Title: Elopement

Authors: Renaissance and Sheiakurei

Disclaimer: HunterXHunter does not belong to us. Honestly, if we owned it, we wouldn't be writing about it. If we were making money out of it, you wouldn't see it in the Internet, so there's nothing to worry about.

Pairing(s): KilluaxKurapika ; GonxHisoka

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Romance

Summary: A relationship between the Klutas and the Zaoldyecks is divulged and Kurapika and Killua are caught in the middle of it. How do they escape family obligations and pursue the course of their true desires?

Author's Note: This is a semi-AU fic and Kurapika is a girl. I know you might not like it but it's more convenient for the plot (I have a plot!!!). It's a rather mushy fic so I apologize. Please bear with me and review. Flames warm my heart.

Enjoy!

In the beginning, the Earth was a solitary rock that hung in space, drifting aimlessly on its orbit around the sun. No life to support, no elements to support life except for earth that comprised the rock of which the planet was made of. One would think that a place such as this would be snubbed by the Gods in search of a better planet, one livelier than this. However, this was the planet the God Aryun and his servant, the demi-goddess Kimiko chose above all the rest, particularly because this was a solid planet that could support life once given the elements to support life with. The other planets were merely swirling balls of hot gasses that would destroy life in an instant.

So Aryun and Kimiko descended upon the highest peak that they could find and created their home there. Aryun blessed the Earth with water and air. He gave it plants to beautify the land and he gave it animals to swim in the seas and walk on the earth. Finally, Aryun created man, his first child and named it Zaoldyeck.

Now, Zaoldyeck, although directly descended from Aryun, was not like his father in any way except for the similarity in features. He had not the God's power, strength, spirit, but most of all, the ability to create life. Aryun saw a problem in this, for he wanted humans to roam the Earth, to till the soil and to tame the beasts. He wanted humans to beautify the Earth even more. So, instead of creating millions more, he solved the problem by creating another human, this time in his servant, Kimiko's likeness. He named it Sylvia.

Sylvia and Zaoldyeck were alike in many ways but not where it counted. Sylvia had been borne with dormant, undeveloped children in her, waiting for Zaoldyeck to resurrect them. She had been borne with a womb to where the resurrected child would be housed until the day it would be mature enough to come out into the world. And she had been borne with appendages in which to feed the young human as it developed.

Kimiko, seeing the wisdom in her master's work, created two offsprings of her own, similar to Sylvia and Zaoldyeck. She named the female 'Kluta' and the male 'Clapickt' and from then on, the six of them resided in their home in the Kukuluu Mountains.

As time grew however, another problem arose. The family was growing to big, too fast and the Kukuluu Mountain could no longer accommodate them. Something had to be done. Zaoldyeck decided then, to choose an heir who would inherit the name, the power and the land that the gods have given them. The heir and his family would continue to reside in the Kukuluu Mountain and the rest were to go forth into the world and multiply amongst themselves. Kluta, being the head of her tribe, did the same to her children as Zaoldyeck did, leaving only the heir and her family to reside in the mountain in service of Zaoldyeck and his family.

"So that is the history of your family, Master Killua" Killua's tutor, his uncle, discussed at length, boring Killua out of his mind. Killua yawned largely. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah. What does tilling the soil and taming the beasts have to do with training and combat?" Killua asked back.

"Well, Master Killua, Zaoldyeck was nothing like his father Aryun in terms of strength and power. This was an embarrassment to him. So to compensate, he vowed to become as strong as the gods so that Aryun would be proud of him."

"And the Kluta slaves?"

"As years passed, the Zaoldyecks found less and less use of the Klutas as slaves since the Zaoldyecks were given wives of their own family. So instead of all Klutas as slaves, before the head of the Kluta tribe sends away her children, she asks the head of the Zaoldyecks to choose a slave for his heir, a gift and a sign of Kimiko's servitude to Aryun. The chosen Kluta is given special training to avoid conceiving a child, a mix between the Zaoldyeck and Kluta blood is not allowed, this is why the bloodline of the Zaoldyecks are pure Zaoldyecks and the bloodline of the Klutas are pure Klutas, and she is presented to the heir of the Zaoldyeck on his eighteenth birthday. She is his for life." (1)

"Eighteenth, huh?" Killua grinned. His eighteenth birthday was merely days away. He wondered whom his father chose for him. He casually strolled out of the room without even saying goodbye. His uncle sighed and observed his nephew as the latter walked away. Six foot seven with a medium build easily hid the power that Killua possessed. White spiked hair with lavender streaks added to the air of confidence Killua held. Dark blue eyes signaled a warning to whoever got on his wrong side. Killua's uncle sighed again.

