It's 11:35pm, but I've kept you all waiting long enough. There was some technical difficulties between me and my beta, or this would've been up a couple days ago. I'm always apologizing for making you guys wait. I need to get on that and fix it. Not that I'm eager to be done with this story (I'm not, trust me, I'm very much enjoying writing it), but if I keep updating at this pace, who knows how long I'll be posting? I feel bad 'cause I've got my MHA story waiting in the wings for its part two. For now though, I should enjoy it while it lasts. I always get a bit sad when I reach the end of a story, so I'll enjoy every second I get to spend with Sera!

"I'm Gon, nice to meet you!"

The boy with a blackish green starfish for hair puts his hand over the table, and after a moment, I take it reluctantly. His hand is particularly hot, but I'm not inclined to hold onto it for very long. When he's finished with me, he shakes hands with Naii, who politely gives him her name. I push myself a little harder against the wall and away from her. Across from me, the new boy sits back down in his seat, and next to him Killua introduces,

"And that's Sera. I picked him up on my last mission to the NGL. Since I decided to let him live, the Association stuck me with being his babysitter. Naii joined us for the last mission."

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but you're a chimera ant, right?" Gon asks, eyes curious and wide. I glance at Alluka where she sits scrunched on the end next to Killua. At first glance the two seem similar, but something in my gut doesn't sit right with this one.

I meet his gaze, then prop my chin on the heel of my hand. Killua said before to keep my status hush, but in front of this boy the urge to show him just how superior I am stirs. "Prince of the colony. In other words, the strongest. If I'd cared in the slightest I could've pounded that hideous joke of a queen into the mess of pulp she was just begging to be, but I didn't really envy that throne of trash of hers." And the idea of having any of her repulsive blood and flesh tainting my skin was absolutely intolerable.

It doesn't get the cowed reaction I'd hoped for, but it does at least earn some awe. "Does that mean you're as powerful as a King?"

I open my mouth, but Killua butts in.

"No."

"Excuse me?" I grit my teeth. He meets my eyes lazily, but firmly.

"Just the royal guards were leagues more powerful. At best, he probably would've had the potential to become a general."

"Don't just assume I'm weak because you can beat me. You're just a freak!"

"I don't assume. Measuring your strength against just the King's subordinates, it's a fact you're not as strong."

The pressure inside my face begins to build. Meanwhile, a woman stops at the table and gives us our drinks, and I boil in silence as the others tell her what food to get us.

When she leaves, Gon assures me, "It's nothing to feel bad about. If you think Killua has freakish strength, the royal guards were monsters. There's probably not a lot of things in this world that could've gone up against them, human, ant, or anything."

His words bring to the surface a hazy memory not my own, a remnant left being by that forest's invasion. A horrific murderous face spliced together with insectoid anatomy, a vicious aura that emitted a terror-inducing weight. I stop breathing, stop blinking. Certainty hits me that that thing is what he's talking about. It couldn't be anything else. And that's absolutely right. If I met such a thing, I would run. But I wouldn't be able to escape it.

And Killua...that's Killua's memory. Killua confronted that.

"Are you okay?"

I snap out of it to find Gon giving me a look of concern, and everyone's eyes on me. I force myself to swallow and look at the wall. "Fine, sure. A general."

"What about you, Ms. Naii?" Gon changes the subject. "You're a Hunter, right? What do you hunt?"

She takes a sip of her drink before responding. "Ancient artifacts."

"Really? My dad's done stuff like that before. It's not really my thing, but it's really cool people spend the time to discover those kinds of things! You must know a lot about history."

"Out of necessity," she confirms, passive.

"So how'd you end up joining the ant hunt? Do you think the ants might have some kind of artifact you're looking for?"

Her expression doesn't change, but it doesn't need to for me to feel itchy when she stares at me out of the corner of her eye.

"No. I'll kill the creatures who killed my son."

The table goes silent. Alluka's face steeps into shocked pity, and Gon dims and stirs his drink with the hollow tube poking out of it. Killua keeps a straight face. I narrow my eyes under the scrutiny from the woman beside me.

