EPILOGUE
Illumi wiped the sweat off his brow and plopped tiredly on to his newly acquired couch. Renovating and making one's home seemed to be more exhausting physically and mentally than running a ten hour marathon. Going off to the furniture stores to pick out just a simple dinner required him to find one that would match the general décor of his own house (which he hadn't fully decided on back when he was shopping for that particular piece of furniture) and THEN he had to decide what style he wanted – classically Victorian or something abstractly modern? He spent hours looking at chairs and tables seemingly without end in the large warehouse and ended up storming out of the place after four hours before he tore his beautiful hair out in frustration.
Glancing wearily to his right towards the dining area adjoined to the kitchen, he spied the table that he did eventually buy and frowned, wondering if that was still the best choice. It was polished oak, rectangular but with rounded corners and some bits of carving on the legs which he still failed to appreciate although the salesman was gushing like crazy when he informed him about the new arrivals. The chairs were made of the same polished wood, and they had fancy, blood red cushions tightly sewn on.
Enough – enough of the damn chairs and table. The sofa was good, the sofa and the recliner chair were very good. It was comfortable, supported his weight and on most occasions, lulled him into a deep sleep whenever he became exhausted after a day's unpacking. His right hand idly crawled away from him and finally hit something solid. Sleek, smooth, dotted with many rubber buttons. The TV remote.
It was almost time – time for the live broadcast from Arcadia Central, the outside worn given a rare peek at the Forbidden Palace from the inside that only members of royalty or servants could enter. An immaculately and highly professional looking journalist with her dark brown hair tied back into a tight bun so that not a single strand was out of place was rapidly reporting to the audience. She was dressed in a sharp suit and looked like she had been offered the opportunity of a lifetime for there was a raw excitement about her that she just couldn't suppress from her voice.
The camera passed around her and onto the spectacular view which took Illumi's breath away.
Across the acres of what was once bare and desolate courtyard was alive with people, banners and a spill of colours from the thousands of flying flags and banners. Along the palace walls, at every five paces, there was a flag pole which bore the Arcadian flag, and whether by some trick of nen or heaven bestowed wind, the standards billowed and waved proudly, a signal to all other countries. Within the walls, ten thousand soldiers in full army gear, armed each with a ceremonial sword stood in painfully straight lines at parade rest, all facing the Dais. There were also one thousand bureaucrats dressed in full Court uniform and a hundred representatives from the national minorities from around the country, each dressed in their traditional and unique clothing. Everyone stood, facing the Dais, a solemn look of anticipation and pride in their face.
Behind the Dais stood a massive brass band, the trumpets dominating the front line, held up erect by the musicians and gleaming almost painfully from the warm summer's sun. Suddenly, with one sharp twist of the conductor's baton, there was a long, clear, silver note from the band, and it was the signal for all the people to turn in the direction of the one red carpeted path down the dead center of the Forbidden Palace leading up to the Dais. Following hushed gasps from the civilians granted invitation to attend the ceremony, they spied the small figure of their Emperor dressed in the official golden yellow robes. She sat atop a pale grey elephant led by an ornately gem encrusted rein, and she gazed steadily forward toward her podium. To either side of her was the Master Eunuch and the Palace Guardian. Echlan was dressed in his navy blue uniform, the gold lining on his sleeves signifying his status was clear for all to see. To Rudy's left was a giant of a man distinguished by the horrifically impressive scar that ran down the side of his face. Berenger who valiantly defeated the enemy at the South Gate was dressed from head to toe in gleaming white and gold armor. He strode impassively beside the elephant placing himself as the barrier between the world and his Emperor. His large double headed battle axe swung against his hip, and his backup weapon, the great sword dubbed "Widowmaker" was slung across his back as a warning to anyone who was foolish or idiotic enough to pounce forth and attack.
As she passed, people fell down onto one knee in respect. Sector by sector, waves of people bobbed down and did not rise until Rudy had alighted the beast and stepped onto the dais, and by her sharp gesture, they all stood uniformly and they waited for the speech to begin.
