Disclaimers: Illumi, Hisoka and Alluka do not belong to me. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, the original author, and various companies that bought the copyrights, Shounen Jump Weekly, Shueisha and Nippon Animation.
Notes: Office work can be so boring. I sit here and mentally explore the possibility of Illumi disobeying his parents, laying the blame on - who else? - Hisoka. Who else but a Henka type could so effectively uproot in a night steadfast training since the age of 3? I'll try to keep everyone as in-character as possible; however, there are no guarantees. Well, that said... Enjoy! =)
Stirrings of the Blood
Chapter 1, Turnaround
The surroundings would have been tranquil, if not for the events that would take place there. Landing softly like a cat, Illumi took note of where his person is. Woods shrouded him in darkness, save for the shattered bits of moonlight that managed to seep through the trees. He stands in front of a rather plain wooden cabin. Quietly opening the door, he steps through quickly to the bedroom where he knew his brother lay.
Innocently, his albino sibling sleeps. On his side, the child is curled into his blanket like a caterpiller curled into its cocoon. Silver light from outside shone between the curtains onto the hardwood floor, giving an eerie feel. Pins appear out of nowhere to Illumi's hand. I'm sorry, Alluka. I've got no choice - you have to die, now. Just when he flicks his wrist for the attack, a card deflected the pin in midair, landing both objects into the far wall.
A magician unveiled himself from thin air, mocking the pale assassin. They stared at each other, unflinching. In his jester's uniform, he stood up from where he sat on the floor, running one hand through to straighten toughly gelled red hair. "Illumi, Illumi, Illumi... Now what did you have to do that for?" Moonlight makes the assassin seem even paler than he is, Hisoka noted.
"I was given an order - I'm here to execute it."
"Tsk, tsk. You were ordered to kill your beloved brother and you just do it?"
"None of your business, really. I remember telling you not to stop me." The long haired pale assassin narrowed his usually-wide eyes. Playing with a Joker card, the jester merely smirked.
"Why should I listen to you? Think of who you're dealing with here, Zaoldyeck. I scour the world for challenging opponents; why shouldn't you be one of them? Anyway, if you kill Allu, you'd regret it."
"What's there to regret?" Illumi knew it was a lie. Alluka, aside from Killua, is his favorite sibling. To his other siblings, he's simply someone to be feared; to Alluka, he's actually a normal brother, someone who would take care of him. To only Alluka is Illumi human. Hisoka, the red haired magician, observed the assassin in silence. Illumi is usually coldly expressionless; at this moment, his brows are knitted together as if deep in thought. He knows that he's basically lost the battle.
Hisoka flicks various cards between his two hands, grinning. "You've been trained to do this - and you do it well; however, if I hadn't stopped you, another piece of you would die."
"That almost implies that you care." The clown shrugs. By now, Alluka is completely awake from their little debate. Turning onto his back, he stares at the ceiling for a second, then looks up at the two.
"Aniki?" The elder brother looks at the younger first in confusion, then walks to sit down on the bed. He strokes the boy's starkly white hair. Alluka's eyes are innocent, staring widely at Illumi. "You came back."
"Yes, Allu, aniki came back. Aniki will get you somewhere safe." The assassin right then makes a decision. His younger brother has not gone through the assassin training that their father, Silva Zaoldyeck, puts each of his offspring through - just yet. Illumi silently swears to make sure that his brother would be allowed to live a normal, relatively carefree life. He would not have to suffer the torture, 'emotional training' and the 'immunity development' that took away everything that Illumi himself had. The world does not need another cold blooded murderer.
"I will always be safe with you, aniki." Little does the child know.
A/U: How do you like so far? Are they out of character at all? Thanks for reading!