Then, quietly, Gon murmurs, "That's hard. I know the feeling." He smiles down at his drink, but his eyes and his aura disturbingly contradict the expression. The itching that had started on my skin suddenly squirms its way under it. Naii shifts her attention to him. I blink when her cold aura suddenly warms by a few degrees.

The mismatch surrounding Gon lifts like it was never there when Killua asks, "How've you been since we last saw each other?"

"Ah, you know, a lot's happened. The world really is vast, Killua! There's so many different lands and creatures out there, it's no wonder there's such a demand for Hunters! But you know, sometimes the coolest things can be found in places you're familiar with. Like your height! If Aunt Mito saw you, she'd be really impressed!"

"You're one to talk. I thought I'd be able to lord over you next time we met, but you really kept up with me."

"Mm, I think you're still taller, though." Gon scoots in closer and moves a flat hand from his head to Killua's, the hand hovering just around Killua's eyes. Their shoulders brush against each other and my eyes tighten. Pouting, the boy laments, "Thought so. How tall are you now?"

Killua smirks. "Last I measured, around five eight."

"What? How do you grow so fast? What's it been, four years since we met? How come I only grew five inches and you grew six?"

The more they go back and forth, the harder I find it to sit still. Even when the woman comes with our food and we start eating, the two keep talking through mouthfuls like they just can't stop interacting, Alluka occasionally joining in between bites. I shove the sandwich in front of me into my mouth and struggle between my urge to devour it and the need to not look disgusting. I still end up with nothing left way before the others.

I all but run outside when we finally leave, being shoved between Naii and forced to watch Gon banter with Killua suffocating enough that they should be thankful I didn't lash out. You don't need to tell me that if I so much as lifted a hand with the intent of harming Gon, I'd be skewered through. I lift my head up to the sun and yell in frustration.

"What's with you?" Killua wonders, glancing back at me.

Alluka worries, "What's wrong?"

Gon stares back at me waiting, looking neither surprised nor concerned, thumbs hooked through the straps of the bag he wears on his back.

I ignore them and go back to walking, and everyone keeps moving. Killua turns to Gon to tell him about how Alluka wants to go shopping. As he complains about losing something called a backpack a couple weeks back, I eye his lean back. I step forward to jump on. Before I can take two steps, he interrupts his conversation to look over his shoulder and ask, "What?"

Annoyed to have my plans interrupted, I cast him an upwards glare. "I don't like walking in these things. Carry me."

"Walk in them so you get used to it.

"You don't like the shoes?" Alluka wilts.

He adds, "You're the one who decided on them. Ignore him, Alluka, he's just complaining to complain."

The face pressure returns and I growl, "It's not a big deal. I'm not heavy, and it's not like you're weak. And you owe me. You shoved me away for no reason in the bus."

At the mention of the bus, red colors his pale face, and he raises his voice to return, "I had a reason, you're just an idiot! Don't cause a scene. Believe it or not there's a time and place for things."

Gon watches his friend as close as I do, and my mood sinks further. I approach to pull myself onto Killua's back but he turns his front to me, panic showing through.

"I said no! Can't you keep your hands to yourself?"

"The more you say no, the more I want to!"

"Don't be such a sadist!"

"Brother, Sera, please don't fight."

"Let it happen," Naii says to the girl. "Some people will always fight."

"Just walk! We're only here for a day so let's finish the things we need. Stop wasting time!"

I don't like it. Why does he like this brat more than me? He's already got one naively friendly human following him around, what's the use of another? And something about this one feels off, and it puts me on edge. And he's not nearly as nice of a specimen as me. So what if he's got some muscle? His big eyes and flashy hair make him look the same age as Alluka, even if he is a little taller than me!

Killua tries to keep going, but I refuse to budge. If he doesn't listen to what I say, fine. I won't move until he carries me.

