Killua rubbed the bridge of his nose, this day was insane. It had only been three hours but it felt like it had been six. Gon and himself had been woken up by Radella, Desdemona, Crice, and Eirisse just like always, but this time everything happened so much faster.
If Neko-Girls wanted something done, they got it done.
Gon and Killua had been thrown into their own clothes, which had been a relief. Killua was wearing purple pants and a black turtleneck, and Gon had his jacket and boots, but with a pair of green pants rather than shorts.
After that, they had been rushed through breakfast and then rushed some more as they were driven by Nerreza to the palace. From there, there had been more rushing as they were led to their rooms in the palace. Gon and Killua had separate rooms now; they were located in a part of the palace that was a sort of decorative bridge between two spires. They were on opposite sides of the hall, and both had windows. Killua's room faced the north, while Gon's room faced the south. They had incredible views of the surrounding village and mountains, but were in the dead center of that damned maze of a palace, so it would be near impossible to come and go as they pleased.
Killua had been separated from Gon, and they both had been dragged into their rooms for fitting and measuring. Killua had done stuff like this before, he had needed specific clothes for certain jobs. However, that didn't mean he didn't hate every second of it. At least they asked him what colors he liked. He answered with blacks, blues, and sometimes purple.
The Valkyrie had the suspicion that his preferences would be ignored for the most part in favor of more silver and white to match the aesthetic the Neko-Girls had come up with for Gon and himself.
It was so annoying, everything of Killua's was silver and white, while everything of Gon's was black and gold. Killua's maids dressed in white and silver, while Gon's dressed in black and gold. Any workers that worked for both of the boys wore clothes like Nerreza's: half and half, with white on one side and black on the other.
Killua's room was so annoyingly bright, he was jealous of Gon. He would rather have gotten black and gold.
After the fitting they had been introduced to an army of different palace workers, all of them specifically under Gon and Killua's employ. What surprised Killua - but not as much when he thought about it - was that Radella and Desdemona had been appointed Gon's head handmaids, while Circe and Eirisse were Killua's.
That way Camilla can keep her eyes on us.
It's a good thing she doesn't know about Circe being on our side, otherwise things would have gotten a whole lot harder.
After that the two boys had been rushed to brunch, which they had eaten in the presence of the High Priestess and various courtesans. Most of them were just high ranking nobles, but others were the High Priestess' assistants, and some were part of the hierarchy of their religion, and were Priestesses of various rankings.
Killua had committed as many as he could to memory. Tyson was one of the Priestesses, the one of highest rank. She was overweight with long, silky black hair, pale skin, and red cheeks. Another was Tubeppa, Camilla's personal advisor. She had short blonde hair, glasses, a strong nose, and a tall, rather masculine build. Momoze was a high ranking Lordess, and was owner and caretaker of the sacred garden's where the dark oak trees were grown. She had curled orange hair, bangs that hung over her eyebrows, and delicate features. Fugetsu was another Lordess. She had a sheet of pixie-cut black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. She was inseparable from Kacho, who was another Lordess. Kacho had golden hair in a bob, with pale skin and sharp eyes. Kacho and Fugetsu didn't have any purpose or job in the village, they were high ranking in the court simply because of their wealth. The courtesan who had piqued Killua's interest the most was Oito.
To the Valkyrie's surprise, Oito was Camilla's sister! And a Princess!
The two of them were twins, and though Killua did not know Oito at all, he already liked her far more than Camilla. She had long, wavy black hair, dark eyes, and a soft expression. She seemed kind, and held herself with a certain gentle grace that Camilla lacked.
The final courtesan whom Killua had identified was named Wobble, and Killua would have brushed her off under any other circumstance. Wobble was of the lowest rank in the court, with pale skin and a mop of golden hair. She was only twelve, the youngest Neko-Girl the two boys had come across so far. And the reason Killua had taken note of her was because she was Oito's daughter. Which made her royalty, and a Princess. Wobble was the first daughter Killua The rest of the courtesans were uninteresting and didn't seem to hold any promise. had come across, he had never heard about family from any of the other Neko-Girls.
Killua was very interested to find out the inner workings of the Neko-Court. However, as usual in this damned place, the brunch had been quick and chaotic, with dozens of courtesans vying for Gon and Killua's attention.
Newly assimilated citizens, not to mention Lords, and double not to mention males, were of interest to everyone.
Unfortunately, Camilla clearly did not want Gon and Killua discovering how this village was run, or any more about their culture than the vague history and description she had given Gon at that dinner.
