Chapter 10
Karen was in a bright mood this morning. The sky was clear, the air was fresh, the merchants were slowly setting up their stores and carefully laying out their wares. The party last night in the Market Square probably meant that most of the residents in the city were suffering from hangovers this morning. Which made it unusually quiet, especially at this time of year, but she was delighted by the way she could hear her own steps ringing on the cobble pavement. She lopped over a fence effortlessly in her new dress, a dark red one lined with gold roses on the edges, made of light velvet with laces tickling her shoulders. Her dad would probably faint if she accidentally tore it, but she laughed out loud, thinking how back during the war, she was as dirty as the sewer rats.
Sprinting down the street with such speed as to stir the leaves on trees, she finally saw the hotel the Illumi-san was staying at. But then a thought halted her exalting mood. Where would Illumi go after tonight? What would he do once his job for her father had ended and they had retrieved aunty's jewelry box that was going off as one of the prizes? And this thought made her stop completely because there was the horrible possibility that she would never see him again. Suddenly, the clear blue sky and the chirping birds around her on this fine morning could not lift the sullen mood clinging heavily to her slim shoulders. The more she thought about being alone again with no one to babble to, play make up with, giggle under the trees in the park...she felt her eyes begin to sting. Her steps halted when she saw two figures outside the Hotel lobby...it was Illumi-san arguing with another man. For one moment, she truly felt the distance of their worlds. He was an assassin born in darkness who began killing since he comprehended the world around him. The people he saw around him were judged by only one thought - do I need to kill this person? And her world? It was a world in the light, working for the Emperor to rebuild the shattered kingdom into a magnificent empire once again, free of corruption and the dirt and grim of humanity. She would lend her hand to the Emperor to create an empire bathed in the purest, strongest light whose aim was to fight the scum that lurked in the world of darkness. Her destiny was to help the Emperor create a utopia, a heaven on earth whilst people like the Zoldick family strove to keep the world wrapped in darkness, shivering in fear at the very thought of assassins in their midst.
Illumi saw her standing just a way bit off from the entrance to the hotel on the quiet, empty main road and stopped pummeling Hisoka for acting rather inappropriately in public.
"Ohayo Karen-chan!" he called in greeting.
"Karen-chan?" Hisoka frowned and squinted at the figure. He saw a slim and pale girl of medium height with a mass of wavy blue black hair dressed in a striking blood red dress. He concentrated on her shapely face, took in her fine features and felt himself suddenly caged by many, many old and forgotten memories.
"Hisoka! Stop gawking and get here!" Illumi demanded. In part, he felt relieved right now, for Karen immediately told him that she knew the truth about his identity, and that she had even briefly met his family near the Market Square yesterday. He appreciated her frankness, and admired her for she continued to treat him in no different way than before. The slight warmth in his heart almost bought a small smile to his pink glossed lips.
Hisoka cautiously stepped towards Illumi and decided that he had not recognized the wrong person. Karen-chan was the same Karen Kalinnan Kastro...only she was now a full grown woman with a pair of eyes that betrayed her loneliness and misery. Illumi tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. Hisoka secretly smiled at these small habits that Illumi had adopted over these years.
"This is Karen-chan. She's General Kamus' daughter. This is Hisoka, my ...... " Illumi balked suddenly, not certain at what Hisoka meant to him. The clown stepped forward with a hand extended.
"I'm his secret gay lover." he smirked, shaking Karen's hand.
Hisoka doubled over in extreme pain when Illumi kneed him 'down there' and proceeded to land a punch so heavy that he flew over the national park to the other side of the city. Karen, red faced and flustered, looked on in shock. Illumi quickly turned to her.
"It's not true! He's just my hairdresser for tonight!" he heatedly began, but Karen's amused giggling likewise made his face turn red with embarassment and humiliation. Little did she know the many curses and shouts of baka were echoing around in Illumi's mind. The assassin humphed off the momentary burst of shame and held his nose up hight like a haught Arcadian Princess.
"Come on Karen-chan, lets get going to the Auditorium." he took her hand once again, like they had always done when they first met for even though Karen knew that he was an assassin, she was still as much of another sister to him, and the strength of their friendship bond allowed him to believe that. Karen felt a small tickling on her palm of the hand which Illumi held and was about to speak before she realized that he was tracing words on her palm. She stared at the road ahead and concentrated.
~There...is a ....man....following...us.~ she hid her alarm impecably with a cold gaze and continued to read those words.
~ He has....been...tailing me....since the...competition.....He is.....a...strong....nen user.~ She believed him. If she couldn't feel the presence of someone stalking Illumi whilst she was with him, then he was definitely beyond her power. She suddenly felt vulnerable and frightened. The slight scratchings against her palm resumed.
