me to see you myself, to see if I can make sense of this situation." Fists clenched, Gon's arms shake, not knowing how the man is reacting. The beastly aura has halted, and observes him pensively.

"Hm. You're right." Silva brings a finger to his chin again as he thinks. "That is grave." He pauses. Gon continues to hold his breath.

"Gon. Come closer, so we can have an equal conversation."

Oh…? This catches Gon off-guard. Based on Silva's burly appearance, he wasn't expecting Silva to be the type of man with the desire to converse. Though, the bits and pieces he'd heard about Silva from Killua (and the media, but they're seldom correct) made the Zoldyck heir seem distant and profound. The truth that he was willing to engage with whatever was put in front of him made Gon even warier, though he approached the man. The threat of Silva's immense aura was ever-present, glaring in the background.

~ o=O=o ~

Palm's and Bisky's calls are mere echoes as she steps off the train and rushes through the crowd. Plowing through people at the station, crystal-blue eyes lock onto a hooded figure leaning against a nearby pillar. Seeing her, the figure stands up from the pillar, and a smile is visible underneath, revealing white hair sticking out from underneath the hood. He pushes it back, and outstretches his arms.

Unable to contain herself, tears spring forth in Alluka's eyes. "You… – IDIOT!" she screams across the platform. Rather than running up to hug him as Killua expects, she headbutts him in the stomach, nearly tackling him to the ground.

"A-Alluka?!" Killua gasps, trying to block her subsequent punches and failing. "Ow! That hurts, h-hey –!"

"What the hell were you thinking, going off by yourself like that and facing Illumi alone!" she yells at him, angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

"A-Alluka, please –" Killua grunts between all her punches. Her tears start to take over. Grasping his clothes, she's crying into his sweatshirt. "I'm just so glad you're safe…!"

Smiling gently, Killua puts his arms around her. She's half a head shorter than him now, and although she's no longer scrawny, his sleek muscular arms enwrap her entire upper body. "I'm sorry for worrying you," he apologizes. "I haven't been a great brother – no…" He focuses on something past the train tracks and hurrying feet. "I didn't understand anything."

Alluka looks up at his face, seeing brittle grief there, unsure what he's saying, if he even knows. "I'm so sorry Gon left you alone," she says instead. "We'll get him back, don't worry about it." A smidgen of that fury comes back as she pouts. "But you should have called me sooner."

"Yeah, yeah," he waves off like a kid who's being berated by his mom – until addressing her sincerely. "Thank you, Alluka."

Before Alluka can hug him again, a girl in a maroon coat-dress and gloves raises a hand to them in greeting. "Yo!" Gold-blonde hair in a bun, the girl – well, older woman, really – is followed by a Chimera Ant disguised in a black leather jacket and white undershirt tucked into ripped skinny jeans, sporting reflective sunglasses and a baseball cap over her glossy black hair.

"Palm?! Is that you?!" Killua exclaims at her attire.

"It is," she answers, pushing down her sunglasses. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Killua says quickly. "I just… wasn't expecting you to be into that kind of fashion out of nowhere."

"Is that right?" she says, a little piqued as she looks over the leather on her arms.

Looking up between them as he arrives in a tropical-patterned sweater and beige-colored beanie, Ikalgo says, "It's been, what, four months since we've seen each other?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right," agrees Bisky. She nods thoughtfully with a gloved hand to her chin while the octopus and Killua exchange fist bumps – or arm bumps. "A lot has changed since then," says Bisky. "You've changed too, Killua."

"Huh?" says Killua, caught off-guard as he looks up from Ikalgo.

"Yeah. I can tell just by looking at you. There's a certain vitality to you that wasn't there before."

Killua lifts a hand to his cheek. "Ehh… Are you sure? I feel like I haven't changed at all."

Bisky smiles, subtly broad. "Don't mind me – just an old teacher with her old habits. I can tell you've been training too. But it looks like you've been training your mind more than your Nen." She sighs in disappointment. "Really, boy, what was all that Nen practice for?"

Needlessly embarrassed by being chided by his old teacher, Killua mutters, "S-sorry, I've been busy with other things."

"Oh ho~?" Bisky peeks at him from one eye. "Really?" She grabs Killua's hand, practically glistening with her desire for gossip. "Such as?! What have you and Gon been up to, huh~?!"

Killua recoils from her thirsty eyes. "Wh-what the…" He turns away from her. "Why is she so excited…?" The others only grin at him in discomfiture.

"I want all of the juicy details – all of them!" Bisky says pushily, getting closer to him.