The camera zoomed up to her face and hovered, waiting for her to speak. But Rudy took her time, taking in the grand, moving scene before her – wherever the eye could reach, the Forbidden Palace was filled with people all straining to hear her voice, whose gaze never left her figure, attracted by the magnetism of her aura. She looked stern, determined and uncompromising. It was the look of someone way beyond her years, thrust upon her by the wheels of necessity, yet she made no complaint about it. It was the sign of one determined to be successful, had full confidence in her abilities and knew that she could trust her life to each and every one of those who attended the ceremony.
Illumi laid back fully on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't need to hear the speech – he was there when the inspiration had hit her, there and then after they had visited the home of Striker, and later when they sat on the roof of the Throne Room and consumed numerous cans of beer and packets of other junk food. He only hoped that she would like her gift after she unraveled it after her Pledge to the nation was over.
He probably dozed off for about half an hour, and when he opened his eyes again, Rudy had reached the climax of her speech and was reaching the dramatic end.
"…I swear by my life, am willing to sacrifice my humanity, to do all that I can possibly do for my people who have granted me an opportunity to stand here today, the people who paid with their blood, their lives, their anguish and their grief. The same people who lost loved ones in the war and died for me, and I hereby pledge that I am willing to do the same in return. Give me your support, give me your trust, give me your faith, and my lifelong commitment to this country you shall have in return. Seal!"
Echlan was shaking. Not many Emperors even in the history text books, had made a Pledge and Seal it in front of their nation and broadcast around the world for failure to fulfil the pledge was an invitation to the public to execute the Emperor herself. He approached the fiery cauldron of flames beside the Dais and thrust the royal seal bearing the royal emblem in.
There was a horrified gasp when Echlan fumbled and lost grip of the seal which tumbled from the jaws of the tongs and fell into the hot glowing coals. Rudy's hand immediately and almost impatiently reached into the flames and grabbed the sigil and without hesitation, branded her naked left forearm with the burning metal. She did not utter a cry of pain, only eyes widened with almost ungodly determination. Echlan had decapitated and killed many, many men in his lifetime, but the sudden sizzling of burning metal in contact with bare skin and the burning smell of burnt flesh afterwards almost caused him to blanche and turn away. His face visibly whitened and the strength was sapped from his legs. He could feel his knees shaking and fervently hoped that others could not see it.
Rudy carelessly flung the seal away and turned back to the crowd holding out her forearm, thick, crimson blood seeping out of the new wound, but her voice was as harsh and resolute as ever.
"By my blood, by this mark, I pledge my soul to create a future that those who died for us will be proud of – a future of limitless opportunities and chances, of prosperity and security, of strength and honour. This pledge is made to those alive and to those dead – I have finally found out how to repay your trust and faith in me – you left your family and friends to die for your country, and as I remain, I will bestow upon them the greatest gift that I can give."
And as Rudy knelt before the people, the sea of people all fell to their knees yet again.
Illumi turned the TV off and smiled at the still silence, looking around him at the new home that he had personally hand picked and decorated. So far, life was great.
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Rudy felt a buzz of excitement after the ceremony was over. She managed to avoid any officials or bureaucrats who would bother her with insignificant praise for her speech on her way back to the more private sectors of the Forbidden Palace and desperately looked around for Master Echlan. She wanted to open Illumi's present.
Koran was the one who found her. "This way, sire." He grinned at the child who skipped beside him, unable to contain her hyperactive energies.
"You are looking healthy, sire." The eunuch commented.
Rudy gave a firm nod. "I haven't tried to do much this week – Faust said not to – and I think that I'm well enough to handle my prior workload now. Which is good – time to dig back into the job after the extended holiday huh?"
"Yes sire."
"Come on, hurry up. I want to see my present!"
Master Echlan had followed the brief instructions left by Illumi to the word. In front of him was a table around twelve feet long, and the gift, inside the cylindrical covering, lay on the right side, dangerously close to the edge. His first initial guess was that it was a painting, and the more he read the instructions, the more his opinion was confirmed. The roll inside was to be unraveled from right to left along the long table – and if it wasn't a painting, he didn't know what else it could be. General Misha suddenly wandered by and hung around, drawn by the curiosity. He wanted to see the gift and Echlan had to almost fight him off just so that it was Rudy who would be the first to see its contents.
