In response to:

Nyu: It's alright! And yeah, people really can't be born like that. You'll see how I've planned his past out to be, and you're right; it's not all roses. I mentioned in a previous chapter that Feitan was 'kicked around until he was sick of it' or at least that's what Chrollo said. So for now I shall let your mind wander~ and lucky you! The update is today!

jovysanchez17: Thank you! Both of them will be completely revealed, so don't you worry.

Guest: Thank you, and yes, admittedly, I have noticed that as well and the problem is that I have trouble writing out all of the in between kind of stuff, when there isn't much happening it's very boring to write. But I'm happy to say that this chapter should be a bit more entertaining for me, and I promise you a much longer chapter c:

SilverSapphire34523: Yeaaah but Kurapika gotta do what Kurapika gotta do.

Mi-Chan: Do they actually replace them? I never thought about putting in a replacement character in for him… I always thought that they get replaced by the person who killed them? Now I'm confused but I don't think at the moment that they have any time to replace him but that really gets me thinking. Actually now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense and I feel sort of stupid because of Kalluto and Hisoka… maybe a sequel is in order?

OKAY GUYS I WENT HAM ON THIS CHAPTER UM MY HANDS HURT FROM TYPING SO MUCH HELP

but its okay because I love you

Chapter 36

That night, Kalluto and Lucius easily fit together on the queen sized bed. Next to them, beside the sliding door that lead to Killua and Gon's room (which is closed for the sake of privacy) is another queen sized bed where Melody lays.

Lucius has never shared a bed before, and she hadn't expected to feel so comfortable while lying next to the sleeping Kalluto. For some odd reason, she just feels safe around him in general. Perhaps it is his feminine qualities and gentleness towards her that makes her feel as though he could- and would - never harm her.

Across from them atop a small square nightstand against the wall is a tiny box T.V. which is silently playing some sort of horror film, lighting the room up every once in awhile much like lightning would.

She turns her head away from the T.V. and towards a closet near the hotel-room door where Melody had set most of her belongings.

Soon, her eyes get heavy and she finds that she can no longer hold her eyelids in place. After getting comfortable, curling up by the upper left hand corner of the bed, she is able to drift into a heavy slumber.

"He's been out there on the roof all day. What is he doing up there?"

"Just doing Feitan things, I don't know, looking at that art book or something."

Phinks and Shalnark stand outside with their feet shielded by the tall grass that had been previously wetted by a small rain shower that took place early in the morning, looking up at Feitan's crouched figure on the roof of the mansion.

"Well, you know, it's just that we're the only ones doing any looking." Says Shalnark, stepping out closer into the forest.

"Give him a break, he's going through some stuff." replies Phinks, following him closely behind. "Besides, the Boss told us that we only have to watch the perimeter until noon, then we'll rotate with someone else and it's probably close to eleven now."

"Aww…" Shalnark coos. "There goes Mama Phinks, being all sensitive for Fei-chan."

Phinks quickly raises a fist threateningly in Shalnark's direction with a red face. "Shut the hell up, Shal! I just know when to not mess with the guy. I know better than to piss him off when he's like that, alright?"

Shalnark laughs innocently, putting up his hands in a playful manner. "Alright, Mama Phinks, whatever you say." Wisely, Shalnark changes the subject. "So he's going out to the Estate tonight, isn't he?"

"Yeah. But I doubt he's going to go along with the rules that The Boss set tonight."

"Why do you say that?"

Phinks turns back and peers up at the crouching Feitan on the roof of the mansion.

"Well… I think he's pretty serious about getting what's-her-name back as soon as possible. I'll be surprised if he doesn't murder everyone in the mansion just to get her back."

Shalnark shrugs. "I guess. But what if there's no one in the Estate in the first place?"

Phinks turns away from the mansion and begins to walk around it.

"Well," He starts. "The orders he was given was to find her location. If he can't do that tonight, i'm thinking that we won't see him until he does."

"Yeah, I see how serious Fei is about this. It's weird seeing him like that." Shalnark sighs while avoiding a branch of shrubbery on the ground while following close behind Phinks to the front of the mansion. "Instinctively, I almost made fun of him for letting some girl get to him like that, but last night…" Shalnark's smile fades, which only happens on rare occasions. Phinks stops and turns to him.

"What happened last night?"

"I passed him down the hallway and I was going to make a joke about it. But then I saw his face. It really looks like he's been losing sleep over this. I knew if I had said anything about her, I would have lost my head…" Shalnark walks ahead of Phinks. "I just want to know what's going to happen if she doesn't return his feelings."

"Okay, be quiet about that, alright? You can't tell anyone that I told you about that. If Feitan heard that I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. But what if? What do you think he'd do?"

Phinks swallows hard. He hadn't thought about that.

"Well, I don't think he'd hurt her. Or anyone. It's hard to say…"

Shalnark and Phinks walk slowly in front of the entrance to the mansion.

"Do you want to know what I think?"

Phinks nods.

Shalnark speaks in a much quieter tone as they pass the side of the mansion leading back towards the cemetery.

"I think he'll be much worse than he is now."

"You think?"

"I don't see how else he'd respond. Or maybe after this mission, he'll just leave like he always does and never speak about it. But there's no doubt that he'll feel worse."

Phinks sighs as they reach the back of the mansion only to see that Feitan had beat them there.

Phinks greets him.

"Yo, Fei."

But then he turns to face them, and immediately Phinks understand what Shalnark was talking about.

Feitan's sunken eyes carry bags beneath them, and the spider appears to give him a much darker glare than usual. His eyes, fingers, and the corner of his mouth twitch as he meets eyes with his two companions.

"F-Fei?"

Feitan doesn't respond.

Silently, he passes Shalnark and Phinks and once they turn, he is nowhere to be found.

Shalnark just shrugs and says:

"Told you so."

Kalluto changes the channels on the television while Lucius passes his vision to the bathroom next to the small box television. He notices that she is still wearing the clothing that she borrowed from Killua.

"Hey, Killua!" He shouts over his shoulder.

Killua swings his head into the room from the sliding door that separates the rooms from each other and gives out a casual "hm?" in response.

Kalluto waits until he hears the shower running and whispers so that Lucius cannot hear him from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Don't you think we should try to find her some different clothes or something? She only has the pair you lent her."

Killua scratches at his head and sighs.

"I'll see what I can do. Kurapika can be kind of stubborn but I guess it's a necessity."

Kalluto flinches as he can hear Kurapika raise his voice at Killua, but soon Kalluto can tell that Killua has reasoned with the cranky Kurta, as their discussion becomes quieter and much calmer.

He smiles.

He wishes he could do more kind things for Lucius. He still feels guilt that cuts deep into his chest whenever he sees the bruises and scabs on her back, not to mention the white bandage that covers her head injury.

She was kind to him. Dressed him up and made him feel beautiful. And he thanked her by pushing her off of a balcony.

Kalluto sighs and lays on his side.

He has no time to be upset, though.

He has completed his objective: Find Killua.

For now, Kalluto knows that he can rest easy.

After a few minutes in the shower, Lucius comes out in the same clothing with a towel draped over her head. Her wet bangs cover half of her eyes as she walks towards him but stops as Kurapika and Leorio enters the room.

"Hey tykes," Says Leorio, "How about a night on the town?"

Kalluto sits up from his position.

"In YorkNew?" He asks. "Shouldn't we stay away from the city?"

Gon jumps through the gap in between Kurapika and Leorio in the doorway with a grin, pouncing in front of Lucius.

"Kurapika says that there's a town not too far from here! We get to buy you new clothes, Lucius!"

Lucius parts her lips slightly before giving a weak smile to the grinning child before her. Kalluto can tell in her voice that she tries her best to sound enthusiastic, but she cannot seem to shake the monotone veil over her voicebox.

