A tense silence came and went, broken by Killua. "What do you mean?" he growled. It might have been intimidating in a few years, but as for now, his voice only trembled and belied his fear.
"Truly," the man rumbled, "I will surrender to you, if you wish it, Killua-sama. I only have two conditions. My first condition: hear me out until the time comes to make a decision. Do not attempt to attack me; do so, and you will forfeit my offer."
The needle-faced placed a casual gaze upon Killua. He just stared for a time; every last muscle in Killua's body was tensed and his expression was that of a cornered animal, but Killua did not move. Gittarackur was satisfied with this. "Very well, Killua-sama."
Gittarackur's hand jerked up to the side of his face. He pulled out the needle embedded in his left ear and discarded it. His hand snapped to the next needle, and the next after that and did the same. The man's flesh rippled into wax and melted off him. Kurapika had to force himself not to avert his eyes, not to feel the rising panic and disgust welling up within him. Killua did the same.
Underneath the waxy flesh, somebody new was revealed. Gittarackur was tall and broad and inhumanly angular; this new man was none of those things. He was elegant, lithe and long-limbed, with a soft and refined face. His eyes, however, glittered jet-black, and they held no warmth when they scanned over the candidates. They only saw threats, Kurapika thought, and of course, those too weak to pose a threat. They softened momentarily, only for Killua.
At a sharp gasp from Killua, the man laughed. "I'd hoped our reunion might have been under more favorable circumstances. At the very least, I'd held out hope that you would seek us out. Brother."
Brother. Kurapika's mind slammed to a halt. Killua's brother. Of the Zoldyck assassin family. If it was true, this man was one of the most dangerous Kurapika had ever met. When he was young, his mother had placed him firmly on her lap and told him stories about the monster-men who lived behind the black gate on Kukuroo Mountain. "They know when you don't eat your vegetables, little one," she had told him gravely, "and they come in the night to steal you away!" They were the monsters under his bed, the shadows lurking in his closet. And this man was a true Zoldyck, lacking any of Killua's lingering humanity.
"No," Killua muttered, "it can't be. Illumi?"
"Father sends his regards. Mother too, I suppose, though I've no idea why. You really did a number on her."
A minute grimace flickered over Killua's face, before being replaced with an expression more suitable for negotiation. "I'll do it to you too. If you try to bring me back."
Illumi's smile widened and became more ferocious. "Of course you would. I would expect nothing less from the family favorite." He spat the word out eagerly, in a way that felt entirely calculated. "Did you think that by running, you could cut us from your life? That we would vanish so easily? Honestly, Kil, Mother and Father may see a great assassin in you, but all I see is a child.
"You may think you've seen the worst humanity has to offer by now. You haven't. You haven't even scratched the surface. That's why you need us, and that's why you're going to come home with me after this exam is over."
"No!" Killua shrieked. "I'm not coming home. You can do whatever you like to me. I know you can't torture me worse than Father can."
With a barely-human screech, Killua launched himself through the air, straight for Illumi's face. "Killua, stop!" Kurapika screamed in spite of himself, even knowing that it would be useless. "You're going to fail if you do it!"
It did nothing. Killua did not even register the warning and then, as Killua reached out to tear Illumi's face from his skull, the room was flooded with energy. It crackled and roiled the air into something unfamiliar and hostile, and every breath lashed against Kurapika's throat. Illumi's face was as serene as ever, but his intent was clear, suffused in the energy radiating from him. Give up, it said, stop breathing, and I won't have to hurt you myself. Now, Killua was not charging; instead, he threw himself away from Illumi and against the corner of the arena, hands grasping wildly at the walls for support.
"I'm glad to see that not all of your training was lost on you," Illumi said mockingly. He walked across the arena, as though it were no more than a Sunday stroll, and crouched in front of Killua. "'An assassin never fights an opponent stronger than they are'. I'm almost touched that you remembered.
