Coming back home after dealing with the ants, Daniel and Vastorie have a long talk.

Thank you for the reviews, they mean so much to me.

N/A: I've been trying to respond to all Reviews through the dreaded PM system. So look out for my responses there.

Prompt

Library

"Dig in!"

Daniel's, Killua's and Alluka's mouth watered at the food being placed before then. Vastorie had gone all out, placing at least seven different types of dishes out before them. From salad all the way to hamburgers. He didn't make a lot of each dish so at this point, first come first serve, but none-of-the-less, it was still otherwise a massive serving in Daniel's opinion.

Killua filled his plate quickly, aiming for the best food in his opinion from the offerings.

Each bite was more delicious than the last, a wide array of flavours and spices mixed in to enhance the flavours. Vastorie snickered at the twinkling in Killua's eyes as he commented nonchalantly "You picked the wrong person to date, my friend."

As Killua choked on his food, his Daniel whined at the accusation. Sure, he was a terrible cook, but Killua has seen it in action, so there's no need for the constant reminder "Just… why?"

"Oh…" Nathaniel piped up, a little surprised at the reveal. When Daniel first rang them, Vastorie never really ended up giving a proper explanation, other than he had a bet about a scenario he had no chance of predicting. Then again, it might have to do with the elusive painting, locked it away in the vault within his study.

Even to this day, he would often catch his husband looking at it sometimes. And every time, he would always look saddened by its contents. It the only thing he could never pry out of Vastorie, nor has he seen it with his own eyes.

Then again, his not one to talk. His kept a secret from his husband too, for Vastorie's own sake…

Nathaniel leaned forward slightly "And when did you plan to tell us?"

"Probably after I caught Daniel with his tongue down Killua's throat…"

"DAD, there was absolutely no tongue involved!"

"DANIEL, there's a certain someone who doesn't need to hear this argument." Killua gestured with his head to Alluka who was paying attention to the conversation as she ate. Although, her talent to conceal her motives was a little lacking.

Nathaniel sighed, Vastorie's lack of decency is going to get him killed one-day "Vastorie, apologise."

"There's nothing to apologise for." He stuck his tongue out at his husband, acting like a child for the first time in ages "There's nothing wrong about getting kissy-kissy in front of your parents. Also, it helps build a strong relationship. I would know…"

Daniel pretended to choke "I think I'm gonna gag."

"I could elaborate if you like…"

"No thanks!" Killua muttered under his breath, trying to think of a way out of the argument "Now that everyone knows about us, I would like it if we stick to more… PG-rated topics."

"PG-rated it is. Well when a-"

"NOPE! We're not having this discussing again!" Daniel forced the topic to change, not entirely sounding convinced with his Nathaniel's question. It sounds like he already knew about Killua and himself for the longest time. And there's no way Zaikaria told him, but just in case she did… "You're not telling me something. Did Zaikaria tell you, about us?"

"She knew?!"

"She can read minds. She probably found out how my confession went down…"

"And how did it go?" Vastorie sipped on some coffee, pretending as though he was only half interested in the answer.

"Terrible…"

Killua shot Daniel a glare, which only Daniel roll his eyes at the boy "Oh, I'm sorry. It went wonderfully! As little cupids shot arrows, Unicorns rained down from the sky. Nothing but sweet noth-"

Killua held up his hands to end the conversation now before he becomes a mess "Stop! No need joke about the whole ordeal."

However, Killua was piping up only further intrigued Vastorie, the man smiling as he leaned forward "Oh, do go on. Sounds like some wonderful juicy gossip."

"Vastorie…"

The man leaned back, huffing in annoyance as he returned to his drink "Killjoy."

When Vastorie was out of the conversation, Nathaniel turned his attention back to his son "We are happy for you to, and you know we'll never judge you for anything. I'm just curious to know why you didn't introduce Killua as your partner at the door?"

When Daniel looked at Killua, the boy shook his head, letting him know he was uncomfortable with the question. It might have to do with a certain someone pretending to not be engaged with the conversation "I rather not say. I'll let Killua be the one to say-"

When Killua shot him a glare, Daniel only held up his hand in defence "WHEN he feels comfortable to do so."

Killua nodded, returning to stuff his face with more food. It made Daniel smile unconsciously. Nathaniel too smiled at his son before switching topics "Oh, earlier you wanted to ask a certain somebody, questions."

"Oh, yeah… dreading the response." Daniel looked at his other father, the man still holding a mug of coffee in his hand "I noticed something very wrong with the election."

"So, did I…" The man returned with a casual response, acting like he really didn't want to broach the topic at all, but even still, he couldn't hide the faintest of interest hidden deep within his tone.

"Why did so many people vote for you?"

"Because I'm great a what I do…"

"Elaborate?"

With a sigh, the man put down his drink "What did Nathaniel tell you?"

"He told me about how you single-handedly destroyed an organisation."

"Ah, the prostitute den…"

"There's an innocent kid!"

"Oh, excuse me a den dedicated to children streetwalkers."