She keeps us on a tight leash.
Killua would have attempted to talk to Oito, the woman of most interest to him. However, Priestess Tyson had talked to him the entire time, preventing him from getting to know anyone else. She had talked extensively about this stupid book she had written that she wanted Killua to read. It was called the Book of Taithon, and was some lovey dovey nonsense.
Killua would not be reading it.
Not over his dead body.
The Valkyrie had no doubt that Tyson was close with Camilla, and that she had been working on the snake-like woman's orders.
After the brief and chaotic brunch, Gon and Killua had been led on another, more detailed tour of the palace. The Valkyrie had gotten the gist of the layout, there was a certain pattern to the hallways and rooms. He was rather certain that he could find his way now.
Currently, Gon and Killua were sitting in a personal dining room in their personal wing (Yes, they had a personal wing of the palace. That bridge-like structure between two of the spires? That was it.). The dining room was quaint, with a spectacular view of the sprawling village.
It had huge windows, simple tile floors, and plain marble walls. Everything in the room was white, and its furnishings were all in black.
More of that stupid aesthetic.
Killua pushed his food around his plate with a silver fork.
Gon's fork was gold, ridiculous.
The longer they stayed in the palace, the more Killua became aware of just how sheltered they had been when staying at the inn. It had been as if, once they moved in at the palace, a curtain had been lifted that had been concealing the Neko-Village's culture. Now that they were interacting with the courtesans and living in the palace - the cultural hub - Killua had a better feel for the community of which he was now a citizen.
Killua peaked from under his silver lashes at Gon, who was picking at his food as well.
We ate way too much at brunch, I'm not hungry at all.
Lennon and Hecate were standing at either side of the room, waiting for Gon or Killua to need to be waited on. "New hand-picked handmaids for your person employ" my ass. Most of our workers are the same as they were before! We have the same handmaids, the same driver, and the same chefs. I don't remember the names of the various cleaning maids or seamstresses, there were too many of them and they introduced themselves way too fast.
"What do you wanna do now, Killua?" Gon asked, bringing the Valkyrie out of his thoughts. "Camil- er, the High Priestess said that we have the rest of the day to ourselves, up until dinner at least."
"I dunno, hey Hecate, what is there to do around here?"
Hecate's tan cheeks flushed at the attention. "There are several different activities, my Lord. Is there anything specific you have in mind? I am sure that we will have it here for you, and if not we will accommodate you in any way necessary."
Killua blew his bangs up and away from his eyes. "What do you think would be fun, Gon?"
"Hmm," Gon's amber orbs tilted upwards in thought. The midday sun set those eyes glowing with golden light. "Oh! The most fun I had here was when we were running around on the rooftops!" Killua felt Hecate and Lennon stiffen, that was the morning we snuck out for the first time. "We haven't worked out in so long, I think training would be super fun!" A perfect save, now they'll brush it off as just exercise. "Hecate, is there a gym here?" Gon asked the purple eyed Neko-Girl with a grin brighter than the sun.
"There is, my Lord!" she said, practically writhing in Gon's attention like a dog in grass.
Gon jumped out of his chair, pushing it back across the black fur rug with a whoosh.
"That's awesome!" He exclaimed, radiating positivity. "Can you show us where it is?"
Hecate's cheeks were pink, and a flustered yet ecstatic smile slipped across her features. "Of course! Would you like to go right now?"
"Yeah! Come on, Killua, let's go work out!"
Killua smiled at his energetic friend, "You're really hype right now, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm so excited! It's been so long since I've been able to go to a gym! Lead the way, Hecate!" The hybrid giggled at the rhyme, and did a little dance over to the now grinning Neko-Girl. Killua stood up and approached her as well, smiling softly at Gon's happy display.
Hecate fell into an elegant cutesy, "Follow me, my Lords Gon and Killua."
The two boys followed the Neko-Girl through the winding palace. Killua was able to identify the pattern of the hallways, and was proud to find that he memorized the route to the gym. They passed several Neko-Girls on the way. Each bowed, lower depending on rank. They passed palace workers, cleaning maids, and even a few courtesans. At one point they crossed paths with Momoze, who nodded in greeting at the two boys, and gave them a kind smile.
Finally they arrived at the gym. Hecate led them through the door, and Killua was surprised to find that it was super decked out! He had expected it to be a buzzkill! But there were weights for days! No one else was currently in the weight room, which was perfect. Now Gon and Killua could work out in peace. He didn't want any of those old hags watching them exercise.