"E-eh…"

"Lady Bisky," Palm cuts in, her and Ikalgo shooting the older woman a warning glance.

Bisky clears her throat, getting the message and backing off. "Got it. My apologies. Why don't we go somewhere where we can better discuss our options on retrieving Gon from the Zoldyck Estate?"

Killua still doesn't get it. "Eh…?"

Bisky hides her ennui as she leads the way. As they start to walk, Killua leans over to whisper in Palm's ear.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, we made her promise she wouldn't be too creepy about you and Gon," Palm answers. "We figured it was part of the reason why you two left."

"Ah, I see. Thank –" Wait a minute! Killua stops dead in his tracks, realizing what she's implying and referring to. His ears become light pink from the heat.

Palm turns her head toward him, those dark sunglasses covering her imperceptible stare. "What is it?"

Killua knows what he wants to ask – What do you mean "you and Gon"?! Just what do you people think we were doing while we were traveling alone?! Then he remembers what him and Gon have been doing the last few days: the touches, the massaging, the erec –

Killua gulps it down.

Not here. Not now.

He really has no room to talk, does he?

Silently fuming behind Palm and the others, Killua slouches over, cursing their perceptibility – though he keeps his mouth shut.

~ o=O=o ~

Back in the Zoldyck dungeons, another lingers at the gate to Silva's lair. The pink light on her visor clicks back and forth as she listens in on the conversation between the head of the family and the boy who's been keeping their hope away from them.

Inside, Silva remarks, "My son really seems to enjoy being with you." He watches Gon closely, a master at maintaining this façade. It's one that has made even his worst enemies pour out all their troubles to him, having lowered their intellectual guard. He continues, "Killua is to the point that he's been neglecting his training as an assassin for years. I must say, it's made me weary. Do you have anything to say to this?"

"Ah, yes. I –" Gon stumbles over his words. "I" what? "I want to apologize on Killua's behalf"? "Killua regrets being unable to pursue his career"? No. Even in this twisted world where a job like assassination is normalized, honesty is better here. He won't live the lie, not for his own safety. "Killua doesn't care for his job as an assassin," Gon admits, bold though his voice is low, remorseful.

"Hm. Why is that?" Silva asks without feeling.

With such direct questions, Gon can't help but feel he's being backed into some kind of corner. The man before him doesn't move, let alone give away his position – mentally or otherwise. "B-because he's realized it doesn't make him happy," Gon bumbles, unsure if what he's saying will even be taken seriously the moment it comes out of his mouth.

"Killing isn't supposed to make an assassin happy," Silva says drily, leaning on his fist again in his tedium. "It's merely a job."

Gon realizes he just inadvertently told a lie. He doesn't quite understand Killua's view on assassination himself – Killua's expressed confusion regarding what he feels about killing. So Gon changes direction completely. "Killua told me something when I first met him. It was before we'd become friends. He said something like, 'But it's such a drag, having my life planned out for me'…" Gon stops, remembering the dull curiosity in his friend's eyes, his offhand demeanor, even at that age. He didn't understand why Killua acted so careless about it at the time… now he knows it was for self-protection, and from ignorance. "You see, Killua has always felt some sense of not belonging in the Zoldyck Family, at least ever since I met him," Gon says. "I didn't make him think so myself."

For the first time since they started talking, Silva breaks eye-contact with Gon to look at the floor. Thinking deeply, he still reveals nothing in his face, but the beastly aura that's been swishing impatiently in the background nearly dissipates. It condenses pensively, unable for Gon to seize its exact whereabouts, if it's still even present.

In the silence that ensues, Gon can hear his own gasps of breath between the metal walls. He was surprised to have Silva take his words so seriously. Or was this all part of the ploy?

After what seems like an eternity – during which Gon finally notices the aura cloaked in Zetsu leaning up against the doorway due to its undeniably acerbic presence and his heightened senses – the Zoldyck heir lifts his head. "I see. Gon. Thank you for telling me this." Silva says it with a touch of earnest warmth to his voice, further confusing Gon and, lifting an enormous arm, Silva opens a palm up to him. "What do you wish to have happen from our interaction?" He emphasizes the "you," understanding this was by possible Gon's doing.

The sweat soaking through Gon's back, the presence behind the door, the hidden aura before him – they make him feel as though he's suffocating, even if right now he feels he can trust this man. "I just want Killua to be safe," he says plainly. "I want Illumi to stop chasing us. I want Killua to be able to live his life without worrying that someone is going to interfere."