"That sounds nice." She looks up at Kurapika. "Are you sure?"

Kurapika, shockingly, smiles at her. "It would be wrong of me to let you wander around in the same clothes for such a long period. We can go whenever you two are ready."

Kurapika leaves the room and shuts the door behind him after Melody enters the room and happily greets them.

Lucius quietly utters something to Kalluto.

"Thank you."

Kalluto blinks.

"What did I do?"

"You told him about the clothing."

"You heard? All the way from the shower?"

Kalluto looks behind Lucius and can tell that their conversation caught her attention.

Lucius nods.

"I would have thought that you'd know me better. We were partners, were we not?"

Kalluto fumbles over his words, slightly flustered.

"A-Ah. You see, we were only acquaintances. I knew about your music and sharp ears… I didn't think they were that sharp."

To his surprise, Lucius chuckles and sits next to him on the bed.

"Yes, I heard you. If you would like, I could prove this by telling you what I can hear from the room beside us."

Kalluto furrows his brow. Certainly she's lying. He can't even hear a word being spoken between his brother and Gon. Is it her Nen that allows her to do that? If so, how is she able to do it without her Nen?

Kalluto agrees, and Lucius seems to listen for a moment, cocking her head slightly without removing her gaze from him. And when she is finished, she speaks.

"Your brother is recalling a moment from his childhood." She pauses. "He climbed a tree to hide from his brother to avoid punishment."

Kalluto distinctly remembers this embarrassing moment that his brother went through when they were young. Killua left the mansion and never returned, but stayed on the property. Illumi went out to search for him, and Killua climbed the highest tree on the mountain to avoid getting in trouble by their mother.

Kalluto wonders if it could just be some freakish coincidence, but Melody confirms.

"She is not lying. It's a common trait among the Dupont family. A trait that both her and my family share."

Lucius looks back at melody.

"You are a Music Hunter?"

Melody nods with a smile. "And just like you, I can hear through these walls. Haven't you wondered why I can tell when others are lying?"

Lucius sits on the bed next to Kalluto, who crawls next to her to join the conversation, and faces Melody.

"I don't understand how that has anything to do with music or listening…" Kalluto says, furrowing his thin eyebrows.

"It has everything to do with listening." Says Melody while holding her hands up to her ears. "Lucius-San, are you able to hear my heartbeat from over there on that bed?"

Lucius, who is put off guard after Melody has spoken to her with such respect, nods. She is able to hear heartbeats, but after hearing them for so long and so often, she taught herself to tune it all out; like white noise. If she wanted, Lucius could listen to the breath of anyone within a 60 meter radius from herself in each direction.

But that's only if she wanted. Easily, and sometimes without trying, Lucius is able to tune out all of that much like the hum of an air conditioner. It slips her mind. Her ability is only useful when she actually tries to listen.

Lucius knows what Melody is getting at.

"When someone is lying, their heart races in search for a way out." Says Melody. "Can you tell someone's emotion from their heartbeat?"

Lucius shakes her head. "No. But I am capable of changing them myself."

"That is one of the first things that I was taught when I was young. But as a Dupont, those things came naturally to you, didn't they?"

"Yes." Lucius looks at the ceiling. "With the little information I have of my family, I can confirm that each child was born with the ability to change emotion with our own voices."

Melody chuckles. "I am a bit envious, to tell you the truth."

Lucius looks back at the floor and folds her arms, leaning on them and hunching over as if she has a stomach ache.

"The Dupont gene is nothing to be envious of, I assure you." She pauses. "they tend to be overwhelming." She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I sense that you're getting uncomfortable. I'm sorry. I'm just a bit excited to meet another Music Hunter."

Lucius cocks her head as she stares at the blue carpet. She hadn't actually thought of becoming a hunter.

A hunter…?

Surely she is capable of it.

Before she is able to think much more of the subject, Gon enters the room with Killua whining.

"Come on," Says Killua. "It's so boring in this hotel room! Let's go out and do something!"