"Now, I'm feeling generous today, so my offer to you still stands. As I said, I'm going to surrender to you in a moment, unless you do something monumentally stupid. Will you?" At Illumi's stare, Killua shut his eyes and flinched. "Good, I thought not. Then I believe our relationship will be a very profitable one. You will return home and resume your assassin training. In return, you will receive two things. First, all your actions against the Zoldyck family shall be forgiven. You will face no justice for what you did to Mother. Your second form of payment, I believe, will be of much greater interest to you. The Zoldyck family will find Gon Freecss."
"You will?" Killua asked in a small voice, sheer shock causing him to momentarily forget his situation. "I thought assassins weren't meant to have friends."
"You're forgetting the most important rule of all, Kil: an assassin completes their mission," he explained. "There's only one thing more important, and that's your life. We're willing to do you a favor, in exchange for your service. It's a small price, really." But the more cynical part of Kurapika noted that Illumi promised nothing of actually allowing Killua to see Gon again.
"Can I—" Killua faltered, "can I have some time to think about this?"
Illumi sent an inquisitive look to Netero. He nodded in thought, stroking his beard dramatically, before answering, "Indeed you can, Killua-kun. The outcome of this match will be announced in 24 hours, when Killua will make his decision. We will move up our other matches accordingly."
Killua slumped back in relief and exhaustion against the concrete, even as the outcry from the other participants began. In the middle of the din, Leorio and Kurapika rushed onto the arena. Some of the Hunters tried to hold them back, but their attempts were perfunctory at best, and their regard for rules soon gave way soon enough.
"Stay awake, Killua," Kurapika ordered, since Killua looked past-ready to fall over unconscious. On closer inspection, his skin was clammy and somehow even paler than usual, with a gray pallor. He had exhausted himself entirely. Kurapika nudged his shoulder under Killua's arm to carry him off the arena.
"Are you going to do it?" Kurapika murmured once they were out of earshot of the other candidates, particularly Illumi. "You don't have to do anything, not if you don't think it's right."
"I don't think you should do it," Leorio said. "If that's really how they treat you, then you're better off anywhere else." A sharp nod from Leorio punctuated his statement. Does he think it makes him seem smart? Kurapika thought, rather uncharitably.
Still, Kurapika wasn't inclined to disagree with Leorio. Killua had a momentous choice before him, even if it didn't seem like one to him. In Killua's mind, there would be no choice to be made at all; finding Gon was all he could think about, and everything else would fade from view. Kurapika knew because he had seen it happen to himself. He had seen how the world felt unreal and out of his reach, how unwelcome food felt in his mouth, how every second of living became its own trial, and there was no antidote. There was no running away once it happened to you. All that remained was to finish what you started. Far too great a sacrifice to wish on anyone. But painful or not, that sacrifice was still a choice. And Killua would make it too, if necessary.
"I don't know what I should do," Killua finally admitted. "I—I feel like I should know, but I just don't."
Secretly, Kurapika felt a small spark of hope at Killua's indecision. It meant he was considering the consequences, that there was still hope for him. Kurapika hummed noncommittally. "It's a complicated situation. This isn't something you can just know the answer to." Kurapika barked out a wry laugh. "Gon certainly wouldn't want you to go, anyway."
Unfortunately, this was the wrong thing to say; Killua was even more despondent now. "That just means that I have to go. Gon wouldn't be selfish about it, if I were missing."
Kurapika had to concede that was at least partially true. If Killua were missing, Gon would have dove headfirst after him, damn the consequences—but this was all wrong. Killua couldn't just throw away his life like this because it was "what Gon would do".
"But you aren't Gon, are you?" he cried. "And Gon's not perfect. He can be rash, he can make bad decisions. So don't let what he would do be your guide. I'm begging you, decide this for yourself. That's the only way you can make peace with it."
Killua mumbled something, although Kurapika couldn't make it out, so he decided to let it go. Then, louder, Killua said, "Fine, 'll think about it," and left it at that.
"Tell us tomorrow?" Leorio asked anxiously.
"Yeah, tomorrow."
A/N: I was wondering what you all thought of the lengths of the chapters. I've been having trouble lengthening the chapters for a little while now, so I wanted to get some opinions on whether ~1500 words per chapter works for you, or if you would prefer closer to 2000 or 2500. I think I'll be able to write more next week though. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading!