C H A P T E R E I G H T

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+


Karen had wandered around the city for the rest of the day after leaving her mentor to rest, and her mind was thoughtlessly wandering. Her father was going to be in a meeting tonight with a few of the other generals concerning the security of the city especially in the festive season. But the Emperor was so formidable you'd have to be another god to actually get through the outer walls.

As she walked up the street, the Imperial Hotel came into view. It reminded her that the Chef was taking a holiday tonight thus Kastro Court would probably be silent and empty. She may as well have dinner here. Digging into her bag, she found the Kastro emblem and headed in.

Attendants all bowed low when she imperiously walked past, recognizing the Imperial emblem she presented to the manager at the reception table.

"We apologize Lady Karen, but there are other people booked into the Dining Hall tonight," the manager intoned, keeping his voice soft, but firm, low and respectable at the decorated war hero in front of him. He was in the unbearable presence of Karen Kalinnan Kastro, whose title the Fallen Angel still dogged her in times of peace and gave people cause to be wary and cautious around her.

She shrugged, not too fazed. "Who is upstairs?"

She referred to the dining hall situated on the top level of the magnificent building. It provided a wide-reaching view of the rebuilt capital city. At night the street lights lit below would illuminate the fabric of darkness like a million stars of the unending universe. It would grant its viewer the most spectacular feel of being mounted on the pinnacle of power with the entire world at his feet

"Master Echlan bought a few other people up to have coffee. They were still in the middle of chatting five minutes ago."

No doubt the old fox was arranging politics again, Karen sniffed, keeping the look of distaste from her expressionless face. She vowed never to involve herself in such a dirty sport for a taste of rotting flesh settled in her mouth at the mere thought of the intrigues of politics. After what had happened to her Aunty Kim, it was enough to make her sick through and through.

"That's ok. Take me to level fifty six then."

Karen walked down the high piled red and gold carpet, reading the numbers on the door. 565…566...567.... Ah, 568. This was where Arammi…no, Illumi-san was residing.

She stepped forward, hand raised to knock the door when she heard voices coming from within...


~*~*~*~*~


"Ouch!…Illu-" Hisoka whined at the pain administered upon him. Illumi was rubbing ointment onto the multiple bruises along his arm that the assassin himself had inflicted all afternoon. A fair share of the markings on other parts of Hisoka's body had been given by that blonde haired man with the coloured shades after Illumi had that argument with Hisoka in public. He remained stubbornly quite in his attempt to dissipate the bruised blood.

"Aww…could you be a bit more light-handed?" he continued to whine, looking intently into the blank expression. Illumi's cat like eyes refused to meet his, and Hisoka found the challenge was quite enjoyable.

"Don't be angry at me anymore Illu…"

He sat closer still, close enough to smell the fragrance wafting from that lustrous hair and the intoxicating sweet smell of Ilumi's personal scent mingled with rich perfume.

Sudden pain cut through his trance.

"Illu! Not so hard!" he cried out in surprise and jerked his arm back. Illumi gave him a small frown and forcibly reclaimed his arm to continue torturing those purple marks. Hisoka was only more amused.

"My kitty looks so cute when he's angry," he murmured huskily and leaned forward to kiss away the frown. Illumi growled softly in response.

"Come on kitty, no more tantrums. You've been taking it out on me all day and a guy on the streets beat me up for you already. Surely that's enough." He pulled him closer still. "I'm forgiven yes?" And like a content lion, Hisoka took to rubbing his cheek against Illumi's, purring with delight. He laughed at Illumi as the assassin's cheeks grew beet red and a few hairs consequently stuck out of the fine mass.

"Good kitty good kitty," Hisoka cooed, matting the hair down so that it was smooth once again. Illumi stilled and did not push him again. The grin on Hisoka's face broadened.

"I will fix your hair for tomorrow night?"

Illumi turned away but nodded, gathering up the smelly ointments back into his small medical kit.

"You still use that bag?"

"If it ain't broke, don't replace it," he quietly muttered, still unwillingly to meet Hisoka's gaze though.

"Remember when we first met, and you fixed my broken arm?" Hisoka slipped back into his black shirt. He distinctly recalled when he had first met Illumi who was only a young teenager then, fighting for money and not honour.

Illumi's eyes narrowed and his voice hardened. "Want me to break it?"

"Oh Illu, why are you so cruel? See! I'm not hanging around your brother and Gon anymore. I'm going to give you all of my attention."

