C H A P T E R F O U R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter. The wonderful characters are the creation of Togashi-sama. Any original characters who do appear however (and there will be plenty) belong to me.

Summary: It all began when Illumi was caught wearing women's clothes and competing in a beauty competition. However, it would seem that there are other reasons for his cross-dressing, and winning the prize not all that important.

Rating: M 15+

Illumi dug into his glossy matching purple handbag for the mobile phone before Karen could respond. His trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons. It was the opportunity of a lifetime – she would be better than any other doctor from the most prestigious hospital and could help Alluka for sure. He finally managed to punch in the numbers for Milluki's cell-phone and waited for the computer genius to pick it up.

"Yo big bro." Milluki's voice was followed by a strange crunching noise - ah, the chips, of course.

"Millu, bring Allu to Arcadia Central immediately. I'll meet the both of you at the entrance to the Outer Forbidden Palace at ten thirty tomorrow night."

"Whoah! Hold on a minute there! Everyone's here in Arcadia Central bro; Mum, dad, grandpa, and us three as well!"

Illumi's heart began to beat harder and faster, the information furiously fanning the fires of outrage and confusion in his mind. "You're here already?"

"Yeah, would you believe it?" Milluki snorted, crunching another fistful of chips, "The Zoldicks are out on a family trip because mamma wanted us to behave like a normal family for once. I don't know how she managed to persuade ol' dad."

Illumi felt like his heart was bleeding on hearing the news. His throat was starting to constrict and he almost choked on his words. "But why Arcadia?"

"Mum heard about a Coronation festival and thought it would be fun. I for one have had a fabulous time already! Did you see the chicks at the beauty contest! Man! If I could lay my hands on one, especially that Arammi…"

Illumi swallowed down his repulsion at that very thought and concentrated on the conversation at hand. "How's Allu? Make sure he's not dressed too warmly. It's a hot day today."

"Yeah yeah, Karuto and I are taking good care of him whilst mum and dad go frolicking. Grandpa is having a good time hanging about the museum."

Milluki was obviously not paying much attention to the phone call or else he would have picked up the hint of distress in his brother's voice. Must be distracted by all the food, Illumi thought darkly. With a brother who couldn't be entrusted with a single task, how were you not supposed to worry?

"Tomorrow night." He stressed again. "At ten thirty: The entrance to the outer palace with Allu. I've found someone who can help."

"That's cool. We'll see you then." Milluki hung up on the other end, eager to return to his food shopping.

Illumi leaned against the tree trunk and breathed in deeply, the smell of damp earth and grass teasing his nostrils. He had to be calm and figure out a way to avoid his family for the next forty-eight hours if he wanted to get his payment for the job and leave the country alive. It was harder than most of the assignments that he had to handle. If he had things his way, he thought bitterly, he would certainly stay for another month so that he could spend more time with Karen. But no – as was his miserable fate, whatever small pleasures he found in life would be taken from him, throwing him back into isolation and the solitary life, alone and unaccompanied.

"Arammi-san?" Illumi cast aside his morbid thoughts guiltily, noting that Karen was concerned about him again. Were his expressions showing on his face? That cannot be. He could not remember having any expressions since the day he could comprehend.

"Is there a 'Coronation festival' to be held soon or something? Apparently, my entire family is here to join in the fun. It's just kind of embarrassing that they found out I entered a beauty competition."

Karen relaxed, falsely believing this confusion to be the root of Illumi's troubles. "Rodimostev III became Emperor at around this time last year. The festival is all around us Arammi-san. The Market Square isn't usually bursting with so much entertainment you know." She stole a quick look at her watch and almost jumped.

"My goodness, look at the time! I've got to get home for tea otherwise father will be cross."

"I'll be bringing my brother tomorrow night." Illumi repeated, watching her dust the dirt off her pale blue silken summer dress. It was trimmed with silver on the edges with a twining vine of roses running along the hem of the skirt. She gave him a curt nod.

"I'll bring my mentor. He's one of the top doctors in the Forbidden Palace. He and I will make your brother walk again."

Having made his farewells, she dashed across the thick carpet of grass and made her way back to the main road on the far side of the park.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE!

The tormented voice rattled inside his mind, over and over again as he made his way back to the hotel to rest and avoid bumping into his family members.


"Leorio! Put that down immediately!" Doctor Faust demanded. Leorio almost dropped the bottle and caught it under the angry glare of his mentor.

"Of all students I get, I just had to have the slow one." Faust muttered, scratching his chaotic straw-like blond hair. Leorio carefully replaced the jar, then aimed a well trained glare at the back of the white lab coat of the doctor which was bent over rummaging for some old texts in cardboard boxes way past their usage date.