"Oh, my apologies." Says Melody. "It seems I've kept everyone far too long. Let's go, then."

The group arrives in the next town over, which happens to be a prominent shopping district that attracts tourists and travellers while on their way to YorkNew. Homes are replaced by apartment buildings in this small town and the streets and sidewalks are flooded with people.

"...Do all these people live here…?" Gon wonders aloud as the car pulls up to a curb near a grocery store.

Leorio turns around in the passenger seat to face them.

"Only a select few people live in this town, most of the people you see in the streets are tourists on their way to YorkNew."

"Yeah." Killua agreed. "And most the people who actually live here are too shady to even come outside. I would know, friends of Milluki live here."

Kalluto pushes himself back into his seat with a look of disgust, silently muttering to himself and sticking out his tongue.

Lucius unbuckles herself from her seat. "Who is Milluki?"

Both Kalluto and Killua groan, not answering her question as they all exit the vehicle.

"Alright." Kurapika yawns and cracks his back. "We're allowed to split up here… but keep in touch, alright? If anything strange happens, inform me at once."

Gon holds up his cellphone and nods happily.

"Alright. Melody, you stay with them, alright? If you detect anything weird…"

"I know Kurapika," Says Melody with a soothing smile. "I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe. For now, we should try to relax and have fun."

Kurapika looks up at the sky with a worried expression and sighs.

"You're right."

With that, the group decides to split so that they may meet up later after getting their necessities. Melody, Kalluto, Killua, Gon and Lucius go towards the east side of the shopping district to find a few clothing stores.

Lucius, however, hasn't spoken with any interest in any of them.

After around ten minutes, the group looks at Lucius with mild concern.

"Um, Lucius… have you seen anything you like yet?"

Lucius blinks and stops in her tracks.

Oh yeah, they're shopping for clothes. For her.

She feels a lump in her throat as she looks them all back in the eyes.

Why is she suddenly so embarrassed?

Well, there is the fact that she has never actually shopped for her own clothes before. She has only ever been dressed in clothing that her father gave to her, which consisted of mostly black dollish attire with frills and tight blouses, and that happens to be the clothing that she feels most comfortable in. But, would it be selfish of her to make them pay for such a thing? Perhaps her taste is too expensive?

Is she thinking too much?

The group look at her with sheepish smiles. Kalluto pipes up.

"I know what she likes."

"Well, Kalluto knows everything, doesn't he?" Killua teases Kalluto by nudging him with his elbow.

"W-Well, I mean. I have an idea, in case she doesn't remember what she likes…" Kalluto looks down with a blush forming on his face. "There was a store back there that may be just what we're looking for."

Lucius nods. "I trust your intuition." She sighs and looks back in the direction they came from.

Killua groans. "I don't see why this is so difficult, we're just looking for clothes!" He puts his hands behind his head as they head in the opposite direction.

The store they approach leads an elegant header above its stained glass doors reading something in french. Lucius says the store's name aloud

"Papillon"

Killua scoffs. "What's that? Italian?"

Lucius shakes her head. "No, French."

The fact that the store's name is in french somewhat makes her feel much more comfortable with the place. In the windows are mannequins clad in lolita-esque clothing, which also soothes her soul.

The group opens the door and is immediately greeted with a very eager employee wearing a simple black, spaghetti strap dress with a white apron. Her blonde hair is tied back with a big black bow, and her make up seems to be rather.. "out there" if you will.

What bothers Lucius about this woman, is how she pronounces the stores name.

"Hello! Welcome to 'pa-pill-on' where we bring out your inner royal blood!"

When she is shrouded by second-hand embarrassment, Lucius ignores the woman and walks past her into the store, and she continues to speak to Gon and Killua.

Uncomfortably, the two boys search for ways to rid themselves of the woman by walking around the store aimlessly, but to their dismay, she follows them. Kalluto, Lucius and Melody are left to search throughout the store.