Misha had made known for the past week that he was in a foul mood. During the night of the bloody coup, he had anticipated on mind blowing fighting, but unfortunately, the West Gate didn't have much sport to offer the mad man. So all week, he slouched around the Palace and City, led search parties to thoroughly comb all the shady and dark spots to rout out the last of the resisting rebels. And still, he wasn't satisfied with the blood and generally pestered all the other Generals into sparring with him.
"Must I get a leash for you or something?" Kamus scowled, slightly out of breath. He looked absolutely furious, and for good reason. Aside from Liam, it was generally accepted amongst the ten Generals of Arcadia that Kamus dealt with Misha well, and hence the responsibility of restraining the madman should be his job. He didn't take delight in the job and always muttered and grumbled about his ill fate. Especially since Misha didn't know how to spell 'trouble' and was never grateful to Kamus for keeping his head away from the chopping blocks.
Misha did not bother hiding his irritation. "More like you need one for her daughter. I saw the reports for the East Gate that night – Miss Karen has gone wild again so you should keep her away from the hospitals in case she decides to take all the patients' lives in another bout of frenzy."
"How dare you question the professionalism of my daughter? Might I just remind you that Karen has been promoted into a full Imperial Doctor?" Kamus shot back hotly.
Misha sniffed disapprovingly. "We all remember the last time she turned into the Fallen Angel of Death. Only the Emperor could reach out to her and reclaim her soul. And thereafter she underwent months of therapy. This time? Nothing – she just says she's fine, but who can prove it?"
"I can." Echlan said readily behind the both of them, his chin just sticking out a little, both hands calmly clasped behind his back. "The Sanctuary within us is so powerfully calm that it can subdue all murderous beasts within us. I experienced this along with Karen-sama as well."
Kamus nodded appreciatively. "I might recommend YOU having some therapy sessions Misha. We really need to work on you sanity and cure your bloodlust. Me, I hope we never have to go to war again. That way, I can live out the rest of my life in peace – god knows I need lots of it. How about you Misha? You are young – you shouldn't even BE a General because it is unlikely that Her Majesty is ever going to go off to war again if she can help it. You'll be a soldier who won't ever get to experience a decent fight for the rest of your life. What will you do?"
Misha shook, almost uncomfortably and if you looked close enough, you could some moistness gathered in his eyes.
Kamus sighed mournfully and put a friendly arm around Misha. Sometimes, some situations didn't require words. He knew full well that Misha only possessed his amazingly twisted powers through his madness alone. The hideous Cell was his most famous construct, renowned for breaking the strongest man in half an hour, guaranteed. The war drove him insane – and although his history and background were vague, Kamus knew that Misha must have lost something or someone very dear to him otherwise he couldn't think of anything else which would instill a need for destruction and death so intense that he pitied Misha. If a man was reduced to living for nothing but tomorrow's war, what was the point in living?
"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that." Kamus said softly holding the young man, young enough to be his son, closer to him. Misha shrugged off his arm however. His eyes were desolate, distant.
"Wouldn't….wouldn't it be good if I were some sort of cyborg – to be switched on or off when circumstances demand…" he whispered. "Then to be re-activated only when I'm needed again?"
"No, no, don't say that, don't say that at all."
"I don't need therapy Kamus. I need to be shut down." The tall man abruptly spun around and turned to leave.
"Misha…"
"I'll hand in my resignation tonight and be out of the Palace by the evening." His voice became increasingly soft and distant as he walked away. "I'll find a place of never ending violence and bloodshed. That will suit me well."
Kamus gave Echlan a pained look. "General SummerIsle isn't going to be happy. Excuse me, I'll have to keep an eye on Misha to see he does nothing…scandalous. Oh – and Customs just reported to me that the Zoldicks have left the country."
"I know," Echlan said airily "Zeno made his farewells last night. Did you get a chance to say goodbye to your sister? You might never see her again."
Kamus grunted. "Nonsense – she says she'll write to me at least three times a year and pay me a visit at the annual coronation festival."
"And what of that bruise on your jaw?"
The general gave his injured jaw a sore rub. "I was fulfilling my brotherly duty and making a point to her husband. He and I…had a scuffle, but he walked away with a black eye."
Echlan raised a delicate eyebrow "What point were you trying to make?" he asked incredulously.