"What's a prostitute?" Alluka piped up, the innocent mind waiting to be tampered with. Killua only glared at Vastorie, waiting for an apology, but it never came. Yes, he spoke truthfully, but Alluka didn't need to know that kind of information right now.

And like Daniel always does, he stepped in to negate the sour mood "Alluka, it's a specialised group of kids forced into something against their will."

"Oh, does that mean Killua was a streetwalker too?"

Vastorie only burst into a laughter at Killua's reaction, the boy a blushing mess. He couldn't believe how easily his son's explanation backfired, yet what Daniel said next only made him close his mouth in disbelief.

"No, it's different. What those kids go through… is painful. They lose everything, whereas Killua had you to return to. He's not a streetwalker. He had his little sister who loved him to return to; so, he wasn't as much as forced into those situations, but rather did it so his sister didn't have to suffer the same." I hope… "Sure, he experienced painful things, but it wasn't because he needed to survive… he did it so you didn't have to do it."

Daniel could only watch tears prickle at the girl's eyes "I'm sorry, big brother."

"I- It's ok. I would do it again, no matter what." Cupping the girl's hand, he comforted his little sister as best as he could, watchful eyes looking at his every move. Seeing Daniel's intense gaze was hard, but the fact his kind words had drawn both of Daniel's parents, made it harder to resist the urge to hide.

Vastorie clapped his hands together, leaning back as he smiled "My, my… how the times have changed." His son has indeed changed, for what he believes is for the better. Sure, falling in love with someone tends to change people, but how Daniel has changed… well, he wasn't too sure in what way.

He wanted to know something, but the way his son spoke, it meant his learned a great deal over these past two years. He wanted to test a theory out, but first thing is first "It looks like my son and his partner has caught my attention. It's time I show you something… Something I have hidden. But first, you want to know what I did to gather so many votes, right? Yes, it turns that I achieved the goal of a one-man army to save multiple of children's lives. But that isn't what made me famous… not many people know about that."

The man held out a hand, smiling ever so sweetly. It was unnatural in Daniel's eyes, to see his father smile like this "I've helped hundreds of thousands of lives over my years, but most of their votes wouldn't count, because most of them are not Hunters like ourselves, or are old enough to vote either. I hide behind this joking façade to keep the attention off me because it's what I'm so used to. Ever since a child… but, the people I've helped, well, one day you'll run into them. You can hear all about their stories of my involvement with them…"

The man stood up "Finish eating up. It's time I showed you something." Vastorie checked the clock on the wall, six-past-seven. It's a little late, but he doesn't mind showing them now "It's time I show you the library… and the secrets they hold."

"~"

Nathaniel was left behind to do the dishes as Vastorie lead the three down the yet to be explored hallway, passing a large dojo on the way.

"This doesn't feel… like it's always been a home."

"You would be semi-right, Killua." The man opened his arms wide, a smile forming across his features. This wasn't originally his home. He never EVER wanted to go back to his birthplace, so this place, even though he was never a child, is what he considered as his childhood home.

"It was originally one of Netero's Shingen- Ryū dojos but was disbanded prior to your birth. Two years before exactly."

Daniel did the math in his head "So when you were 38?"

"Yes, I was one of the many Masters Netero employed. Specifically, this place. I kept the dojo intact, but as for the sleeping quarters…" Vastorie stopped right before the library, hands holding the door handle. He swung it open as he filled his voice with wonder "I turned it into this."

Unlike the study at the front, this room was a room dedicated to studying. It was filled to the brim with shelves, after shelves full of books. It didn't feel cluttered at all, except for some of the books lying around on the floor, waiting to be put back in their places.

Killua walked up to one of the many shelves, running his fingers across every title. From what his witnessed so far, it's dedicated to combat, fighting techniques, history, science and the occasional manga series tucked in between the information books. Some of them being wedged in the wrong spot. Killua stopped at one book in particular "The Hunter's dream, volume four…?" There were no other books with that name in the nearby vicinity, so he decided to reach out to remove it from the shelf.

A click sounded off in the room, echoing across the corners of the room. No matter how hard he tried to pull, the book still remained lodged into the shelf "What's with this book?"

Vastorie smirked as he closed the distance "I see you found one of the Easter eggs."

"Wait, volume four? When did you get that one?" Daniel pursed his lips, frowning slightly. His seen volumes one to three, but never four.

"Always, Vastorie pushed the book back in. He allowed his aura to run along his fingertips, aura surrounding the book before he ripped it out from the shelf without a need to exert his strength."

Killua glared at the man as he places it in his hand, fuming at how easily be able to pluck it out from its hiding hole. It was a plain green book with golden-yellow outlines. When he opened the book, he could see why it couldn't be removed without the need to exert aura.

The pages were empty, as in no text. It was instead replaced by multiple pages dedicated to the same form of strange writing they found on the inside of Gon's cube back on Whale Island "Daniel, this is the same format of text…"

The boy showed the text to Daniel, Alluka peeking over to look at the funny symbols "What does it say, big brother?"