"I don't want your attention."

"What's that Illu? I think I detect bitterness in your voice?" Hisoka said in a sing-song voice accompanied by a broadening grin.

Unwilling to let the victory turn sour with a further display of gloating, Hisoka reigned in his overbearing triumphant attitude and replaced it with one of dedicated attention.

"Let's have dinner Illu. Do you want to go out to eat or take room service?"

Illumi peered out the window. From the fifty sixth floor, he could observe that he throng of people had not thinned since mid afternoon. "Room service. We probably won't be able to find a place to eat out there."

Hisoka nodded and headed for the phone beside the bed to place the order. After he had called for a banquet dinner for two and hung up, the clown patted the space beside him on the edge of the bed.

"Come on Illu. Lets see what we can do with your hair for tomorrow night." Illumi acquiesced.

"Good kitty."

"Don't call me that."

Hisoka's grin was so wide now that you could barely see his eyes. "But you are my kitty…and a very cute one. Now come here and sit by your master….ouch! No claws, no claws!"

Karen made a face and decided not to enter. She decided that maybe she should find a store down in the streets to have dinner instead.


~*~*~*~*~



"Millu, I'm hungry." It was pretty rare for Alluka to speak up. He only did so when it was completely necessary, and the situation called for it now. His brother had neglected to feed him since breakfast this morning. "And I'm thirsty too."

Milluki checked the time on his watch and nodded. The walking was strenuous and tiring, and it wasn't easy to squeeze through crowded areas when you weighed more than two hundred kilograms. He had the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings callously thrust upon him. Obviously, his parents gave no consideration to the types of things he would like to be doing if he didn't have two tag alongs.

Then, there was also the fact that big bro had paid him hard cash to care for Alluka, and if he didn't fulfil his end of the bargain, not only would he be dishonouring his Zoldick word of honour, the consequences were horrifyingly unthinkable. Looking into Illumi's dead and blank eyes sometimes gave him the shivers, and he would much rather be on good terms with him than to have offended him.

Alluka had adopted Illumi's impassiveness – Milluki blamed that as a result of too much time the two spent together. You could never tell what Alluka was thinking when he sat there in the wheelchair and gazed intently at the ground. He could create an oppressive silence with his moodiness and his temper swung like debris in a raging tornado. And even then, the debris was more predictable. Like Killua, Allu's hair was also white, but it was much thinner and lifeless, clinging to the sides of this young, pale face giving him an even more fragile appearance.

"How are you enjoying the weather Allu?"

It was not a pointless question asked to pass time. The child probably hadn't seen the sun for the past year as he always cooped himself up in the dark room conducting hideous biological experiments on animals. Alluka frowned and looked up.

"I guess it's ok. The cool breeze is nice." Alluka continued to frown. His brother and sister had literally turned his wheelchair into a trolley to place their goods. Milluki dumped his model sets on his lap, and something was making annoying jingling sounds right next to his ear. His stomach growled again.

"Can we eat now?" he repeated.

"That one." Karuto pulled Milluki's sleeve and pointed to a less busy place. Milluki nodded appreciatively. His sister had the keen eyesight.

"What are we waiting for?" he announced in good spirits and steered Alluka's wheelchair straight towards the restaurant. The bonus with having Alluka around was that people accordingly made way for the invalid. Nearing the entrance of the decidedly nice looking, respectable restaurant, Karuto spoke again.

"Killua is in there. With his friends."

"Even better," Milluki huffed and puffed and pushed past more people. "Maybe there are extra seats for us. Make way please, make way please." Milluki elbowed some poor tourist out of his path and accidentally knocked him to the ground with his great bulk. He kept on going straight ahead like a rocket locked on target and did not apologize in spite of the angry curses tossed into the air.

Gon set down his eating utensils wondering what caused the sudden angry hisses in the roving crowds outside. "Hey Killua, is that your sister over there?" He said, eyeing the prim and proper figure of Karuto inside the looming shadow of Milluki. The young assassin first narrowed his eyes, the widened them in fear and realization.

"Duck Gon! Don't let them see us!"

"Took late Killua." Leorio sighed, setting down his cup of tea.

Alluka tried to turn his head around to face his obese brother. "I think Killua is trying to avoid us."

Milluki flinched and wished Alluka wouldn't speak to him. He had placed the emphasis on the wrong words, a sign of minimal human contact because only Illumi would actually spend time to talk to his younger brother. To Milluki however, it made Alluka the more mad and spooky.