"I told him if he ever let my sister get hurt again, I will personally hunt him down and incinerate him into nothing but his carbon makeup. Then my trusted lions gaped open their mouths to show him what nice, long, sharp teeth they have."
Echlan tried to imagine the scene in his head, with the General standing up to the most notorious assassin of this age with a dark shadow between his eyes and his fiery lions of nen by his side, uttering his threats. Or the 'scuffle' that might have occurred afterwards.
"And Kikyou actually jumped to his defence instead of me! I was trying to HELP her, but as always, she fails to understand that I was trying to do what's best for her. And Silva sat there on his butt, his hair singed, clothes half burnt and generally exhibiting the pose of a loser but still had the gall to smirk at me! Urgh…some days wouldn't go right even if you paid them. I have to catch up to Misha now. Be seeing you around."
"Hope your day goes better." Echlan intoned, careful to strip the amusement from his voice.
And then Rudy and Koran arrived.
"My present, gimme gimme gimme!" Rudy ecstatically skipped to the table and read the instructions. Taking the contents out of the cover, she unraveled the roll of cloth and gasped in astonishment.
The dragon was so vivid, so alive that it looked like it would suddenly jump free of its stitches and fly away. Its serpentine body above the clouds – its eyes looked at her with every inch of regality and control, wisdom and age. In one of its claws it grasped a sparkling jewel which resembled the Device. The whole four meters of embroidery displayed a dragon rising past the clouds, higher and higher up into the azure sky reaching for a greater glory, the sun reflecting its golden scales like an arrow of light, piercing through all obstacles to claim its rightful throne in the heavens. There was a short prose embrioded on the far right in ancient Arcadian script:
The Dragon will scale all mountains in its path
And will inevitably break through the clouds
Into the clear sky, expanseless, limitless
To strive for greater glory mortal men cannot even dream about
And when it reaches the zenith of the heavens
It will become the granter of dreams and wishes
And remain forever in living immortality.
Echlan was speechless. He was numbed by the whole magnificence and beauty of the embroidery. He counted more than fifty hues of blue, twenty strands of grey and silver laced clouds. Each dragon's scale had been painstakingly accentuated by glimmering golden thread, but the pose, its eyes, were just so real that the vivacious beast would step out of the picture and truly fly into the skies which it had dreamed since time immemorial. He hadn't seen this sort of workmanship since the late master tailor who died some seventy years ago.
"Frame it up." Rudy whispered, her fingers gently tracing along the spine of the might beast. "Place it in the best frame you can lay your hands on, then pin it up above my throne. This is my destiny – it will serve as my reminder that I will prevail against anything which defies my path. This is who I will be. Frame it up."
Gon took a long draught out of his water and sighed. His legs were weary, his mood depressed and his general demeanor downcast. They were sitting at the airport in some third world backwater country called Katoomba on yet another wild goose chase in the hunt for Jin.
"Hey, cheer up. We'll get another lead." Killua offered him a bag of sweets, but Gon rejected.
"That very lead was from the Hunter Website. It was supposed to be reliable, and it cost us 20 million jenis for the information. Another failure."
Killua pursed his lips and tried hard not to look grim. Gon was doing enough for the both of them already. They had begun their travel and search for Jin after the Arcadian Coronation Festival, and come to think of it, they had constantly been on the run for almost a year already. It was tiring – if not mentally for each time they arrived in a new country, they clutched to their hearts new hopes that they were one step closer to finding Gon's father. And each time it proved not to be the case. They now sat at the airport, with no particular destination in mind, only the solitary brooding by Gon and the deep compassion Killua felt for his friend.
But they weren't going to get anywhere just by sitting here. The albino child looked around at the busy terminal about him. Old men in business suits sat, calmly reading the newspaper and waiting the signal for boarding, their suitcases guarded close to their feet. And 2 rich and spoilt brats bragging and comparing the plushies in their hands.
"Look at your filthy little commoner doll, with the baggy cap and the unruly spiked hair! My Immy is so much more like a King – look at his wonderful black clothes and not to mention the gold stitching. What do you have to say to that?" one of the young girls thrust a very, very, VERY familiar looking doll at the other girl. The other brunette narrowed her eyes viciously.
"I on the other hand, have more substance and depth than you do. MY doll is supposed to be a legendary 2-star hunter!" the little girl sniffed with disdain. "I don't have to have fancy clothes or nice hair to show the world that I'm better than them." She sneered, wagging her doll back at the other blonde.
Killua viciously jabbed at Gon and virtually shook him till his teeth rattled to get the dejected boy's attention. Once Gon's soul had finally returned to earth, Killua frantically pointed in the two brats' direction.
"J…..J….Jin!" the young assassin finally managed to blurt out. Gon looked quizzically at him for some moments, before his eyes finally focused on the doll the brunette girl had in her hand. The doll had a grey baggy cap, a dark greyish jacket and black pants. If you took the cap off, the hairstyle on the plushie was similar to Gon's own unruly and unkempt hair. Without further ado, they both dashed towards both girls.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" they simultaneously exclaimed.
The two little girls stopped their bickering to look suspiciously at the two teenage boys that had suddenly jumped them with questions. The blonde slowly spoke.
"Poor commoners like you wouldn't be able to afford these dolls. They were bought in Florence – one of the most richest and exclusive cities on the planet. I suggest you continue dreaming."
Killua grit his teeth and fought against Gon's restraining arm.
"So exactly what's this store in Florence called?" he politely asked.
The brunette and blonde silently conferred with each other, then the blonde shrugged prettily.
"Not that it matters to you – but if you really want to know, our parents bought me wonderful Immy from Arammi's Dollhouse. But it's more than just a shop that sells dolls – my parents are going to have the owner design my next birthday dress!" she declared proudly and looked almost triumphantly at the brunette who now seethed with anger.
Gon and Killua hastily retreated lest they get caught in the dangerous crossfire of verbal insults.
"Florence is famous for its grandeur and elegance. It has many canals and a thriving gondola business for tourists. It is home to the most mesmerizing architecture and its musical and artistic culture spans a millennia. Come on Gon – it's time to show you how the real elite of society really live." Killua grinned devilishly at his friend and both raced to the counter to purchase the next flight to Florence.
Hisoka groggily opened his eyes and mutely groaned at the tiredness still in his bones. He forced his mind to recount the events of the past twenty four hours.
He had just alighted from a blimp in the most expensive city to live in and immediately began tracking down the boutique store named Arammi's Dollhouse. It had taken him a full year of searching and tracking around the globe to finally come up with this name – and the significance immediately struck him. That – of if the search again proved futile, he would kill whoever had dared to use the name "Arammi" to vent out his anger and frustration. Trust Illumi to be able to cover his movements so entirely. He had erased his record from the Hunter Association Website, and all other –personal identification, then changed his mobile phone number. After that, it was pretty much trying to search for the needle in the haystack.
Only that Hisoka persisted, and finally stumbled upon a child hugging a doll very much resembling him to her chest. It was then he got his lead to Florence.
And upon arriving into Arammi's Dollhouse, he was greeted by two brightly cheery twins who greeted their customers like a god. The store was just as lavish and elaborate as was demanded by a high-class city such as Florence. The gloss from the light coloured wood was so clean and sparkling bright that Hisoka saw his reflection more clearly than glass. On the highly polished planks of wood sat tens and hundreds of plushies and stuffed dolls. He recognized a handful of them – Illumi's own family (Silva was named "Evil White Haired Monster"), Gon, the Kurata, the members of the Genei Ryodan (Kuroro and Machi were currently out of stock), and a few other faces in his fading memory from the Fighting Tower.
Another dozen spotlights basked down on another row of dolls dresses to his right, all splendidly aligned in a well calculated blend of colours. The most impressive about the barbie dresses wasn't the fact that they were made from rare, expensive materials, but the intricate and superb stitches and embroidery on the small, doll sized garment. Some even had precious gems and diamonds stitched in and were outrageously priced. However, on a small bit of paper, there was an auction currently being conducted, ending two weeks from now, for the last set to be sold before the next season. The current bid was enough for one to live for half a year at the six star hotel The Imperial in Arcadia Central. There really were such spoilt brats and cold parents who wished to substitute their love and quality time with money and materials.
Behind the two counters where the twins served on either side of the room and under the scrutiny of yet another bright spotlights was a whole collection of plushies featuring the people from the Forbidden Palace in Arcadia. Romdimostev Alanis Kalinnan III sat on an onyx throne in her impressive royal yellow robes with a vivid dragon in the center of her tunic embroided with a skill almost beyond mortal comprehension and a head dress with many strands of dangling pearls. She was one of the most expensive dolls in the entire shop. Koran plushies were noted as 'low in stock' and Misha had a maniac's grin and held a wicked glaive. On the lower shelves all around the shop were an assortment of animals, soft, cuddly and heart-stoppingly lifelike.
The thing that caught his eye however, were the plushies of himself on one of the more prominent shelves. There were three of them, each with a different hair colour (aqua blue, deep red-brown and highlighter red-pink) with a different outfit (all of which he had worn) but with the same makeup – the star and tear beneath each eye. They were labelled "The World's Greatest Magician".
Hisoka then balked – even the cheapest doll in this shop was tagged at over ten thousand jenis.
One of the girls with the green bobbed hair cut and cutesy uniform of navy blue with a bright pink scarf around her neck approached him and bowed low.
"Good evening sir. My name is Linda. How may I help you?"
Taken back by the extreme manners and formality, let alone the disarming dimples she had, Hisoka had to take a moment to collect himself.
"I am….er…looking for someone."
"Someone?" she pursed her lips for only a fraction of a moment then brightly responded. "Ah yes! Boss-sama had said that these dolls are all based on someone. I understand – but unfortunately, Boss-sama doesn't ever tell us who these people are, unless we know of them personally. Perhaps you could give me a description?"
"Ummm…no – I was looking for your Boss."
"Boss-sama? Have you an appointment? May I have your name please?" Linda briskly turned around and walked to her own designated counter whilst her twin sister, who introduced herself as Mindy, watched on with a pleasant smile.
"I don't have an appointment. Is your Boss in?"
"You don't have an appointment?" Linda blinked her wide blue eyes at him with puzzlement. Her sister stopped whatever she was doing to unobtrusively tune in.
"Yeah – is he in? I'm a friend of his."
The once pleasant and welcoming atmosphere almost immediately lost its warmth and the previously respectful attitude from Linda and Mindy tangibly turned hostile and nasty. Hisoka gulped. He had obviously said something wrong.
"Boss-sama is not in right now. If you'll kindly leave your name and contact number, we'll pass your message to him."
"He's not in? Then I take it he lives around here? If you could give me his address…"
The tension in the air didn't ask twice to snap. The magician drearily realized that he had accidentally pushed things too far, and what he saw were nice and agreeable sales girls glared daggers at him and formed intentions to do things…adverse to his help.
"I insist, please leave your name and contact number and our Boss will confirm whether you are a 'friend' as you profess to be."
"Oh – that's ok. I'll come back tomorrow morning then. I want to give him a surprise." He mustered all the sweetness into his voice that he could, but the two girls were like vipers. Later, he realized that there was no correct answer and anything would have landed him in trouble.
And then the other girl, Mindy, threw her sister a sword and both attacked him with a speed that he had not expected, and with a skill that only confirmed who the owner of the premises was. The girls had executed the Meteor Rain on him in attempts to shred him into a million pieces. Almost immediately, they were out onto the streets with glittering lines of silver all around him from the deadly feints and jabs of the swords. The girls were good – their moves were well co-ordinated and each blow had decent strength. They had obviously been through strict and rigorous training.
Had he been a lesser man, he may as well have died before seeing his lifelong partner again, but because he was Hisoka, the nasty and manipulate magician, who also conveniently knew the steps to the Meteor Rain and knew more variations and stances than the girls, he soon disarmed them and whilst both girls were tied up (kicking and screaming to the ver end), he ransacked the store and came up with what was a credible address.
The house was just two streets away, and after forcing the lock, he stumbled into a neat and homely household. The soft blend of colours and welcome atmosphere made Hisoka feel like he had come home, a safe haven of security and a common peace. Without hesitation, he began to explore the rest of the house and finally found the main bedroom. Unlike the other rooms, this one was devoid of fabric, stuffing, loose threads and dolls. The only doll lay on the king sized bed. Hisoka smiled mischievously. It was a giant plushie….of himself.