"Sensei, what are we looking for again?" he waved his hand vigorously in front of his face to ward off the sudden tornado of dust as Faust heaped a mountain of books at his feet.

"Take these, and we're on our way out of the Palace."

"What am I? A pack horse?" Leorio's quiet brooding did not escape the Royal Doctor's keen ears.

"As a reinforcement type, yes. For goodness sakes just get moving and stop complaining like a woman all the time! You don't want to stay around the motes and mites!"

Leorio finally trundled out into broad daylight, silently proud of his balancing act with the books. How did he end up following this mad scientist who applied black lipstick and had outrageously dark eye-bags? One day he was studying his pants off to win a scholarship; next Medical School had sent him packing to Arcadia to train under a 'Royal Doctor'. It had sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime at first, but when Faust discovered that his nen was very limited, the teacher student relationship instantly crashed downhill. Apparently, mastering nen was a pre-requisite for all Royal Doctors.

Leorio couldn't believe it at first – the Emperor of Arcadia had, at his disposal, several dozen men and women who were all at the peak of their skills. Not only did they apply the marvels of science and technology, their additional abilities allowed them to restore limbs in a fraction of the time that normal medicine would take or to heal wounds without the aid of anything but their personal energies. It was the opportunity of a lifetime – he just didn't have the potential to seize it.

"Are you listening? We are heading off to Kastro Court where we'll be joining General Kamus and his daughter for afternoon tea."

Leorio grumbled. "Whatever. What about these books?"

"That's where we're taking them. The General's daughter is my brightest student yet. You'd do well to learn from her."

Leorio's eyes brightened at the thought. The General's daughter he fantasized, wondering how old she was and what she might look like and how she might look in sexy lingerie.

"You so much as drool on her and I will sew your lips together. Then perhaps you can learn to practice anaesthetizing your own face to un-pick the stitches."



* * * *



"Sorry I'm late Father." Karen took her seat on her father's faint nod of acknowledgement and sipped on some bitter Arcadian tea. He was staring into space with that brooding, impassive expression whenever he was troubled by something.

He abruptly turned to face her. "Where were you all day?"

"I was with Arammi-san at rehearsal today," Karen initially stammered but quickly recovered from the shock, "She felt sick half-way through so I accompanied her for lunch at the park."

Karen failed to notice the slight twitch of the lips or the tension of the muscles around Kamus' eyes. "Felt sick?" he echoed. His daughter nodded.

"She said she felt very cold and could barely stand up. I think she was much better by the time I left her though."

Kamus absorbed this information without a blink. He was about to ask his next question when a servant entered.

"General, the Royal Doctor Faust has arrived. He says that he has been invited by the Lady Karen."

"Why yes." Kamus watched the relief and anxiousness in his daughter's actions as she half stood up, undecided whether she should go to the door to see her mentor or wait for him to come in. She took in a deep breath and took her seat again, her mind made up and her voice steadier. "Please send him in, and set the table for two more."

Doctor Faust, still dressed in his white lab coat (which everyone knew he wore as a fashion statement rather than for its practical purpose), strode into the dining hall with light and energetic steps and gave the General and his daughter a lavishing bow. Leorio tried to bend over but decided against it in fear of dropping his cargo. He peered around the stack of books that he was juggling and caught a glimpse of the mad doctor's student.

Faust's high baritone voice severely cut through his mesmerized state, silently reminding him of the threat. "Leorio, would you kindly remove that inappropriate grin off your face and behave." A servant came and relieved him of those musty books.

"Take them to my study." Karen ordered, then eyed Leorio with mild suspicion.

"Good afternoon General, Karen-chan." Faust gave his favourite pupil a wink that she replied with a wide smile. "Thank you for the invitation. This lumbering dolt here is my new student - "

"Leorio." He put on what he believed was his most dashing and handsome look, extending his hand to the young woman. Unbeknownst to him, three blue lines appeared beneath everyone's eyes. Faust reacted first and slapped his hand away.

"Fear not Karen-chan. He cannot constitute a threat. I thought he might be bright at first, being a Hunter and all, then I find out that he barely knows nen!" He threw his gloved hands up in frustration and took his seat beside his pupil.

"Well, stop standing there gawking and take a seat too, you imbecile. Be honoured that you can sit and have lunch with an Arcadian General! Well Karen-chan, I bought the texts and books that can help us. What is the condition of this…why are you winking at me like that?"

In fact, Karen was trying to shush up her hyper-centric mentor with cryptic facial movements that he failed to interpret.