"Woah!" Gon exclaimed excitedly, he was bouncing from foot to foot in anticipation. "This place is awesome!"
"I am glad that you like it," Hecate said with a smile. "Would you like me to retrieve some workout clothes for you? Or anything at all-"
"-Nope!" Killua interrupted with a saccharine smile and eyes closed in false sweetness. "We're all good here! Thanks for showing us!" But you can leave now. We've been suffocated with you guys' presence all day, I just wanna hang out with Gon.
"Oh, er, alright, as you wish, Lord Killua!" Hecate stuttered with a bow. She turned tail and left, softly closing the door behind her. Had there not been so many ranks separating them, she likely would have complained and tried to convince them to let her stay. Stupid girl, just like the ones back at the Hidden Oasis.
"So Gon what do you wanna do-"
"Everything!"
Killua snickered. The palace's gym really did have everything they could possibly need. There was a track circling the room, and even a room off to the side with a pool dedicated to laps. There was a fighting ring off to the side, and various weights littered the area. There was a bench press, dumbbells, you name it. There were even pull up bars. The walls and floors were pristine and white, and the space was lit by various skylights lining the ceiling. There were dry towels and water pitchers laid out on a table on the far side of the room, and even a basket of various fruits.
After a dance of excitement, Gon flung off his jacket so that he was only in his undershirt and shorts, and then darted around the room, inspecting how heavy the weights got. With a shrug Killua shucked off his two overshirts and joined his friend.
"Hey Killua, how much can you lift?"
The Valkyrie's heart fluttered for some reason. "Pfft, more than you can."
I've never done any actual training with Gon before, only rough housing and messing around. I bet this will be really fun. I can show off my strength.
"I haven't had the chance to use a gym in so long! I'm sure I'll be able to up my weight limit a little bit, what with all the exercising I've been doing lately. Oh! I know! Let's make it a competition! We'll see who's stronger!"
"You're on!"
The two boys darted over to the curling bars, and Killua started slipping the circular metal weights onto each end with his back to Gon. I can curl 400 pounds right now, I sincerely doubt that Gon will be able to beat my Dragonite strength.
"Ready?" Gon taunted.
"Go!" they declared at the same time and whipped around to see who had won.
"Wow! Killua, you can curl 400 pounds too?"
"We're tied? Aw! No fun!" Killua pouted, he had really wanted to show off.
The next half hour continued that way, the two boys were completely tied up on everything from lateral raises to deadlift. Killua grumbled as he spotted Gon, who was benching 550, exactly the same as him.
"It's no fun if I'm not winning," Killua mumbled.
Gon grinned up at him as he pushed the bar up and down in smooth motions. "You shouldn't underestimate your enemy Killua~~ Just cause you're a Valkyrie doesn't mean you automatically have me beat~~"
Killua smirked and he placed his hands on the bar while Gon was halfway through pushing it up. The Valkyrie pushed down, preventing the hybrid from continuing the motion. It was a sort of tug of war, Gon pushing up and Killua pushing down. Yet neither of them were able to best the other. "It's usually the case though. If you didn't have inhuman strength then I would have you beat by a long shot!"
Gon had that look in his eyes again, and he grinned up at Killua with a wicked expression on his face. "Most humanoids have inhuman strength, is it really so surprising that I'm even with you?"
"Yeah. I mean, one of us has to be the stronger one."
Killua pushed down harder, veins popping in his arms. Gon matched his strength perfectly, neither giving the other any headway.
"You may be… faster than… me but… I have you beat on brute strength!" Gon choked out through gritted teeth.
"Yeah… right! I bet you can't even… push this bar all the way up!"
"Heh," Gon smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye.
Killua got slammed with a wave of that chilling aura, and suddenly Gon's sharp-toothed grin got sharper, and his horns grew ever so slightly longer. Amber eyes flashed, and Killua found himself being pushed up. The Valkyrie threw his back into it, shoving down with all his might, Dragonite strength pulsing through his veins.
Gon growled playfully, and Killua's arms started to shake.
I'm losing!
Killua gasped as Gon pushed the bar up so high that he was lifted up and off his feet, what with his arms still braced against the bar.
"I win!" Gon declared with a grin.
"Wha- you! Only because, because you used that biochemical!" Killua's heart was beating faster. He's so strong.
"Maybe, but it's still a part of my muscular system, so it counts! HA! I'm stronger than a Valkyrie!"
Killua blew his bangs up, and dropped down from where he had been dangling in the air. Gon placed the bar back onto the hooks with a metallic clang, and stood up from the bench.