"We're going in anyway. Here goes. Hey Killu! Can we join your table?"

Killua inwardly groaned when he saw that Alluka was with them. He hardly even spoke to his younger brother, let alone sit and have dinner with him. Alluka was awkward, and his dramatic mood swings and mad ravings would embarrass him in front of his friends. "No, can't you see the table is full?" he muttered bitterly under his breath.

"Waiter! Another three seats and sets of cutlery for this table!" Milluki ordered, and shamelessly wedged Alluka's wheelchair right between Gon and Killua. He planted Karuto beside him, and chose to sit himself next to Leorio. The many boxes of models on Alluka's lap began to distress him.

"Can you get this stuff off me Karuto?" he said and struggled desperately which involved vigorously shaking his frail head from side to side. Karuto knew her brother's fragile temper and quickly put the boxes onto the floor.

"So Killu, why is this restaurant so quiet?" Milluki asked as a passing question to kill time and tucked the corner of a pristine white napkin into his shirt.

"Someone arranged this place for us," Kurapika answered shortly.

"Really? That's great. I'm not going to inquire further so long as there is food." Milluki gave an artificial smile which conveyed no gratitude to return Kurapika's cold civility. Kurapika didn't bother to hide his contempt and soon moved away from the repulsive image of the fat boy. His attention was then caught by a small argument heating up between a waiter and the girl with the wavy blue black hair they had met earlier this afternoon.

"Leorio, is that another of your sensei's students?"

"Miss Karen?" Leorio adjusted his glasses and saw that his friend was right. He panicked when the argument begin to escalate and so stood up. "Excuse me for a moment."

His friends feared the worst with what he was about to do, but he was determined to redeem his image in front of them.

"Miss Karen is there a problem?" he inquired, using his most rational and calm tone of voice to mediate between the bickering pair. He was suddenly taken aback by the angry, murderous frown hung on her usually serene and pretty face. Seeing his shock and hearing his gasp, the rage left her and she sought to recompose herself.

"I was just wondering who had the right to reserve an entire restaurant at this time of day," she said, rubbing her forehead to get rid of the frown.

Leorio bowed slightly. "We had entrée with General Misha before. He wanted some quiet so he booked the entire place."

"How did you meet General Misha?!" Her tone betrayed her surprise and slight annoyance.

"My friends were challenged by the General in the Arena this afternoon."

"Your friends?" Karen peered around Leorio and noted that many people were seated at a large round table. She recognized some of them from this afternoon: the blonde one, the small kid with fuzzy brown hair, Mr Four eye, the kid dressed in green and Killua. There were three extra people that she did not know.

"Would you like to have dinner with us then?" Leorio offered.

It's better than having dinner alone, Karen thought to herself and nodded impassively. She waived her hand and dismissed the red faced waiter.

"General Misha has gone right? He was supposed to meet with father tonight."

"Yes, he left about twenty minutes ago. Soup is over, and we're starting onto the main meal."

Karen nodded primly. "That's fine with me. Would you care to introduce me to your friends?"

"Certainly Miss Karen. You already know about Gon and Killua. He's Kurapika." Karen shook Kurapika's extended hand. "This is Gon and Killua's teacher, Master Wing, and his other student, Zuchi."

Killua's eyes narrowed again. "Hang on a minute, how do you 'know about' us?"

"Apparently you met General Kamus this morning?" Karen replied, unfazed by the accusation in Killua's question.

"Ah yes! We did!" Gon exclaimed excitedly.

"He is my father." She looked at the other Zoldick siblings quizzically. "And you are?"

"They are my brothers and sisters." Killua responded as if he were forced to swallow hot coals, having to admit that they were blood relations. "The fat pig is Milluki, the little girl there is my sister Karuto, and that leaves Alluka in the wheelchair."

Karen couldn't help herself and bore down on Alluka. "You're Illumi's brother?"

Alluka tried to shrink away from her intense gaze. "He's my big brother," he replied awkwardly. He noticed that her smell was reassuring…friendly…nice…comforting…almost like his brother.

So this was Illumi-san's brother who had been confined to a wheelchair for four years already, Karen thought, studying the crippled form which surprisingly bore no signs of injury or degeneration. He looked healthy. She reached out to inspect him but he emitted a squeak of fear and tried to pull away. She gave him her smile of trust and reassurance that she'd spent many hours in front of the mirror practicing, to get rid of the old one which made lesser men kill themselves.