"I understand," says Silva, pondering again. This time, the dangerous aura lurking in the room's corners now makes itself apparent, in the form of a large, furry but reptilian creature. Its properties remind Gon of his first encounter with Mike, the fear that gripped him, that inability to reach past those endless eyes. The current Zoldyck heir rises from his seat with that perfidious aura of his, a full foot above Gon's head and then some; even as an adult, the Nenless boy has to crook his neck all the way back in order to look at him. "I have heard what you have to say," Silva acknowledges, "but I'm afraid I cannot grant your request."

"Th-then what do you plan to do?!" Gon demands a little too loudly. He wonders what Silva could have gotten out this conversation that he hasn't, intimidated by the dangerous aura in the beast of a man before him and angry at his lack of control in this situation. He has to shut out Silva's aura to keep from becoming frozen in fear. "Are you planning to force Killua to come back using me as your hostage?! To lock both of us in here until he complies with your standards?!"

"I could do that," Silva agrees. The way he says it, so composed and nonchalant, is what frightens Gon the most. There is no doubt in Silva's mind that he'd be able to do so. It's only a matter of if he wants to. "However, I don't know if even that will sway him," says Silva, "hearing as he went so far as to attack Illumi. You volunteered to let Illumi take you here, Gon," he addresses, looking down at him with those slit eyes. "So until I can decide what to do, I'll have you stay in my household as my guest."

Before Gon can protest, there's a faint screeching noise on the opposite side of the door. The aura that had kept itself hidden with Zetsu on the other side of the doorway slips a quick but potent wave of bloodlust through the cracks. Shivering, Gon whips around, waiting to see who will burst through. The iron doors vibrate, as though someone rapped their fists upon it in frustration – but then heeled footsteps are heard clacking down the hallway.

"I'll have Illumi escort you to your room," Silva says, pretending he didn't just hear the commotion outside, or feel the aura through the door – making Gon even more confused about what's going on.

"My… my room?" Gon repeats, eyeing him in fearful disbelief.

"Yes. I said you were our guest, didn't I?" Silva says, shooting Gon a steely glance.

Gon is baffled by this turn of events to say the least – especially when, a few minutes later, the eldest Zoldyck sibling is leading him from Silva's lair and down the hall. Gon sees the man fall back onto his cushioned throne and he half-hollers, "It was a pleasure speaking with you, Gon Freecss." When the doors slam shut, all the mystery and viciousness are contained inside.

Gon and Illumi travel back upstairs to the narrow series of hallways, then into a space of white tile. A foyer with a crystal chandelier opens near what seem to be the front doors of the manor. Windows on either side unveil a rocky world blanketed by fine white snow.

Gon pauses. He doesn't see anyone else around except Illumi. Should I try to run for it…?

"My father has ordered me not to touch you until he decides what use you can be to us," Illumi calls from the top of the stairs, sensing Gon's train of thought. He rotates swiftly on one heel to view Gon on the first step. "I would take care not to make him angry."

Gon shoots him a muted glare, trampling up the steps after him.

"It's a cold world out there, anyway," Illumi continues, switching to a more conversational tone, making small talk like one would with a guest. "Venturing out on the summit of a dormant volcano can be dangerous, you know."

"Oh yeah, we're at the top of Kukuroo Mountain…" Gon murmurs, more to himself.

"That's right," says Illumi, a finger in the air as he explains, as though he's Gon's gracious travel advisor. "So no going outside without the proper attire. I doubt you'd be able to get off the grounds alive, given your current state."

Gon is about to ask what he means by that, when they stop at a hall closet. Illumi flings open the double doors with finesse, long black hair rippling around him. He removes a velvet gold and red long-sleeved dress shirt and pants from inside. "How about these?"

Gon is about to refuse when he realizes these people aren't going to care how he looks either way. So he might as well make the best of it. "Sure."

In a guest room, Gon slips into his new clothes with Illumi stubbornly accompanying him. At least he has the courtesy to turn around, arms crossed, while Gon dresses, though Gon finds it odd. Illumi went to all the trouble of capturing me, and yet he obeys Silva without question…

While buttoning up the shirt, Gon says, "Hey Illumi, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" the eldest sibling asks lightly.

"Why do you follow your father's word so devotedly?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the one who caught me. Shouldn't you be the one to decide what to do with me?"

"Father knows what's best when it comes to these things," Illumi says without pause, as though he doesn't even have to think about it. "He knows who will make the best heir, having been the heir himself. I have no reason to question him."

"But didn't you say your relationship with Killua was different from the other Zoldycks?"