"I didn't even have to use that much of the chemical~~ this is nothing, I won't even be sore tomorrow!" Gon taunted as he released the chemical, horns and teeth going back to normal.
Killua frowned, he hated losing. Then an idea came to mind, and he gave a cat-like smirk. "You know what you'll never beat me at?"
"Oh yeah? What?"
The Valkyrie flicked his tail, and wrapped it around the 550 pound bench bar that Gon had left. He reveled in Gon's expression of surprise as he lifted the weight with his tail alone. He was straining, this was way past his weight limit, but Gon didn't need to know that. He'd be able to lift it just long enough to show off.
"Bet you can't do that, huh?"
"Woah! Your tail is so strong! Danggggg ittttttt, I wish I had a tail! But I don't! Now I'll never be able to beat you!"
Killua lowered the weight back down, sighing in relief once he did. My tail's gonna be so sore tomorrow. But I won, I regret nothing.
Killua grinned and began to gloat, "Yup! Keep that in that pea brain of yours, you'll never be able to lift more weight than me with a tail!" A stupid, meaningless victory, but a victory nonetheless. For some reason, Killua cared about winning against Gon. He cared a whole lot. He really wanted to show off, he wanted to beat him at everything.
"Maybe, but I'm still stronger at everything else!"
The silver haired boy flicked his friend's nose, ignoring the bubbles in his stomach at Gon's acknowledgement of his flimsy victory. "I bet I can do more pull ups than you!" The Valkyrie declared, wanting to keep competing.
"We'll see about that!"
The two boys sprinted to the pull up bar and started aggressively pulling themselves up and down, grinning at each other the whole time. Killua quickly lost count. I always have so much fun with Gon. It's been beaten into my head that I need to be stronger than everyone no matter what… but I don't mind being at a tie with Gon. In fact, I like it. I like knowing that we are equals.
Killua watched Gon's face of determination as he pulled himself up again and again. A bead of sweat slipped down his temple, and his amber eyes flashed with determination. Killua's heart started to speed up, and his face felt a little flushed - but that was because he was doing so many pull ups. Yeah.
The Valkyrie's arms were starting to burn, his muscles screaming at him to stop. But he didn't care, he was having too much fun competing with Gon. He could tell the tan boy was getting fatigued as well, maybe I can finally win!
Unfortunately, they would never know who was the winner of this competition, because at that moment Circe made herself known. "Are you two quite finished?" Gon and Killua yelled in surprise. They jumped, letting go of the bars, and fell to the ground.
"Circe?" Gon asked.
"When did you get here?" Killua finished.
I was so focused on Gon that I didn't even sense her presence!
"A minute ago. When it became clear that the two of you weren't stopping any time soon I decided to intervene. But that is beside the point. I am supposed to be retrieving the two of you to get ready for dinner, however this is the perfect opportunity to discuss the recent happenings."
She's so serious. What's she got, a stick up her ass?
The two boys filled Circe in as they dried their foreheads and drank some water. They grabbed their abandoned clothes and left the gym. They told her about the attack, what Chandra had said, what Camilla had said, and about what had happened so far today. They also told her of their suspicions, and about their next moves.
"I see," Circe said once they finished explaining. "So we need to get into the forbidden zone of the village to investigate the battle site. You're thinking we can find some clues about Princess Domonique there?"
"Yes," Killua said. "Also, I want to get to know more citizens. If we can find more women like Chandra, then that would be great. Also, if we can keep our public opinion high then we will have an upper hand. As Chandra proved, if we can get the majority of the Neko-Girls on our side, then we will have the edge."
"I agree with you. That is a great idea. Now that the two of you are Lords, you will be able to roam the village freely. Isolde and the others will continue tailing you, so you are right in making sure to be discreet with your investigations."
"About the dinner tonight, what's that all about?" Killua asked.
"It is a common court occurrence. As royalty, you will be expected to attend dinner every night as well as one other meal in the presence of the court. I would suggest that you look for allies within the court. Anything to help keep the High Priestess off of your backs is invaluable. I believe that your hunch is correct, about her majesty having something to hold over your heads. The faster you can find out what it is the better." Circe sighed through her nose, "I am sure the two of you feel out of place and disoriented. Know that it is a tactic of the High Priestess'. She wants to prevent the two of you from getting comfortable and gaining sway over the courtesans. She most definitely has something to hide, and the more courtesans you have on your side the more insurance you will have."
Killua nodded.
Tonight at dinner, his goal was to speak with Oito.
AN: more Succession War cameos!
