Chapter 13: Sacrifice

Feitan sighs, scanning his surroundings. At least Nobunaga should be here by now-- but nope. He's outside the mansion but there's absolutely no sign of the swordsman-- or the whiny brat for that matter.

It really wasn't that hard to get out there. He just had to figure out the entropy and get it to work in his favor.

Bored, his mind wanders to the moments in which they got seperated. A shelf had moved on its own and tried to attack the brat. For whatever reason, Nobunaga leapt forward and pushed Gon away, and seconds later he disappeared.

He wanted to test out what had happened and tried to disappear again-- it turned out that he was actually teleporting.

A mere rat can't move a piece of furniture though and the entire building is covered with nen anyway. So, a nen user is doing this all. Did Nobunaga decide to fight him?

A wrinkle crosses his eyebrows. Can he still join in the fun?

"He's coming." Yume whispers in his ear before straightening up.

Gon activates his nen.The man should be a weakened by his latest fight... maybe he does stand a chance...

"You still have the will to fight?" A smile stretches across the man's face-- as cold as a cement wall during a winter night. "Well, let me help you break it then." As a final taunt before the fight, he throws his blades away. "If that's the best Ren you have, I won't be needing these."

"I'll make you regret that." Gon growls and leaps forward. His nen even more enhanced, he draws back his left arm.

His smile widens as he easily catches Gon's fist right before it hits his face.

Damn it. He's still strong!

Gon twists around his right leg to launch a kick. Before it can reach the man's face, he catches it with his other hand. Cursing under his breathe, he tries to pull away from the awkward position, but to no avail. His inescapable grip only gets tighter.

Glancing in Yume's direction, he finds her unsuccessfully trying to hide her worry.

The man leans forward, his gleaming emerald eyes inches apart from Gon's. "Weren't you going to make me regret something?"

"Shut up! Let me go already!"

"Okay." He abruptly releases his grip, letting Gon fall to the ground.

Rolling, Gon gets to his knees in an attempt to stand up. He's almost got his knees off the ground before a kick to his back knocks him to the ground.

A shoe digging into his spine, the cement floor is cold against his cheek. Blood seeps through the bandages on his left hand, bringing fresh waves of pain and a metallic stench.

"Su... please stop!" Yume's cracked voice rings out.

"Stop?" A soft voice asks but he knows it belongs to the man.

The weight is removed from his back and he is able to release the breathe he didn't know he was holding. Shifting onto his side, he clutches his left hand to ease the pain, but doesn't dare suck in another breathe.

"Yes... please... stop. He didn't come here to hurt anyone." Her voice softens.

"I'm sorry, Yume. You're wrong. It's not your fault but you're wrong. He simply tricked you. He wants to take me away from you and then kill you. Don't worry about him--"

"No! You're wrong... he's just... a kid..." Her voice falters, doubt growing with each word.

"Just a kid?! He can use nen and he was just trying to kill me. Can't you see that!" Annoyance creeps into his voice.

"I--" She diverts her eyes from his strong gaze.

"Don't worry, Yume. I'm only protecting you. I'll be done with him in no time and then we'll both forget about this, okay?"

"WHY YOU!" A yell from Gon and an enhanced fist makes contact with his cheek. "SHE DOESN'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION! SHE'S STRONG ENOUGH ON HER OWN!"

~Argh~

Blood dripping down his chin, the man manages to grab Gon's throat before he can charge up another attack.

"Weren't you taught not to interrupt when two older people are talking?" He hisses, his grip tight enough to turn Gon pale.

"Suzui, it's fine. I'm fine. You don't need to protect me anymore. She's gone, okay. That was years ago. Please just let him go already." A tear slips down her cheek. "Please stop turning into her."

"Me?" The shock, confusion and look of utter betrayal on his face almost brings a grim smile to Gon's face. "I'm the exact opposite of her. I'm... nothing like her, you hear me!"

She simply points a finger to the hand around Gon's neck.

A painful silence later, his cracked voice yells out. "I'm nothing like her! I am just trying to protect you! That's all!"

"That's exactly the excuse she used to give. You're hurting me, brother, not protecting me. Please... stop already." More tears flow down her cheeks and Gon can feel his chest tightening.

"I've been... hurting you all along?" All emotions drain from his face, leaving it a hollow plane of pale skin and empty eyes. "Fine then... about time I end this." His grip loosens and Gon falls to the ground.

"Don't just stand there, Yume!" He cries out between gasps of breath. "Run! Fight back! Anything! You can't just let him get to you like that!"

But her body's frozen, her mind refusing to catch up. Her head feels dizzy as he gets closer and closer, his blades back in his hands.

I have to do something... come on! come on! Think!

Gon strains his brain but nothing comes out... until...

"Yume! Pass me that gun from earlier! I... uh... was supposed to kill you right? You can't have him kill you!"

Her eyes finally focus back and shift to him. Taking out the gun, she quickly throws it in his direction.

"Hey!" The man whips around but Gon is faster.

His heart ready to burst out of his chest, he points the gun in his direction... but can he? His hands tremble. His vision seems shaky. A bruised Killua flashes in his mind. Can he really hurt someone like that? Is it really okay? Won't he be like the Spidere if he--

The man charges forward with the blade. Gon has to do something. It's now or never. He'll aim for his arm or something. No one will die. He will not be a murderer. It will be fine. It will be fine. Fine. Fine. Fine.

"Big brother, Stop!" Yume starts to rush in.

Squeezing his eyes shut, his fingers tighten around the trigger. The least he can do is form a distraction.

A deafening bang and a scream. The smell of gunpowder and a piercing noise in his ears.

What just happened? Was he successful? He has to open his eyes to check! Maybe he missed the shot and-- wait... is that... crying? Who's crying? It's such a... heartbreaking sound... It doesn't sound like... Come on! He has to open his eyes already.

Amidst shaky gasps of breath, he manages to open his eyes. What he sees is unforgettable. He wants to close his eyes back up, turn around and run. But his body has given up. His mind is fuzzy. His heart is numb. His vision must be playing tricks on him... that's simply... impossible...

"I was... I was... going to protect her!" The man sobs uncontrollably, and in his lap is a body limp and cold.

The man's bloodshot eyes flick up, glaring at Gon now. "How dare you--"

A guttural noise and he joins his sister on the floor.

"Why didn't you kill him already?" Feitan narrows his eyes at Gon as he pulls the sword out of the man's back.

Gon opens his mouth to screaam, but no sound comes out.

It's a quiet ride back to the base. Feitan drives while a half-awake and bandaged Nobunaga struggles to keep his breaths steady in the back-seat. Meanwhile, Gon in the other side of the back-seat, his unfocused eyes glued to the window, has never felt emptier before.

[A/N: The second arc is officially over now. I hope the ending was not rushed-- I think I did okay. Maybe I'll do a bonus chapter with more of the siblings' backstory??

Lilphantomtroupelady: Gon question who exactly Nobunaga is to him. That's a great dilemma for the future! Lol maybe I should have chosen a different hair color but their designs were inspired by a certain drawing so yeah. Also, I. Just. Have. To. Wait? TwT]