Chapter 29: Tracker

Well, shit.

Killua, with Aliara, Gon, and Leorio, was seated in their usual spot- the small gathering of chairs around a large table in their hotel, where they normally met to count their money or make plans. Now, they all sat on one side- Aliara on the couch, next to Gon and Leorio, with Killua seated on the chair's arm rest, next to the black-haired girl. The man on the streets who claimed to be Aliara's father was seated across from them in one of the two chairs.

The tension in the room was heavy, but Killua couldn't imagine how Aliara could be feeling. She had her fists clenched in her lap, her finger hovering around the button to pop out and fire the laser built into her glove.

"My name is Francis," the man started, eyeing them all warily, "Francis Terakide."

He said his last name like tear-a-kide, and it sent shivers up Killua's spine.

"How'd you find me?" Aliara managed, her skin pale.

Francis sighed. "The arm wrestling thing yesterday. A colleague of mine participated and told me about it, so I went to check it out today, only when it was closing down. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you at the booth."

"That doesn't explain why you're here," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"For the auction," he said simply, his brown eyes widening slightly. "That's what my job is. I deal with people who want to put things in the auction. It's a great job, really, and you meet a bunch of interesting people." His fingers closed around the handle of his briefcase, almost subconsciously.

As much as he hated to admit it, Killua recognized the man's tone of voice. It was exactly like Aliara's was when she started talking about something like her gloves.

"That's how I met your mother," Francis added, and Aliara stiffened. "She was at the auction, trying to see if any of her old jewelry or heirlooms would go for a lot of money. I met her, and she invited me out for a date."

"I don't need to know the whole sad story," Aliara scowled, her fingers lacing together impatiently, "I just want solid proof that you're actually my father and what your business is in Yorknew."

"I already told you the second one," Francis said simply, smiling softly. "And as for the first one... Well, you're got the same blunt, no-nonsense attitude as your mother."

"Don't say that," she interrupted quietly, and Killua's eyes fell on her briefly. "Don't say I'm like my mother."

"You've got her eyes," he continued, raising his eyebrows. "Is it okay to say that?"

A silence fell on the five. Killua was afraid that Aliara was going to lash out, but instead she took a deep, long breath, eyes trained on the floor.

"You've got a younger brother," Francis said, and Aliara's eyes snapped up.

Killua remembered Aliara saying something like that. Her younger brother, who had the same father as her... Ano, was it?

"His name is Ano," Francis continued. Okay, Killua thought, bemused. Maybe this guy isn't all nonsense after all.

"This is a completely hypothetical thing," Aliara warned him, her skin still much paler than usual, "But let's go out on a limb here and say I believe you." Francis nodded along. "What happened between you and Mom?"

He seemed to ponder this for a second too long before he answered. "She claimed she didn't want a relationship. Only a fling sort of thing." Francis paused again and sighed. "But in late January, she called me and said that she was pregnant."

Aliara remained silent as he continued. "We met up. I wanted to have the child, but she insisted it was hers to keep. We fought about it, and we finally came to a conclusion. If it was a boy, she was take the child, and if it was a girl, I could have it."

Killua knit his eyebrows. Aliara breathed, "but..."

"Exactly," Francis said with a long exhale. "It was a girl, but she kept the child anyways. I was beyond angry. I insisted that she give me the child, and that I could take her to court. But that was when I found out she had more money than she knew what to do with, and it was all pointless.

"But I had a good influence on the auction," he continued, swiping a hand through his hair, "and I knew I could mess up her chances at making money through it. She knew it, too. So she promised me another child- and this one, I could have, no matter what."

"Ano," Aliara guessed, and he nodded.

"And we know what happened to that," Francis said heavily. "I lost all contact with your mother after that. But I never thought I'd meet my child again."

Killua felt the tension just... melt from Aliara. She believed him.

"Just for clarification," she asked, "when's Ano's birthday?"

"September 23rd," he replied, smiling.

Aliara smiled, and Killua could see that she was genuinely happy. "Okay. I believe you."

"Thank god," he breathed, leaning back in his seat, his smile evident on his face. "I just..." He shook his head. "I can't believe I get to see you again. I never thought I'd recognize you... But between my hair and your mother's eyes, and the..." he coughed.

Aliara's face fell. Killua frowned. "The what?" Aliara hissed.

"Nothing," he said softly.

"You're lying," she snapped. "If you'd like to keep my trust, I suggest you tell me what it is."

"Ali," Gon said quietly, turning to her, "are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Aliara," Killua mused quietly, "is this involved with what you were trying to tell us earlier?"

The black-haired girl stiffened, and Killua got his answer. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Oi, I'm lost," Leorio snapped.

"Of course you are," Killua grumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean, you?!-"

"The bounty poster," Aliara's father said with a sigh. "I saw the bounty poster and I was able to recognize your face."

Aliara inhaled sharply, leaning back in her seat.

"Bounty poster?!" Leorio, Killua, and Gon all cried out simultaneously.

"When did this happen?" Gon cried out.

"You idiot! Why didn't you tell us?!" Killua raged at the same time.

"How much are you worth?" Leorio chimed in along with the boys.

Aliara's expression was going darker and darker, and it looked like she was struggling to keep her temper. Killua frowned at her- she definitely should've told them. He'd suspected something, but not like this. "It's a bounty on my head," she said miserably, sinking lower. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I... I just never had the right time, and... And I didn't want to worry you guys."

"Worry?" Gon exclaimed. "But-"

"And for Leorio," she continued, interrupting Gon but shooting him an apologetic look after, "It was fifty million for information and ten billion for my capture."

"WHAT?!"

Francis nodded slowly. "I saw that. There wasn't any name, and the picture was a bit formal."

"Have you seen a lot?" Aliara asked.

He shook his head. "Just a few, mostly in bars, pubs, or fancy restaurants and hotels. But I suspect that the publicity is growing."

"Great. Just great," she growled. She turned to face the boys. "I don't blame you if you want to turn me in for the money. I-"

Killua whacked her on the head playfully from his perch on the arm of the chair. "Idiot. Haven't you been with us long enough to know that we wouldn't do that?" Aliara's expression softened, but she wouldn't look Killua in the eye.

Gon nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Ali. You're our best friend!"

It may have been Killua's imagination, but there was a brief glint in Francis's eye that he didn't like. But as swiftly as it came, it was gone, and he found himself uneasy. There was something wrong with Aliara's dad. His intuition was never wrong.

"Look, it's almost five," Leorio started. "As nice as it was to, uh, meet you, Mister Treehide-"

"Terakide," he said with a smirk.

"Same difference," the suited man dismissed. "But we have to get going. It's almost five, and we have to meet somewhere."

Francis frowned, "all of you? I was hoping that Aliara and I could go out and get something to eat and catch up. I want to hear about what kind of adventures she's been on. I haven't seen her in thirteen years."

Everything about that screamed danger. Killua just wanted to jump up and wave red flags everywhere.

To his surprise, Aliara smiled. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Eh? Aliara, how do you know you can trust him?" Killua snapped, not even bothering to apologize for rudeness. Gon was just watching the both of them with flickering interest. Leorio rolled his eyes.

"He's my father," she said simply, looking Killua in the eye for the first time since the conversation started. She'd taken out the hazel contacts, and her green eyes were fierce and piercing. In an instant, he was reminded of the cold gaze of Adrianna Lorvell- her mother. Those eyes were one and the same. "He's proven that. And... I want to get to know him a bit."

"But Ali-"

"No buts," Aliara said firmly, turning to her father. "I'd love to go out for dinner with you. I don't have to dress formally, do I?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Not overly, no. We'll go to a pub out near my work building, called Wixan Hill. If you've got the same appetite I do, you'll love the wings." His brown eyes seemed to sparkle.

Killua narrowed his eyebrows- this all felt wrong, wrong, wrong.

But Aliara's eyes lit up. "I've got a huge appetite," she said excitedly, her fists clenching together in anticipation. "Can I go get changed and meet you in the lobby?" Francis nodded eagerly, already standing up. He nodded respectfully to the boys before he left, and Aliara turned to go back to her room.

As soon as he was gone, Aliara turned again, facing Killua and Gon, who looked ready to protest. Leorio was on his pone.

"I don't think-" Gon started.

"I know," she said quickly, immediately turning towards their room and starting to walk. Killua and Gon followed her. "I know it isn't a good idea, but I can't help it. I can take care of myself."

Killua grimaced, "he's up to something. I saw the look in his eyes." Gon nodded, and the white-haired boy felt relieved that Gon was on his side.

Aliara sighed. "I know."

"Maybe he's after the bounty," Gon suggested worriedly.

Killua nodded, "and while we're on that topic, why didn't you tell us about that? You-"

"Guys!" Aliara cried suddenly, slowing to a stop in front of her room and pressing her hands to the sides of her head. They both clamped their mouths shut. "Okay. Good. Look, I know it's not smart. Maybe it's a trap. If it is, I won't hesitate to hurt him. But..." her lip trembled, and Killua cursed himself for noticing. "This may be my only chance to have a family again. To learn something about my dad. To... you know."

The pair stayed silent as Aliara sighed softly, "Wait here." She ducked into her room, and a few seconds later, appeared with her hands cupped around something. "I've whipped up a little something that I think we could use."

She opened her hands, and they both looked down at a pair of earrings and flip phone.

They both looked back up quizzically.

Aliara smirked, and Killua saw the gears turning in her head as she prepared an explanation. "I made these while you two were on your little bet. The earrings look like simple silver studs, but I styled them with a tracking device."

"What?" Gon gasped, looking down at the earrings in awe.

"How'd you manage that?" Killua asked in surprise.

She smiled, obviously proud of herself. "It took a while. But this phone-" she flipped it open, revealing a map of Yorknew; specifically, with their hotel at the center- "has a map of the city. That red dot," she pointed at a red blip in the middle of the screen, on the hotel, "is the earrings. The tracker."

"So we'll know where you are," Gon said with a grin. "Ali, that's fantastic!"

Aliara grinned, tucking her bangs behind her ear- which Killua found adorable (No. Bad Killua.)- and held out the phone to Killua. "The screen moves with the tracker, so the red dot is always in the center. Click this button-" she gestured to a small green button- "and the screen will freeze on the area the dot is in. The tracker will keep moving, but the screen will stay in the same area. To undo it, click this one." Aliara jabbed at a darker green button. "This'll zoom the screen right back to where the dot is."

Killua and Gon both tried to listen and she talked about the settings she'd made. "This zooms in and out, and can only go so far. Press this one, and a normal home screen pops up, so it easily passes as a phone. Hit it again, it goes back to the map, the exact way you left it."

"Alright," Killua said, gingerly accepting the phone. "But how'd you do this? I thought you were more into mechanics than electronics."

"I am," she assured him, eyes glinting. "It was a device until I bought a phone. I took out all the stuff and put my stuff back in." Suddenly, Killua could've sworn Aliara had devilish horns and a tail. "I borrowed Leorio's Hunter's License to get access to maps that I installed in the phone."

"Hey!" came a protest from across the room. "When did you-"

"And I got some guy in town to finish it," Aliara concluded breathlessly. "He has no clue what it really is, don't worry."

"Wow," Killua and Gon said in unison, looking from the phone to each other.

Aliara grinned. "Give me a minute." She twisted, and vanished into her room.

Killua flipped open the phone and zoomed in on the screen. Sure enough, when he zoomed in really close, he could see the blip snaking around the room. He shook his head. "She's incredible," he said aloud.

"You should tell her that," Gon hummed happily.

Killua took a second to realize what Gon was implying before he flushed angrily. "Moron! Not right now!"

The seemingly innocent, dark-haired boy snickered. "Whatever you say, Killua," he said, his voice dangerously near a taunt.

"Why, you-"

"I'm good to go," Aliara said quickly, changing in record time. She had changed into her burgundy, scoop-neck t-shirt that she had worn before, black jeans, and her shoes. Her hair was pulled up, and the boys could both see the glitter of the earrings. Killua swallowed nervously- and it wasn't because of the task ahead.

Gon smiled. "Good luck, Ali!"