Stretching luxuriously, he flung himself onto the bed and deeply breathed in the familiar and comforting scent. He hugged the doll to himself and in minutes, he was soundly asleep.
There was now a warmth and bulk beside him. Wearily turning aside, he turned to see if Illumi had kept a dog who he didn't see when he walked in. But to his heart wrenching surprise, Illumi himself was sound asleep beside him, innocent and expressionless, breathing steadily. Whatever tiredness in Hisoka instantly vanished. His head cleared, eyes sparkled and strength surged into his muscles. Without another thought, he rolled on top of the young man and like a happy puppy, immediately rained kisses on the face he had missed for an entire.
Illumi woke up with something akin to a small fright and a jolt to shake off whatever it was on top of him. But Hisoka was stronger and heavier and prepared for that kind of reaction.
"Illu…" Hisoka purred and vigorously rubbed his cheek against Illumi's.
"HI-SO-KA!" Illumi exclaimed, red face and furious. "You don't see me sexually harassing you when I find you sleeping defenceless and hapless before me!"
"Aww Illu…don't be so cold." His hands wandered down to unbutton Illumi's shirt and the belt around his waist.
"Argh! Help! I'm being attacked by a big pervert!"
Hisoka stroked the right buttons and rubbed himself on the right places which eventually placated the half hearted struggles.
"It takes a lustful man to fulfill the appetites of a big pervert." Hisoka sang cheerily and made to compensate for his year of longings.
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Hisoka couldn't stop humming a happy tune in the early morning. He got up and made breakfast, then served them to Illumi in bed, the latter still in deep slumber from the night's previous activity. Hisoka quietly studied the pale face half distracted by the fine strands of ebony hair on the peach coloured bed sheets.
And I can wake up to this every morning.
"Wakey wakey!" He tapped Illumi lightly on the nose. With the reflexes and training of an assassin, and despite his tiredness, Illumi's eyes immediately flew open and he sat up at the protest of his muscles.
"I made breakfast!" Hisoka declared proudly. Illumi accepted without a nod of thanks but Hisoka didn't mind. He had a whole lifetime to coax a 'thank you' out of him.
And he had a whole lifetime to put up with Illumi's tantrums. After they finished breakfast, groomed and dressed and arrived at Illumi's store, they found Linda and Mindy still bound and furious at Hisoka.
"Boss-sama! Don't trust that man!" were Linda's first words. Illumi rushed to untie Mindy then turned to all three of them to account for the damage and mess in his store.
"He started it!" Mindy accused, pointing at Hisoka. "He says he's your 'friend' Boss-sama, and wanted your address!"
"Of course we can't trust him. He refused to leave a name and contact details, so we immediately reacted to eliminate the threat! Then he tied us up and left us here all night and ransacked your shop!"
Mindy rubbed her sore wrists and quietly spoke after noticing something striking. "But…how come you both arrived together?"
Illumi blinked a bit first, then looked to Hisoka and fought off an impending blush after remembering their reunion last night.
"He's my…."
"Secret gay lover." Hisoka smirked and stepped forward, extending a hand of reconciliation to the twins.
==========================
Gon and Killua finally made their way up the cobbled streets to "Arammi's Dollhouse" and pushed through the glass doors, only to be greeted with the sight of Illumi slapping Hisoka senseless, shouting and cursing at the same time.
"Aniki?" Killua's voice trailed, his attention immediately swept away by the glamorous interior and the rows upon rows and shelves upon shelves of dolls.
Illumi in his rage stopped and swung around.
"What do you two want?" he growled harshly, his irritation further fueled by the smirk that refused to leave Hisoka's face.
Gon plucked a plushie from one of the shelves and gripped onto it tightly, holding it up for Illumi to see.
"We want to know what you know about this person." He said seriously.
Illumi frowned and let go of Hisoka's front shirt. He curtly turned around and headed towards the door behind the counter.
"Follow me, we'll discuss this in my office."
The door slammed after them, leaving Linda and Mindy to clean up the mess created by Hisoka. Linda giggled after a while, her amusement infecting her sister.
"They do look kinda cute together, no?"
Mindy nodded. "So Boss-sama isn't as lonely or miserable as we thought. That's nice. I was starting to get worried."
"Me too, Mindy, me too."
THE END