This time, Illumi's response isn't as prepared. He isn't given time to answer, for then there's a knock at the door.

It's the voice of an elderly butler. "Master Illumi, the Mistress requests your presence in the third dungeon at once."

Illumi sighs, visibly exhausted by the thought – even if his body language and tone hardly give it away. "I'll be down immediately." He spins around to see Gon fully dressed in the dark red tang suit with golden finish. "I'm leaving you alone for a little bit. Dinner's in an hour. Try not to get lost."

The door closes behind Illumi, and Gon gets to work searching his room for anything he can use – though what kind of escape attempt he could ever hope to make with the frozen world of Kukuroo Mountain just outside the walls, he doesn't know. He checks underneath the bed, the bedside drawers, the closet…

"Nothing," he says in exasperation, seeing only empty plastic hangers. Alright, time to investigate the household.

Poking his head outside, his black hair swishes as it moves around the door. There's no one around, so he treads down the hall, toward the bathroom.

It's so strange. The layout of this portion of the house looks Saheltan, while the living room area Gon had been in before resembled what he believed to be Japponian style. He has no idea how big this place is, but he's keen to find out.

Nothing useful or out of the ordinary in the bathroom either.

Oh yeah, where's Killua's room? Gon wonders, peering into the other rooms in the same hall. Illumi had told him not to run away or get lost, but surely they wouldn't get mad at him for looking around a little, right? He finds what seems to be only extra guest rooms behind the adjacent doors – they're too pristine to belong to any of the Zoldyck siblings, he thinks.

In his new, flat brown boat shoes and white socks, Gon descends the main staircase. He finds the manor eerily empty.

"Where is everybody?" he wonders aloud. Seeing the area to the right of the stairs, where him and Illumi came from, he decides to take the other route. Here, he finds the dining room, covered in the same red velvet walls that the first room he'd awoken in had been, connected to what he presumes to be the kitchen and another hallway. Hearing the chefs at work with the clang and clamor of the kitchen, he goes into the hallway.

This one is dark, but short, all of the doors closed. Does he dare look inside?

Gon presses his ear against the first door. There's nothing, so he opens it slowly.

It's dusty inside, the shades down and everything looking as though it hasn't been touched in ages.

It's Killua's room, all right. Judging by the navy blue and white color scheme, the stuffed ChocoRobo on his bed, and a few game systems on his bedside table. The clothes he finds in the closet confirm it more than anything else – all turtlenecks, baggy clothes, and absolute-god-awful, spunky fashion – but it's pretty sparse aside from that. There are no decorations or posters in sight.

Gon feels himself choking up. He isn't sure why. Using his golden sleeves to wipe the tears from his eyes, he closes the door behind him. He wasn't sure what to expect in finding Killua's room, but somehow this wasn't it. He'd expected something more lavish, given how Killua acted about being a rich kid. Definitely nothing this humble…

A hand snatches him in the darkness. Suddenly he's pressed against the doorway, vision dark from banging his head, unable to breathe. The hand has enclosed around his windpipe, and he can feel the long, painted nails boring deep into his skin.

Gon opens his mouth to try to speak, but someone else does instead.

"You," the voice spits.

Eyesight clear enough now to see, Gon finds himself faced by the contour of a large metal visor. The pink dot in the center quivers in fury.

"How dare you take Killua away from me?!" Kikyo Zoldyck's claw squeezes tighter by the second.

These people are definitely going to kill me, Gon thinks, starting to lose consciousness.

Gon is having such a great time meeting Killua's family, isn't he? :)

The school year is over, and I finally have time to write again! I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. I had the longest essay I've written thus far for college due for a class required by my major (15 pages in all – not the longest fanfic chapter I've written, but hey, academic writing is different). It was a struggle. And there's only more to come before my 4 years are up.

Thank you to my Anonymous reviewers/Guests from the last two chapters! It means so much to me hear you all enjoy my writing and recent plot developments – thank you, really. It's so encouraging, and the main reason I write is to be able to share it with other people! And thank you to everyone for being so patient and enthusiastic about this story despite the lengthy time between updates! I hope the fic hasn't become too far removed from Gon and Killua for the time-being, as I worry that it's getting too caught up in the plot rather than the dynamic between the characters, or letting the story breathe at times. Is it? Please tell me your thoughts.

A while ago I figured I probably had to include the entire Zoldyck Family in the story in order for things to ever feel resolved, but let me know your thoughts. (Of course, Togashi may write it differently, if at all, but hey, when he'll get to it, no one knows.)

Thanks for reading this chapter and please don't forget to fav/follow/review~!