Coating her voice with as much sweetness and warmth as she could muster, she said, "It's ok. I'm going to be one of the doctors who'll try to make you walk again. I promised Illumi-san that I could do it."

Leorio caught Alluka in a friendly headlock. "You're in luck kid. Miss Karen is one of the best doctors I've ever seen. You should have seen her heal all of my sensei's wounds this afternoon!"

Milluki's small eyes widened and he appeared to be convulsing. "Don't - " he started but he was cut off by Alluka's scream of madness and fear. The albino child's face contorted in seemingly hideous pain, and the first piercing cry alone shattered all the porcelain tea cups cracks slithered along the restaurant windows. His nen first gargled, flickering like a dying flame before roaring into life and reached out furiously around him. It then began to embrace Leorio.

"Killu! Get your friend out before he rots and disintegrates!" Milluki screamed, scampering away into the farthest corner away from the shimmering blue nen that he could not see.

Kurapika, being the calmest of them all, flung his chain into the vortex of nen and it wrapped itself around Leorio. Killua and Gon helped him tug the chain back. Wing covered for Zuchi, who's ten was still too weak to handle the onslaught comparable to a terrible gale. Karuto formed a shield around her brother Milluki and stoically watched as the ferocious claws materialized by Alluka's madness scratched and lunged at her unwavering aura.

Spinning around them at dizzying speeds was the stuff of Alluka's nightmares. The monsters and shadows of nen all screamed in unison of unbearable torture, anguish, fear and pain. Even though protected by the nen of his sensei, Zuchi sank to the ground and helplessly buried his head in his knees, teeth chattering hard and muscles shivering uncontrollably. Tears were wrung out of his eyes.

A delightful hysteria kindled within Karen and she found a familiarity standing in the epicenter of a young boy's nightmares and horrors. When she laughed, a hollow and distant sound, the demons and monsters gave wide berth for her and she alone remain unaffected in the midst of chaos. She alone could approach Alluka without fear or harm.

Seeing the boy feebly throwing his head from side to side also made her pity, and pity made her remember countless number of anguished faces, tear streaked and twisted. Sad people, hurt people with a grief so smothering that it robbed her of her taste for blood.

Karen held the poor sobbing child to her. She had never seen a boy his age possess so much power, unfortunately amplified by his insanity. It was reminiscent of the Mad General – Misha. The nen gradually dimmed as he sobbed against her chest, raving and moaning about pain and nightmares.

"Calm down Allu, you're with your brothers and sisters. There is nothing to fear," she murmured in his ear, her comforting hand gently stroking his back to calm him.

And gradually, the ghouls and banshees, the wails and screams subsided then finally disappeared, leaving only the sounds of Alluka's broken crying.

"There's a strong boy." Karen began to wipe away Alluka's tears as she would tend to the sores of a hurt puppy. She picked up the last glass that remained intact on the table. "Here, drink the water."

The boy gulped it down noisily. He breathed hard, panting and finally began to control himself again.

"Lets get your faced wash." And to the waiters, Karen's voice hardened with authority. "Clean up this mess and serve dinner. Kastro Court will pay for the damage."

"That, er, that's ok. We will pay for it," Milluki quickly offered, still partially hiding behind Karuto. Karen shrugged.

"Very well. I'm taking Alluka to the bathroom to get him cleaned up."

When Karen and Alluka had left, Leorio gave a large sigh, his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the upturned ground.

"What did I do wrong?" he mumbled, listening to his own rapid, thudding heartbeat. Milluki dusted himself.

"You shouldn't touch Allu like that, especially without his consent. He's especially touchy and has aggressive mood swings. In short, don't be too over friendly with him."

"Yes, I will take that advice to heart. God knows that I don't want to see those things again…" Kurapika agreed, likewise dusting himself up although he did notice that his hand was still quavering with the light flurry of a mouse's heartbeat.

"And lucky you guys were quick about getting your friend out," Milluki continued. "Alluka hides away in his room conducting twisted experiments all the time. I've seen the results of his nen. Anything that it touches just begins to rot and degenerate. It's quite hideous really. Of all Zoldick family members, I don't know why he had to turn out like that. Let's see if my models are still ok…"

The people ate their dinner in respectful silence around Alluka afterwards.