"What were you about to work on honey?" her father asked again. She could hear his disapproval and interrogation but bowed her head politely.

"It's nothing much…you see, Arammi-san's younger brother - "

"Ah yes," Kamus interrupted again "that reminds me, I want you to cease your interactions with her as soon as possible."

Karen blinked, baffled. "What?"

"I want to clarify some things in the meantime. You may see her again once I approve."

"I beg your pardon?" her voice hardened and her eyes began to narrow dangerously. That only annoyed her father.

"She might not be who she claims to be." Kamus folded his arms and crossed his legs, settling into a more comfortable position, indicating that he was about to have a lot to say.

"This morning, after that lunatic rejected my kind advice, I bumped into two boys. One of them claimed that Miss Arammi was his brother? Kids – you know they have no shame these days; will say anything just to get a rise out of your gullibility." He ran a coarse hand through his thick, jet-black hair and chuckled harshly.

"Were they going to make a fool of me? Of course not! But then I couldn't help thinking about a lot of things that, in retrospect, are quite suspicious and worrying, especially since you two seem to be together whenever the rehearsals are finished. Karen, you have to realize, the are a lot of people out there who would like to topple the Emperor by getting rid of us first."

"Umm…you guys know Miss Arammi?" Leorio asked, oblivious to the tension in the atmosphere.

"I don't really know if her name is Arammi or Illumi. Right now, I'm confused, and when I'm unsure, I tend to be cautious, and I suggest you adopt this caution of my as well, Karen."

Leorio almost toppled out of his chair but he clung onto the table edge firmly. "Illumi! This young, sweet lady is hanging out with a bastard brother like him!" he spun around as quick as lightening and cupped Karen's hands in his own, body quivering with righteous outrage. "Don't worry Miss, I'll make sure he never harasses you again."

Karen stared at him, lost for words. She felt an urge to hit him. Many Times. In the face. Hard.

Her father on the other hand, peered inquisitively at Leorio. "You know this…man? Why do you curse him so?"

Leorio fixed his tie and cleared his throat. "We met him at the Hunter exam. He's a bastard brother because he forces his younger brother, Killua, to follow the ways of an assassin." He flashed Karen what he considered to be a handsome grin. "However, Gon, Kurapica and I rescued - "

Kamus nodded as Leorio rambled on about some heroic rescue mission. Faust's new student did in fact get the names of the children right. The only other reason why he knew their names would be because he was part of the whole shady conspiracy. But it would seem too obvious and coincidental. And what would they stand to achieve if they busted this 'Illumi's' cover anyway? How would the revelation that Arammi was a man be detrimental to the Kastro family?

Unable to reach any solid conclusion, Kamus played it carefully. Furthermore, he had to make sure that they were talking about the same children. "Yes," he began slowly, keeping his voice neutral, "I did indeed met two boys called Gon and Killua this afternoon. Can you give me a description of them both?"

The question confused the apprentice doctor a bit, but he shook his head to clear his mind and nodded easily. "Of course. Killua's pale with fine white hair. Gon on the other hand has a sunny disposition, is probably wearing green and has spiky black hair. Gon's the nicer kid. I wouldn't want to annoy Killua if I were you though."

Kamus absorbed this answer with closed eyes. They were talking about the same people. That meant there were three people in it together, the problem was 'what' exactly were they together in. The other dilemma was Arammi's gender. So what if they were right and that he had hired a man to win the contest? There wasn't a rule against that. Should he put up his defenses against the stranger that he only knew for a week? And the two kids and the apprentice doctor as well?

Faust cleared his throat loudly, disturbing his calculations. "You said something about the 'ways of an assassin' Leorio. You should always give the finer details."

"Oh, you mean that." Leorio replied offhandedly. "You see, Killua belongs to the Zoldick family, and in the Hunter exam, he expressed the wish that he no longer desired to pursue such a career. But his brother wouldn't let him have his own life, that heartless creep, and was determined to bend Killua's will into submission by threats and intimidation. So Killua disqualified himself from the Hunter exam by killing one of the finalists - which was expressly prohibited."

The Mad doctor and the General's cups simultaneously dropped from their hands and crashed into a thousand pieces on the marble floor.

"The Zoldick assassin family?" Faust muttered in great disbelief. The General reacted more violently however.

"My daughter is hanging around, arm in arm with a professional assassin?" He raved and ranted, pacing back and forth in the dining hall like a caged animal. Karen fled from the dining hall and the last that Leorio saw were her coal black eyes glaring at him, burning with enough murder and hatred to put him through the shredder thirteen times over.