"All these clothes seem so elegant… Is this what you are used to wearing at your home?" Melody asks as she gawks at all the frilly clothing along with Kalluto and Lucius.

"Yes." She answers quietly. She takes a moment to check the price tag on one of the articles of clothing and is nearly physically affected by the outrageous price. "But perhaps we should-"

"Lucius! Over here! This would look nice on you!"

Lucius looks back behind her to see Gon (who has somehow separated himself from Killua and the crazy employee) holding a white frilled blouse in his hands. Melody smiles and whispers something to her.

"Don't worry about the price. Go on, have some fun."

Kalluto happily follows her in Gon's direction and Gon hands her the blouse with a large innocent smile.

"Don't you think it's nice? It reminded me of this old antique doll that my Aunt has."

Lucius smiles and nods, and Kalluto returns to her side.

"We could get you a few outfits, that's what Melody told me. Do you want to find something to match that?"

Lucius looks back at Kalluto, wondering why he is so eager to help her. Reluctantly, she agrees and Kalluto leads her to the back of the store where there's a large dressing room surrounded by tall wooden mirrors.

As she looks at herself, Lucius can't help but be worried about her shabby appearance.

Undoubtedly, most people she passed on the street earlier must have thought she was a boy at first glance. Before heading into one of the dressing rooms, Kalluto helps her untie the bandage around her head so that she may slip the blouse on.

She returns outside of the dressing room into the room full of mirrors to see that Gon has already picked out another article of clothing for her.

"I found these really nice black shorts that are puffy and stuff! They're not like most of the dresses I saw, but I thought they would look cool with these tights because you'd look like a jester!"

Gon holds up a pair of white and black striped tights with an even larger smile. Killua approaches him from behind with an even bigger smile, stifling his laughter.

"You seem to be enjoying this much more than you should, Gon." Says Killua.

"It actually looks nice." Says Kalluto, ignoring Killua. "It'll be more eccentric than your other clothing though…"

Lucius nods with a smile. She turns back to the dressing room, deciding to wear it for Gon's enjoyment and for the fact that it's different.

And she doesn't dislike it either.

She comes back and Gon claps for her, and she can't help but smile when he hands her a dress that he picked out for her.

Kurapika sighs audibly with his phone pressed to his face; anger swelling deep within him as his call goes, yet again, unanswered.

Then, his ringtone goes off while his phone is still pressed to his face. He has received a text message from Killua.

'if you've been calling Gon's phone, he's way too invested in dressing Lucius up to pick up the phone. Also he left it in the bathroom.'

Kurapika groans and turns to Leorio.

"Well, they're kids; they get to live like them."

Kurapika crosses his arms as the two make their way down the street. Leorio looks at his watch.

"Woah, it's already six!"

Then, a loud clap of thunder attracts their attention to the sky.

"We might as well head back…" Says Kurapika, almost exhausted.

"U-Um.. Kurapika?"

"Hm?"

"Did we really need this much spaghetti?"

Kurapika looks at the dozen take-out boxes in Leorio's arms before returning his attention to his cellphone to check the weather.

"There's seven of us in total, and you've seen how much Gon and Killua eat by themselves."

Kurapika then holds the cellphone back to his face, dialing Killua's number before doing so.

Feitan stands on the roof of the mansion, refusing Shalnark and Phinks as they attempt to lure him down. Behind him, the door to the roof of the mansion opens and Chrollo walks in his direction with a smile on his face. He turns to face his leader, but he does not look him in the eye.

"I can feel your excitement." Chrollo mentions as he stands by Feitan's side. "You have my blessing to leave early."

Feitan's eyes widen as his heart skips a beat and he looks at his leader, who is looking off into the forest surrounding the mansion

Feitan speaks in a raspy hushed whisper.

"Now?"

Chrollo smiles and nods and looks at him.

"Go."

okay guys that's all i can do for this chapter. Next chapter is when some action happens!

also, I need your opinions, if I say, came up with a good enough plot to make a sequel, would you be at all interested?