"The Zaoldyecks are becoming more arrogant by the generation."

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Killua felt almost giddy. A feeling he almost hadn't experienced before, except for that time when he was eight and almost reached the 200th floor of the Coliseum in the Sky. If only it was a Zaoldyeck thing to do, he'd have a huge grin plastered to his face but since training forced him to show no emotion, especially in the presence of his father, he suppressed the urge to smile, wearing his mask of cold indifference.

Okay, so he grinned just a little bit.

Who could help it? It was that day. The day he had been waiting for, for days ever since his uncle told him that important piece of information. Early that morning, his father had sent for him before anyone else could talk to him, and for that alone, Killua was excited. As I said, who could help it? The Klutas were known to be especially attractive. Killua had long since been jealous of his father for his slave and had long since wanted one. This was the day.

He knocked loudly on the door as he was expected to do, more of respect than to announce his presence. He knew that his father knew he stood outside the door waiting for the correct time to enter so no introductions were necessary. His father gestured for him to be seated on the chair in front of the bed as he set aside some… um… business that needed to be dealt with. But first…

"Happy Birthday, Killua" his father, Sylva, greeted indifferently. Killua nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing. "I'm sure you've been briefed, so I don't need to discuss anything. Let's make this quick, I've got much to do." Killua nodded in agreement. Sylva clapped his hands heavily. Killua recognized his father's slave walk in through the side door. Despite being well over forty, she looked no day over thirty. That was a lot to say. Behind her, he recognized the head of the Kluta tribe, having seen her a lot before while training, while following her were two figures whom he could not discern, one he did not recognize, the other he could not properly see. The four bowed low on Killua's right side, the side from which they had entered.

"Killua-sama, Sylva-sama, may I present the heir of the Kluta tribe" the current head introduced. No names were necessary at the moment. Sylva and Killua nodded ever so slightly. "And Kluta Kurapika." The fourth person who entered stood up slowly and gracefully. Sylva's slave helped her remove her coat, which covered her head to foot. A slave was to be seen only by the right people. The people in the room at this moment were the right people. Having been set free from the first set of clothing that weighed her down, Kurapika bowed again, although this time not as low as her family in order to be inspected.

Killua was in shock. He had not expected this. He expected her to be attractive, he expected himself to like her at the very least. He did not like her.

Standing at six foot two, she had sun-kissed blonde hair, most probably long, since it was done in an elaborately simple hairstyle that only waist length hair could support. She was covered in a heavy outer-kimono, in a predominantly violet color with embroidered bamboo stems and leaves in dull gold. At the back was the Zaoldyeck family crest embroidered in the same gold. The main kimono was also of the same gold with violet embroidery and a violet obi tied elaborately. Inside, she wore an inner-kimono of white. He could not see her face, but when he tipped her chin up, he almost drowned in the deepest, most beautiful pools of green he had ever seen. Her make-up was light enough to enhance her features and bring out the beauty of her eyes, not to obscure.

She was not attractive.

To be correct, she was not merely attractive.

To Killua, and most probably every male on earth, she had the beauty that could rival her ancestor, Kimiko. She was the handmade creation… no… masterpiece of the combined efforts of both Aryun and Kimiko to bring forth into the world a child, worthy of being called a goddess herself. She could be called the result of the union of Aryun and Kimiko in the holy act of sex, of which no record of such union between the two gods had ever been made, and thus, no record of one as beautiful as she had ever been brought forth, until now.

No, Killua did not like her. Or, more accurately, he did not just like her. He stood in awe of her. Her mere presence made him feel as if she was the master and he was the slave. He did not look down at her, nor did he look straight. He looked up at her as if it was her natural habitat to be up in the heavens with all the other Gods and Goddesses. Worst of all, however conditionally, he was intimidated. For the first time in his life, he was intimidated. Not of his father, his grandfather, nor of his brother, Illumi, but of Kurapika, his slave, his and only his.

Killua instantly fell in love.

No words were needed. Killua took Kurapika's hand and led her out, gently but firmly and briskly. He couldn't decide where to go or what to do. He wanted her badly, but he couldn't bring himself to taint her with his impurity, so he took her to his mother's garden.

Sure, they were a family of assassins, but his mother was still a woman and especially liked pretty things. She had a garden made, complete with a fountain and a gazebo, which housed a simple, two-seater swing. Killua completely bypassed them and took a spot on the ground beside the giant Sakura tree in the center of the garden. He took off his outer shirt and laid it on the grass neatly. He helped Kurapika sit comfortably before sitting down beside her.

"You're kimono is weighted" he noted, lifting a heavy sleeve.

"Hai, Killua-sama" she replied, softly. Killua was, yet again, stunned. Her voice… it was like honey, smooth and sweet… but sticky. He was like the bee, drawn to it, doomed to be stuck to it if he got too close. He couldn't be the bee, he shouldn't get too close.

"Why?" he wanted to hear more of her voice.

"For discipline and training. We have to learn how to protect ourselves lest someone try to have his way with us. We are not expected to be with our masters at all times but we are expected to be open to only our masters. Punishment is death, whether we were willingly taken by another man or not," Kurapika explained, arranging her skirts.

"Don't you get tired?"

"Iie, I've been wearing them since I was born. It's not just the slaves who wear these. The heirs do, too."

"So… you used to be…"

"Hai, Killua-sama. I—"

"Ssh…" he interrupted gently, "Now is not the time to talk about it." Kurapika nodded obediently. They kept silent for a moment.

"Telling you you're beautiful would be an insult. No words can describe you… nothing can be compared to you, not even Kimiko herself," he said after a long while of silence, gazing at her, stroking her hair, cupping her cheek, drowning himself in the pools of green. Funny enough, the more he drowned, the more he felt alive. The moment he averted his gaze, he felt like dying.

"Have you seen Kimiko-sama?" Kurapika asked gently, albeit a bit teasingly. Killua blinked.

"Iie, but I doubt she could hold a candle to you," he told her rather stoically. He forced himself to keep his emotions in check, relying more on his training now than he ever did.

"Arigatou, Killua-sama" Kurapika smiled softly. And Killua had thought she couldn't get any more beautiful. Just a simple smile made her glow like the rising sun. He wanted to jump her, for lack of a better term.

Killua, contain yourself, he scolded himself mentally.

"You can be yourself, Killua-sama," she told him.

"Nani?" he asked.

"I'm yours, Killua-sama, a gift from my tribe to your family. It's a great honor to belong to you. I'd rather be nowhere else. I'm willing to do anything you desire, just say the word," she told him calmly then added solemnly, "If it calms you better, anything I divulge about you, or if I betray you, you are correct to punish me or put me to death, as is your right." Killua frowned and cupped her cheeks.

"Iie, Kurapika, it doesn't matter what you do, I don't think I can give you up for any reason" he told her, equally solemn. He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She lay back against his chest. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Twenty-four" she replied. Killua raised a finely shaped eyebrow.

"You're six years older than me," he muttered, more to himself.

"Hai, Killua-sama" she smiled. Killua sighed.

"Never mind. I won't complain, you being as beautiful as you are." Kurapika's smile went unnoticed, as Killua didn't see it. Killua stared into the distance or a moment, contemplating on his following action before turning Kurapika around and drawing her in slowly for a soft kiss. It felt as if their lips hadn't even touched, as if their breaths merely intermingled. Killua couldn't bring himself to do anymore. "Kurapika-chan, what kind of training do you do to avoid conception?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Anou… well we're taught a special type of Gyo called Han. It focuses the aura near the cervix so as to prevent the sperm from entering into the uterus and thus to the fallopian tube" Kurapika answered slowly, unnecessarily cautious of her words. (2) Killua didn't seem to care; he was more intent on the answer.

"Ah… sou… and what happens if, accidentally or purposely, conception does occur?"

"Anou… the slave is put to death along with her child, with or without the consent of the master…" Kurapika said, fidgeting uncomfortably. Killua kept silent for a moment.

"Were you given a room already?" he finally asked.

"Iie…"

"Good. You'll stay in mine."

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"Kupi, how did you come to be mine?" Killua asked absently one night, a few days later. They lay together in bed, Killua's arms wrapped around Kurapika, their fingers intertwined. Nothing happened, if that's what you're thinking. Killua still refused to touch her more than necessary and it was frustrating for Kurapika. She had no idea what she was doing wrong, however she never asked, it was Killua's decision when and how.

"Well, I already told you I was supposed to be the heir of the Kluta tribe, ne?"

"Hai."

"Well, I was chosen as the heir at birth. I grew up training for the position. However, as the time came for my brothers and sisters to leave, it was almost my thirteenth birthday then. Sylva-sama was asked, as was ritual, to select a slave. He chose none of my siblings but then asked my mother for me. My mother had no choice but to comply. So I still trained, but more of self-defense. I was also trained in other things that I needed once I would meet you. Finally, eleven years later, here I am," she explained simply.

"Oh…" Killua murmured, nuzzling her neck. He suddenly sat up and hovered over her. "Let's go out for a few weeks."

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(1) Okay… so I used the term 'ligated' at first, but I foresaw some… problems, so I changed it. Let's just assume that ligation was not invented yet.

(2) Obviously, I just invented this, but as I said, I had plans.

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