Hello and Happy Holidays, you all!

Yes, I'm alive! And yes I'm finally uploading a new chapter! Consider it my gift to you all in this time of the year! ;D

Also, let me take the chance to wish you all a wonderful 2020! Hope you'll all be happy and get closer to your goals in this new year! Hopefully I'll post more frequently as well =.=

Thank you so much everyone who reviewed the last chapter! starrat, Mystiix Dream, Bisque-Ware, Akira0666, doudouchinois, Guest, It's Lizzy, Stefany Hyuga and noiyohoho! I hope to keep you all entertained next year as well! :D

Kisses,

RedVoid

PS: "big reveal" that isn't actually a reveal in this chapter. ;)

"Iadbo, I-I'm sorry."

"No need to be. I can feel your emotions just as you do mine. I know your feelings are true, even if you can not say them aloud.

Iadbo saw her shoulders tense, rise and fall a few times as she breathed in deeply, trying to reign her emotions.

"Chosen One-" He began, before the words caught in his throat as she turned to look at him.

"My name-" She said with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. "-is Bleach. Nice to meet you, Iadbo."

The guardian smiled.

"I do not like that, Bleach. As matter of fact, I hate it. You have not recovered enough."

The woman let her lips curl up in a teasing little smirk as she turned to look at the guardian sitting on the side of her bed. She had been awake for a couple of hours now, propped up on a pillow, talking in hushed tones with Iadbo as Namid continued to heal her body. Her wounds had been all dressed, and the bloodstained coat she had been wearing was hanging from a hook on the wall, replaced by a thick and fluffy white robe.

Her left eye was wrapped in gauze, blindfolded.

"Do you hate the situation or just him?" She asked.

Iadbo shot her a glare and crossed his arms over his chest, positively pouting at her. Bleach's smirk stretched as she nudged him softly with her shoulder. He hadn't left her side for one moment since she woke up, always hovering near, as if she'd disappear otherwise.

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Iadbo."

"It is not only that." The guardian stated. "He is not worthy of you. He is manipulative and selfish. He could never give you what you deserve."

Bleach's smile dropped, as did her gaze. "You sound like Namid."

"So that midget does have some sense in her head still."

"I know he's not a very good person." Bleach whispered sadly. "But still..."

For better or worse, Illumi was the one person who knew the best and the worst in her. He had heard it all and seen it all with her, how much she was willing to sacrifice and how many lines she was willing to cross for those she cared about. He understood her. And she'd like to think she understood him as well, even if just the parts he allowed her to see.

I wonder...

Bleach snapped out of her thoughts, feeling Iadbo's eyes on her, intense and serious, and she felt as if he was peeling her skin, flesh and bone to stare at her very soul. She knew that, like Namid - and Illumi -, he would see everything. All the conflicting emotions she felt towards Illumi and the things he did to her. It was an embarrassing sort of intimacy, these bounds she had with her guardians, and it made blood rush to her face.

"I understand." Iadbo said at last and when she looked at him she could see his own emotions. How much he had loved the Casteres even after they had locked him away in that damn scythe. "I will give you some time then. When you want me back, just call to me. I will always be here for you, ready to kill that man at your word."

Bleach chuckled nervously. "Thanks."

With a nod, Iadbo stood up and glitched out of existence.

The only thing keeping Kalluto from pacing around the room like the anxious mess he admittedly was in that moment were his brother's eyes following his every movement. It seemed that Illumi's way of coping with his own anxieties involved watching and judging his little brother for anything he did or showed.

It was horrible, standing at the corner of the cockpit-slash-lounge in absolute silence as Ginza and Tsubone guided them back to Padokea. Amane stood stock still by her grandmother's side, gray eyes jumping from the windows in front of her to the door to Bleach's room every two minutes or so.

Meanwhile his big brother occupied one of the armchairs that made for a small lounge between the cockpit area and Bleach's room. Illumi was sitting so he could stare directly at him and always keep the bedroom's door in his peripheral vision.

The silence was heavy and suffocating, and Kalluto wished to be anywhere else - inside that damn room - but there.

But then the lock to Bleach's room clicked and the door was pushed open and Kalluto was staring at the thief.

Bleach stood in the doorway, body slightly curled as she clutched her IV drip-stand with her right hand. Her left eye hidden from them by the bandages Amane had wrapped around her head earlier. She had a white robe covering her body from her neck to her ankles. And to his shock and relief, she was smiling. It was a small thing - barely even reached her only visible eye - but it was there.

"Hey." She spoke, voice a whisper of what he remembered. It felt as it had been years since he last heard her. "Gods, look at your faces… I must look horrible."

For a moment it seemed the whole room stopped breathing. Even Illumi couldn't keep his breath from catching, and when Kalluto turned to look at him he saw something so absolutely raw in his brother's eyes... it was the most human emotion he had ever seen there in his short life.

In a moment Amane had flanked Bleach's left side, pulling her arm over her shoulders and helping her into the armchair across from Illumi. She just chuckled at the butler, saying that she could walk by herself.

Kalluto hadn't been conscious when they had found Bleach, but from what Amane told him, she had been in a terrible state. He knew Namid's healing powers were supposed to be out of this world, but he didn't think he'd see the thief up and about anytime soon.

"Iadbo gave me some of his Aura to fuel Namid's powers." Bleach explained, as if reading his thoughts. "It helped a lot."

"Still, you shouldn't be up yet!" Amane scolded, fingers on her wrist, taking her pulse. "You should've called me if you needed anything."

Bleach smiled - but not quite - apologetically at the butler, and Kalluto watched from the corner, seemingly frozen at the spot. Not unlike his brother.

Illumi, to his surprise, remained unmoving on his chair, wide eyes glued on Bleach, taking in every single detail, as if she could disappear at any second.

Before his brother could take action, Kalluto walked towards Bleach until he was standing at the side of her chair. Amane paused her fretting and both women turned their gazes to him.

Kalluto swallowed and without a word he sat sideways on the arm of the chair, wrapping his arms around Bleach's neck and burying his face in her white locks. They were still wet and smelled of the strawberry shampoo Amane had used to wash them.

He felt Bleach return his embrace, hands pressing gently against his back as she smiled against his cheek. He felt tears that weren't his on his skin.

"Thank you." She sobbed, and he felt his heart clench. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Kalluto hadn't seen Bleach at her worst and he still didn't know exactly what was done to her, but still he wished he could torture those fucking second-rate assassins to death for it.

Illumi was jealous.

Of his own brother.

All of his siblings were different from each other, but still he wondered how Kallu was able to so openly care about someone right in front of him. From all of them, Kallu was the one most similar to him, the one who could've been molded into the perfect, unfeeling assassin the Zoldycks were supposed to be.

And there he was, hugging Bleach tight to himself, making it clear to her and all around that she was much more than a hired thief to him.

And here he was, watching his little brother console his woman with an impassive mask on his face and a shadow over his eyes.

Illumi understood then that, while he did hate the concept of forming bonds outside of family, he also envied his little brothers for it. His family was all Illumi had - all he would ever have - so it made sense for him that they should feel the same, that they would remain loyal in their affections as he was in his.

But then she came along, saved Killu, seduced him, and befriended Kallu as if it was natural. As if they had every right to care for an outsider like her.

Bleach wormed her way into their - into his - lives with the same stealth as she did any of her thefts. She breached his defenses without his noticing, explored everything Illumi held inside without making a sound, leaving little pieces of herself along the way.

And now the pieces were many, fitting together into a puzzle that was far too large for him to remove from himself, and far too complicated for him to break down back into little pieces.

She made him care for her, so much that he halted his whole life to save her. So much that he hadn't been able to eat because the possibility of her being dead was enough to tie his stomach into knots.

The last time Illumi felt like this was when Killu had made his wish to Alluka; when Illumi had believed his little brother and his all family would cease to exist.

But he was a professional, he kept his head and moved efficiently, not allowing himself to show just how horrible he felt when Bleach disappeared, or how relieved he was now that he had her back. He just watched from the sidelines, unable to let other people know that what he was feeling was more than just possession; more than just retrieving something he had claimed as his own.

Illumi loved her, and he wasn't able to show it.

Bleach admitted, she had lost control a little bit there. She was prepared to be cool as a cucumber, pretend all was fine and that the whole ordeal had been nothing but another day of work. They all had actually flown halfway across the world to help her, and she didn't want to behave like a little bitch, who'd cry and get all emotional. They were professional assassins for gods' sake! they didn't have the time to deal with her overflowing emotions.

But when Kalluto had hugged her, she broke down like a Jenga tower and bawled her eyes out like a goddamn baby.

How could she not when there was so much warmth around her? She spent days - she wasn't even sure how many - feeling nothing but cold, pain and fear; and now she was surrounded by people that actually cared about her.

Bleach had no idea how Illumi and Kalluto even noticed she was missing, but they did. More than that, they found out who had kidnapped her and where they had taken her. And they came to rescue her.

I didn't think anyone but Gon and Killua would ever do something like this for me.

Bleach pulled back slowly, smile tugging on her lips when she looked at Kalluto. The boy's violet eyes were wide and searching, not missing a single emotion that went through her own eyes - or well, eye.

"I'm okay." She spoke with a hoarse voice that she almost didn't recognize. "Thanks to you."

Bleach looked around, crossed gazes with everyone around her before settling on Illumi. The assassin was sitting across from her, staring unwaveringly at her, and once upon a time she'd think his eyes cold and unfeeling.