~I think.....your.....father....is aware....arranged this.....deliberately....I...will deal....with him.....you will......be....safe....home.....go now.~
"but..." she started before Hisoka reappeared before them, rubbing his bruised cheek, his gaze never leaving Illumi's face.
"Hisoka. Can you accompany Karen-chan back to Kastro Court? Karen-chan forgot to get me the dress and headpiece that I'm supposed to wear tonight. She will need help carrying them."
"But...."
"Very well." his eyes narrowed, glinting slightly gold for he too felt the presence of someone watching them. Illumi's blank eyes told him to guard the girl carefully.
"Yes yes hime-sama (princess), I'll do it straight away. Anything that you ask." he deliberately spoke loudly with a casual tone, but to Illumi he was grossly overacting.
Hisoka almost felt himself suddenly lifted off the ground. Karen had gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him up. Her eyes were blazing with anger.
"What did you just say?"
He put on an innocent expression. "Anything that you ask?" he repeated
"No! Before that!"
"Hime-sama?"
"Yes! Don't you EVER say those words again! There is no more royalty aside the Emperor in this country, and those words are NOT permitted. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" she hissed with hatred at the sudden memory that those words bought back. Aunty Kim used to have two young eunuchs in training by her side before she died, and they followed her like puppies, chirping their little formalities 'yes hime-sama', 'at once hime-sama'.
"Yes hime-sama." Hisoka playfully responded and felt another bruising pinch on his arm.
"Go now!" Illumi ordered with a little frown on his face. Hisoka would not get moving until he had kissed the frown away, leaving a red faced and frustrated Illumi glaring at him with a few strands of hair stuck out of place from the fine cascade.
The presence disappeared.
===================
"Dad, I thought that this meeting was supposed to take place this afternoon!" Killua groaned pulling on his socks. Silva had entered their room early in the morning and awoken the boys up for Master Echlan had pressing matters and needed to change the schedule.
"Echlan wouldn't say what was going on, but he said that this morning was the only time everybody has free today. It wouldn't be hard to guess why everyone will be occupied heh?"
"Arrangements for the competition tonight?" Gon pulled up the zipper on his green jacket and tugged carefully at his sleeves to straighten them.
Killua grunted. "More like the security issues for tonight. Any bets a million people will pack into the Auditorium tonight just to see big bro."
"To bother a General over mere security matters? Come on Killua, you can do better than that." His father chided, helping him pull his top down. "You've grown Killu, these clothes hardly fit."
The young assassin grunted again to express his agreement. "I would suppose that there might be something to guard against if someone like a General is involved. What kind of threat is there?"
Silva would sigh, but he knew that was a great discouragement. "First, we are in the capital city. And the Forbidden Palace sits in the center of the city. Next, the Emperor lives in the city…" that was one prompt too many, but it finally dawned on his young son.
"You think someone's out to get the Emperor! But…"
"Every country that has just survived a war invariably does not celebrate peacefully afterwards. Usually, a political power vacuum is created and lots of people struggle for the reins of this power. It is highly likely that there are underground organizations that seek to overthrow the Kalinnan dynasty for their own gains and benefits. You really should have thought of that straight away Killua."
The young boy gruffly glanced away, aware of his father's disappointment and also the fact that he too should have thought of it too without the assistance.
"Killu! Are we ready! Master Echlan is waiting for us!" the males in the room winced visibly as the shrill voice cut through their ears like a hot knife through butter. Kikyou burst into the room and felt around for her husband. Milluki still did not have the chance to fix up her visor, and Silva advised her that it would most likely malfunction again with all the nen around them. Gon's jaw dropped.
"You look really nice this morning Kikyou-san." He commented sincerely. She was dressed in a fine fitted brown silk shirt with a black, flowing gypsy skirt that was also laced with glittering brown vines sporting pastel pink flowers marked in the center with dark yellow gems. On one of her wrists sat a sparkling bangle of yellow diamonds dazzling in the strong morning light, to go with the pair of earrings yesterday.
"Anata, is Killua properly dressed? In something decent?"
"Yes mother, I'm dressed decently." Killua stretched. A loud tear accompanied.
"What was that!" Kikyou demanded.
"Umm…nothing…" Killua hastily checked himself to see where the rip came from. He discovered a large gaping hole beneath his armpits and looked to his father in despair.
"We can do without the outer jacket Killua, just the shirt will do." Silva hastily took the pale blue top off, leaving the dark maroon coloured shirt underneath. Kikyou stumbled forward, her hands waving unsteadily in front of her searching for her target.
"You've outgrown your clothes Killu? Oh my poor baby. If you only stay at home, mama will take care of these things for you." She exclaimed devastatingly. Silva held onto her before she could trip over the bags on the floor which were only vague colours to her near non-existent eyesight.
"He's dressed fine Kikyou. Now lets get moving." He offered his arm for her to grasp on tightly so that she wouldn't walk straight into the wall.
Karen was in a bright mood this morning. The sky was clear, the air was fresh, the merchants were slowly setting up their stores and carefully laying out their wares. The party last night in the Market Square probably meant that most of the residents in the city were suffering from hangovers this morning. Which made it unusually quiet, especially at this time of year, but she was delighted by the way she could hear her own steps ringing on the cobble pavement. She lopped over a fence effortlessly in her new dress, a dark red one lined with gold roses on the edges, made of light velvet with laces tickling her shoulders. Her dad would probably faint if she accidentally tore it, but she laughed out loud, thinking how back during the war, she was as dirty as the sewer rats.
Sprinting down the street with such speed as to stir the leaves on trees, she finally saw the hotel the Illumi-san was staying at. But then a thought halted her exalting mood. Where would Illumi go after tonight? What would he do once his job for her father had ended and they had retrieved aunty's jewelry box that was going off as one of the prizes? And this thought made her stop completely because there was the horrible possibility that she would never see him again. Suddenly, the clear blue sky and the chirping birds around her on this fine morning could not lift the sullen mood clinging heavily to her slim shoulders. The more she thought about being alone again with no one to babble to, play make up with, giggle under the trees in the park...she felt her eyes begin to sting. Her steps halted when she saw two figures outside the Hotel lobby...it was Illumi-san arguing with another man. For one moment, she truly felt the distance of their worlds. He was an assassin born in darkness who began killing since he comprehended the world around him. The people he saw around him were judged by only one thought - do I need to kill this person? And her world? It was a world in the light, working for the Emperor to rebuild the shattered kingdom into a magnificent empire once again, free of corruption and the dirt and grim of humanity. She would lend her hand to the Emperor to create an empire bathed in the purest, strongest light whose aim was to fight the scum that lurked in the world of darkness. Her destiny was to help the Emperor create a utopia, a heaven on earth whilst people like the Zoldick family strove to keep the world wrapped in darkness, shivering in fear at the very thought of assassins in their midst.
Illumi saw her standing just a way bit off from the entrance to the hotel on the quiet, empty main road and stopped pummeling Hisoka for acting rather inappropriately in public.
"Ohayo Karen-chan!" he called in greeting.
"Karen-chan?" Hisoka frowned and squinted at the figure. He saw a slim and pale girl of medium height with a mass of wavy blue black hair dressed in a striking blood red dress. He concentrated on her shapely face, took in her fine features and felt himself suddenly caged by many, many old and forgotten memories.
"Hisoka! Stop gawking and get here!" Illumi demanded. In part, he felt relieved right now, for Karen immediately told him that she knew the truth about his identity, and that she had even briefly met his family near the Market Square yesterday. He appreciated her frankness, and admired her for she continued to treat him in no different way than before. The slight warmth in his heart almost bought a small smile to his pink glossed lips.
Hisoka cautiously stepped towards Illumi and decided that he had not recognized the wrong person. Karen-chan was the same Karen Kalinnan Kastro...only she was now a full grown woman with a pair of eyes that betrayed her loneliness and misery. Illumi tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. Hisoka secretly smiled at these small habits that Illumi had adopted over these years.
"This is Karen-chan. She's General Kamus' daughter. This is Hisoka, my ...... " Illumi balked suddenly, not certain at what Hisoka meant to him. The clown stepped forward with a hand extended.
"I'm his secret gay lover." he smirked, shaking Karen's hand.
Hisoka doubled over in extreme pain when Illumi kneed him 'down there' and proceeded to land a punch so heavy that he flew over the national park to the other side of the city. Karen, red faced and flustered, looked on in shock. Illumi quickly turned to her.
"It's not true! He's just my hairdresser for tonight!" he heatedly began, but Karen's amused giggling likewise made his face turn red with embarassment and humiliation. Little did she know the many curses and shouts of baka were echoing around in Illumi's mind. The assassin humphed off the momentary burst of shame and held his nose up hight like a haught Arcadian Princess.
"Come on Karen-chan, lets get going to the Auditorium." he took her hand once again, like they had always done when they first met for even though Karen knew that he was an assassin, she was still as much of another sister to him, and the strength of their friendship bond allowed him to believe that. Karen felt a small tickling on her palm of the hand which Illumi held and was about to speak before she realized that he was tracing words on her palm. She stared at the road ahead and concentrated.
~There...is a ....man....following...us.~ she hid her alarm impecably with a cold gaze and continued to read those words.
~ He has....been...tailing me....since the...competition.....He is.....a...strong....nen user.~ She believed him. If she couldn't feel the presence of someone stalking Illumi whilst she was with him, then he was definitely beyond her power. She suddenly felt vulnerable and frightened. The slight scratchings against her palm resumed.
~I think.....your.....father....is aware....arranged this.....deliberately....I...will deal....with him.....you will......be....safe....home.....go now.~
"but..." she started before Hisoka reappeared before them, rubbing his bruised cheek, his gaze never leaving Illumi's face.
"Hisoka. Can you accompany Karen-chan back to Kastro Court? Karen-chan forgot to get me the dress and headpiece that I'm supposed to wear tonight. She will need help carrying them."
"But...."
"Very well." his eyes narrowed, glinting slightly gold for he too felt the presence of someone watching them. Illumi's blank eyes told him to guard the girl carefully.
"Yes yes hime-sama (princess), I'll do it straight away. Anything that you ask." he deliberately spoke loudly with a casual tone, but to Illumi he was grossly overacting.
Hisoka almost felt himself suddenly lifted off the ground. Karen had gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him up. Her eyes were blazing with anger.
"What did you just say?"
He put on an innocent expression. "Anything that you ask?" he repeated
"No! Before that!"
"Hime-sama?"
"Yes! Don't you EVER say those words again! There is no more royalty aside the Emperor in this country, and those words are NOT permitted. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" she hissed with hatred at the sudden memory that those words bought back. Aunty Kim used to have two young eunuchs in training by her side before she died, and they followed her like puppies, chirping their little formalities 'yes hime-sama', 'at once hime-sama'.
"Yes hime-sama." Hisoka playfully responded and felt another bruising pinch on his arm.
"Go now!" Illumi ordered with a little frown on his face. Hisoka would not get moving until he had kissed the frown away, leaving a red faced and frustrated Illumi glaring at him with a few strands of hair stuck out of place from the fine cascade.
The presence disappeared.
===================
"Dad, I thought that this meeting was supposed to take place this afternoon!" Killua groaned pulling on his socks. Silva had entered their room early in the morning and awoken the boys up for Master Echlan had pressing matters and needed to change the schedule.
"Echlan wouldn't say what was going on, but he said that this morning was the only time everybody has free today. It wouldn't be hard to guess why everyone will be occupied heh?"
"Arrangements for the competition tonight?" Gon pulled up the zipper on his green jacket and tugged carefully at his sleeves to straighten them.
Killua grunted. "More like the security issues for tonight. Any bets a million people will pack into the Auditorium tonight just to see big bro."
"To bother a General over mere security matters? Come on Killua, you can do better than that." His father chided, helping him pull his top down. "You've grown Killu, these clothes hardly fit."
The young assassin grunted again to express his agreement. "I would suppose that there might be something to guard against if someone like a General is involved. What kind of threat is there?"
Silva would sigh, but he knew that was a great discouragement. "First, we are in the capital city. And the Forbidden Palace sits in the center of the city. Next, the Emperor lives in the city…" that was one prompt too many, but it finally dawned on his young son.
"You think someone's out to get the Emperor! But…"
"Every country that has just survived a war invariably does not celebrate peacefully afterwards. Usually, a political power vacuum is created and lots of people struggle for the reins of this power. It is highly likely that there are underground organizations that seek to overthrow the Kalinnan dynasty for their own gains and benefits. You really should have thought of that straight away Killua."
The young boy gruffly glanced away, aware of his father's disappointment and also the fact that he too should have thought of it too without the assistance.
"Killu! Are we ready! Master Echlan is waiting for us!" the males in the room winced visibly as the shrill voice cut through their ears like a hot knife through butter. Kikyou burst into the room and felt around for her husband. Milluki still did not have the chance to fix up her visor, and Silva advised her that it would most likely malfunction again with all the nen around them. Gon's jaw dropped.
"You look really nice this morning Kikyou-san." He commented sincerely. She was dressed in a fine fitted brown silk shirt with a black, flowing gypsy skirt that was also laced with glittering brown vines sporting pastel pink flowers marked in the center with dark yellow gems. On one of her wrists sat a sparkling bangle of yellow diamonds dazzling in the strong morning light, to go with the pair of earrings yesterday.
"Anata, is Killua properly dressed? In something decent?"
"Yes mother, I'm dressed decently." Killua stretched. A loud tear accompanied.
"What was that!" Kikyou demanded.
"Umm…nothing…" Killua hastily checked himself to see where the rip came from. He discovered a large gaping hole beneath his armpits and looked to his father in despair.
"We can do without the outer jacket Killua, just the shirt will do." Silva hastily took the pale blue top off, leaving the dark maroon coloured shirt underneath. Kikyou stumbled forward, her hands waving unsteadily in front of her searching for her target.
"You've outgrown your clothes Killu? Oh my poor baby. If you only stay at home, mama will take care of these things for you." She exclaimed devastatingly. Silva held onto her before she could trip over the bags on the floor which were only vague colours to her near non-existent eyesight.
"He's dressed fine Kikyou. Now lets get moving." He offered his arm for her to grasp on tightly so that she wouldn't walk straight into the wall.