"I'll be fine," she assured them both, smiling. "It's just dinner. Even if it is something weird, I'll be fine." Aliara flexed her fingers, checking out her gloves. "I have these!"

Yet as they walked down the hall, down the elevator, and down to the front door, where Francis had called a taxi and was waiting for her, smiling innocently, Killua couldn't help but feel that something was horribly, horribly wrong.


Killua just couldn't concentrate.

They had shown up to the location- Gon, Leorio, and himself- and signed up to be a part of a large group of people that were hunting down some wanted people. There were six on the poster- with a reward of two billion each. Killua swallowed down the lump in his throat as he glared at the six faces.

"She's probably fine," he heard Gon mutter, and he turned- but Gon was just muttering to himself. Or was he? Gon shook his head, ignoring Killua's staring.

Gon was right. Aliara was probably fine. She was with her father, after all.

Where was it that they were going?

He flipped open the phone. The tracker was moving smoothly down public roads.

"Wixan Hill," he mused, remembering the name of the restaurant that Francis had casually tossed in the air.

The map didn't have millions of labels, but when he tapped the screen, a little name popped up. Like when he zoomed out and tapped the city, 'Yorknew City' popped onto the screen in red font. But he couldn't spend all night tapping everything in the city.

"Oi, Old Man," he called to Leorio, who stiffened, "where's Wixan Hill?"

"I'm not old," Leorio scowled, "and I don't know."

Killua frowned as they were swept along with the crowd, out the doors. He saw a security guard at the side. "Excuse me?"

"What do you want?" the man replied gruffly.

He flashed his large blue eyes, easily rolling with the 'innocent kid' role. "My friends and I want to go out to eat somewhere, like a pub or something. A guy recommended Wixan Hill. Do you know where that is?"

The guard scowled. "Leave me alone from your games, kid. There ain't no Wixan Hill in Yorknew."

Killua's eyebrows shot up, "are you sure?"

"Listen, kid, I know this city like I know the back of my hand. You can check a map if you really want, there's no Wixan Hill around here. I've lived here since I was born and I've never heard of it."

He tore away without saying another word.

He flipped open the phone, Gon peering over his shoulder.

The blip was no long on any public roads.

They were heading out of town.

"She's in danger," Killua hissed under his breath. He raised his voice as Leorio and Gon both studied him with odd expressions. "It's a trap. Ali's in danger. We need to leave."

Gon nodded. "Okay. We can save the crook catching for later."

"We need to leave now!" Killua called out to Leorio, who instantly called for a taxi.

What the hell have we gotten into?


Night Owl: Thank you! Yeah, I was trying to pick what family member should show up next and how... And somehow, it drifted to her father. Thanks for your review! :)

xenocanaan: Thank you! Thanks for the review! :D

Giggling Devil: How about both? Thanks for the review ;)

havanatitiana: Just a bit XD Thanks for the review! :)

RedBurningDragon: Yeah, no kidding. Thanks for the review! :)

Guest: Your review basically describes my reaction when I reread the chapter XD It was a bit of 'should I really try to do this?' but I went with it- I want to focus on Ali's past a bit more rather than sticking completely to the arcs. This was a good way to fit it in :) It's a good thing you don't trust him quite yet... Neither do Killua or Gon ;) Yeah, I finished Assassination Classroom and loved it to pieces, and I'm already working out a fanfic in my head- involving an OC, of course. I just started getting an image of a perfect student... XD Anyways, thanks for the review! :D

Readinga1Dragon: Aha... I finished it XD It was just so good! I fell in love with Karma and I've already got an OC I want to write a fanfic about. It just depends on my schedule... :/ Thank you for your review! :D

G: Thank you! :D

sytamika/Sytamika: Assuming you're the same person... Anyways yes, I'd like to fit in another interaction with her mother. The details aren't sharp quite yet, but I'm trying to plan something. I'm not sure how to do it quite yet. Thanks for your reviews! :D

Kaito1412: (Assuming both the reviews were from you) You guessed it... More action next chapter, I promise. Thanks for the review! :)

Oooo, long chapter. Go me. Fight scene next chapter!

AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR OVER 200 REVIEWS AND JUST UNDER 150 FOLLOWERS I LOVE YOU GUYS