But she knew him too much by now not to see the shadows darkening the alabaster skin under said eyes, the way they were wider than usual, swirling with barely contained intent. The thief could almost see the strings he tied around himself to keep from showing anything more than he was willing to show.

It was not the same as Kalluto's warm hug, or Amane's motherly fretting, but it was more than she ever expected from him. It was enough to make her smile just a bit more sincere.

It was all more than enough.

"Thank you. Thank you everyone."

They all ate dinner afterwards. Some microwave meals that had tasted better than anything Bleach had ever eaten in her life. Afterwards, Amane took her back into the bedroom to have a second look at her wounds: she redressed them, applied a second dose of antibiotics in her and helped her dress in actual clothes: a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt and a gray hoodie over it. All of those pieces were ones that Bleach wore frequently, they were comfortable and fit well on her. Or they used to be; now they were a tad too loose on her, as if they were some handouts from someone bigger than her.

The thief sighed as she pulled on the extra fabric of her clothes, stretching them tight over her skin. She looked sickly, as she did back in Meteor City.

"I'm sure you'll recover your weight soon, Bleach." Amane consoled, offering her a weak smile. "A few weeks eating healthily and exercising should do the trick."

Bleach swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded at the butler.

Amane stared at the thief, hesitating on what to say that could provide any sort of comfort to her. Before she could make up her mind there was a knock at the door, making both women refocus their attention.

"It must be Ginza or my Grandmother…" Amane mused.

Bleach shrugged and stood up from the bed to open the door, activating Amane's desperate mode. The young butler immediately started screaming that she should rest, going as far as physically putting her back in bed before making her way to the door to open it herself.

"You shouldn't stand up, Bleach-sa- I mean, Bleach." She scolded as she pulled on the doorknob. "Allow me to-"

The words caught on Amane's throat when the door revealed none other than Illumi standing there, half-lidded eyes betraying nothing.

"Illumi-sama!"

Bleach tensed, pulling the zipper of her hoodie as high as it would go as her body curled slightly on itself. She remembered what had happened last time they were alone together and while she didn't think anything like that would happen again, she was still a bit… jittery. She kept her eyes downcast, staring at the medical supplies Amane had left on the mattress as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Amane, leave us."

The butler glanced at Bleach - who had actually flinched at those words - then at Illumi and hesitated again. It was clear the thief was nervous to be left alone with him. The right thing to do would be protest, say that he should give her more time before doing…. whatever it was he wanted to do with her-

"Amane."

-However. He was her boss and she would always obey him.

"Yes, Illumi-sama."

The butler bowed low and stepped aside so her boss could walk into the bedroom. She walked out, but didn't close the door right away.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call." Amane said and when Bleach looked up, she saw her gray eyes were fixed on hers.

The thief's eyes widened for a second and she dared to glance at Illumi, who clenched his jaw slightly. There was no helping the amused twitch of the thief's lips at Amane's little flirting with insubordination.

"I'll be fine. Thanks Amane."

The butler bowed once more and closed the door behind her, leaving her and Illumi alone in the bedroom.

Bleach tried to keep the resemblance of a smirk on her face, but when she settled her eyes on Illumi her expression fell apart.

He was staring at her in that way that was exclusively his, as if he was trying to pull her into his mind with his eyes alone. As if he wanted to drown her inside of his black eyes, so he could consume her completely, so if she ever managed to pull away, she'd always be coated by his essence.

She had grown used to that look before, had seen it on him on more than one occasion when they were having sex - once or twice when they weren't - and once upon a time she had even grown to crave being on the receiving end of that look.

Now, after everything, she didn't know how to feel about it.

Things had been more than complicated last time she had been with him, so much she had believed it might've been the end of their relationship.

But then she was kidnapped and brought to another continent, and he had come to help her. And here he was, waiting patiently for her to say something and looking at her that way.

She didn't know how to feel anymore. She was overwhelmed.

Bleach took a deep breath and opened her mouth, hoping something sassy and smart would come out of it.

But whatever it was remained stuck in her throat as something horrible settled on her chest and dug its claws under her skin, squeezing her heart and lungs so tight she couldn't even breathe properly.

Before she even noticed what was happening, Bleach was heaving as tears started to run freely from her eyes, blurring her vision until she couldn't distinguish among the many shapes of lights around her.

Warmth enveloped her suddenly, pulling her in a tight embrace.

Bleach tried to will herself under control, demanding under her breath that her body would stop shaking and crying like that. She said she was okay, that he could let her go. She had gone through worse before and dealt with everything by herself just fine.

"You can cry." She heard Illumi's voice whisper in her ear. "And I won't let you go."

Bleach continued to sob dejectedly.

Her hands were clenched around the fabric of Illumi's shirt.