He grimaces. For a second he looks at Naii, almost like he expects her to do something. Then he makes a noise I recognize as resignation. Even if my mood seeps through me like venom, I still find enjoyment in seeing the flowery pink on his face. He turns away from me.

"Just to the store, you got it?"

I don't say anything and climb up onto his back. I cross my legs around his front and my arms around his neck, and in revenge for my awful mood, I go ahead and squeeze him for all its worth.

"Tch. Come on, Alluka, what store were you thinking?"

A little nervous, she names something, and Killua sets off. Walking next to us, Gon comments, "Wow, Killua has a hard time handling you, huh?"

I rest my temple on his shoulder, staring at the boy, and sturdy my grip on the guy I'm on.

"Like I said, babysitting."

My eyebrow twitches, and without warning I turn my head and suck sharply at the base of his neck, only caring not to pierce his skin with my fangs. The pulse beneath the surface thrums as he heats up rapidly, and his feet stop in place. I lessen the suction and let go with a satisfied lick, mood beginning to improve as I look at the new splotch of red on the side of his neck.

"Off." His voice cracks.

"Punishment." I don't loosen my grip in the slightest, and lay my head back against his shoulder. Looking at Gon again, I give the staring boy a smirk of triumph. "Don't treat me like a child. I know the way you look at me."

His aura begins to crackle, but I take the chance and don't heed the warning this time. "Sera, get off. Now."

"You said until the store, so keep your promise. And maybe think about treating me properly."

"Get off!"

Smile gone, I lift my head from his shoulder. He looks straight ahead, cheeks and ears aflame. I lower my gaze back to the darkening spot on his neck. The electricity in his aura begins to sizzle, so I let the mark make me complacent and lower myself back to the ground. Hands in his pockets, he powers on ahead with Gon hot on his heels. Alluka walks with me.

"Um, so, what exactly is your relationship with Brother?" she wonders, lost.

"It should be simple," I gripe, touching my lips. "I'm attracted to him, and he's attracted to me, but he won't act on it and won't let me, either! It's not like he doesn't have sexual urges. He's an animal! Even if I'm male that doesn't change the fact I could satisfy him!"

The girl's whole face goes red with blood. Her hands wring in front of her as she stammers, "W-Well, um, maybe...he wants there to be love first?"

"I already love sex. He has to do it before he can love it, so if he waits for love he'll never mate with anyone in his life!"

"That's not what I mean," she denies in a small voice.

"She means love between people."

I pull my lips over my fangs and bare them at Naii. The woman walks a short distance behind us, and only looks at me when I glance back at her.

"Uhuh. You know, s-sex and that kind of thing...is something you do with the person you love, after you get married."

Who knows what "married" means, but to love a person? Maybe I could get why someone would love me, but everyone else has so many flaws! Things are lovable when they're perfect, like warm water and delicious, fresh food, so loving a person just doesn't make sense.

Once again, Naii gives her opinion for some reason. "Not always. There are people who are fine with sex without love. And most people don't wait to get married."

I keep grimacing at the unwelcome intruder in our conversation, while Alluka continues to be flustered. The woman's black eyes bore into me from under long lashes.

"But Killua seems to be the type who associates it with love. If you want to make him yours, you'll have to make him love you, and unless he's the type who gets dumb in love, you'll have to love him, too."

"If you're gonna stalk me, then keep doing so with your mouth shut," I hiss. Seriously, why do humans have to act like everything's so complicated? Mating is mating, pleasure is pleasure. There's nothing else to it unless you add in reproduction, and as far as I'm concerned, what good is propagation?

"Then, are you saying you don't love my brother?"

"I'm tired of talking about random stuff." I walk ahead and catch up to Killua and Gon.

Tsk tsk, Sera. Sometimes other people know more than you. Too bad he's not one to listen. Anyway, someone asked if they'd ever get permission to make this into a comic, and my answer is I would love to see that if you ever decide to! The idea of someone other than me making art of my characters...literally a dream. Please let me know if you actually make one, I would 100% read it! With that said, I'll bid you all adieu, and goodnight! I will be heading to bed!