Vastorie chuckled "Oh, so this is not the first time you've come across Inscription? It's not meant to be read, but rather used to program a reality, to suit ones' own needs…" The man took the book back holding out his hand to put it back in the spot it once filled. There was the same form of inscription, the very reason why it couldn't be removed without aura. It lined the back as well as a little bit of the bottom of the shelf.

Vastorie slid it back into place, this time holding out his hand to the remaining shelves in the room "Pull number three, one, two, four and then five out in that order."

"There's a fifth?!"

Vastorie dismissed the question "I'm not going to tell you why that order, or where they are. Have fun finding them."

The two boys ran to search the selves, Vastorie stopping Alluka before she could join the two "You have a much more important task." He held out his hand to one of the candelabra on the wall, fingers running along the stick designed to look like a gargoyle holding a candle "Pull this, once the last book is pulled."

The man curled his fingers around his mouth, yelling out to his son and Killua "GUYS, once you pulled them out, call out to the other so you know which ones you've pulled. If you make a mistake, you have to go back and press them all in again so it resets. Pulling them out of that order only breaks the coding needed to unlock the secret."

Daniel and Killua called out every book they found, stating where they're if, it wasn't the right one they needed in the sequence. Eventually, Killua found the fifth, hidden beside a Manga of all places, pulling out the last sequence of books. The fifth tune echoed among the books, followed by the sound of a key turning in a lock.

"Alright, meet us in the middle." Vastorie patted Alluka's shoulder, letting her know to pull the lever. Another sound echoed around the room, gears turning as concrete ground across each other.

The man took Alluka's hand as he led her to her brother and Daniel who were already waiting for them. What was once a joined table split in half, revealing a secret passage "After you…"

Daniel took the first step forward, walking down a staircase with shimmer lights, the same inscription creating the mirage of lights lighting the passageway.

Once Daniel stood on the even ground he stopped at another table, a bed hidden in the corner, as well as six bookcases lining two of the walls. They weren't very big, but they were jam-packed with books, very few places to line any more books. Most of them had no title, giving it an illusion of secrecy. There were another three waiting for them on the table, no name assigned to the books.

"Welcome, to my secret Library, Sage's Archive."

For a place that looked rarely touched, containing no dust whatsoever. And to top it off, the place didn't feel like they were suffocating from the lack of air, actually, it felt like the complete opposite. There was nothing but fresh air permeating the room. It felt peaceful like the whole world couldn't bother them here.

"Now I know you have lots of questions, but first, I wanted to give you a gift." The man directed their attention to the three journals on the table. The situation made Killua feel uneasy, but the man was quick to notice it, explaining the reason as to why they were there "These journals, like the five in the library above us, have inscriptions hidden in the binding of the cover. But, unlike the ones above, these ones work differently. Those were designed to work like keys, unlike these ones which act as a catalyst, allowing you to alter the pages, even removing or adding more pages."

Vastorie offered one to each person "It accepts any size, or type of paper if you're wondering. You just hold a piece of A4, or any other size, to the spot you want to place it, the book will swallow it and add more pages depending on the size of the paper you're adding. Although, be careful when removing a page, because of how the journal works, removing a page, tends to shred it into Nen particles."

"Why was there three here? How did you know there'll be three of us?"

The man turned to Killua, a small smile showing "I didn't exactly, I originally thought it would be my son, Gon and you, Killua, who'd rock up at my doorsteps one day. Also, Alluka, don't feel bad for taking Gon's, I've got plenty of them to go around." He ushered them to one of the bookcases.

Daniel pulled out one labelled Emitter Volume A, flipping through the pages. It was empty, not a single line or space being filled "They're empty…"

The man laughed at the accusation, a single finger being pressed against the page. It rippled, almost seeming alive with energy "Try using Gyo…"

Daniel and Killua did so at once, what was once being empty filled with words and descriptions. Daniel flipped through the pages, taking note of page number, as well as sometimes lame drawings or graphs used to explain a theory. From what he could gather, the book looked like a typically sized journal, one that was usually 160 pages at max. But this one, it held 358 pages and was no bigger than a hundred-fifty-pages. He could only imagine how many pages the other volumes had.

And the amount he had, must have cost a fortune! "Dad, how much would one of these usually cost?"

"Usually… around a million Jenny per book."

"How many do you have…?" Daniel raised an eyebrow in concern.

"About… two-forty."

"TWO-HUNDRED AND FORTY MILLION JENNY?!" the two screamed together. Their lack of response was muted by Alluka tugging on Killua's shirt "Big brother… I can't see any of the text."

Killua leaned down, hugging his little sister in a comforting way "It's ok. I'll just have to train you the basics. You'll be able to read it one day."

"And write in…" Vastorie calmly added "You have to use a pen, or pencil with Shu. Or else the journal won't record anything. Or you can cheat, by writing it on a piece of paper and just placing the page in the book, it'll copy the text as well. Also, I only gave you ten pages each, so you need to add more as you write in them."

Killua smiled at his sister before attempting to hand his back to Vastorie "I can't accept this. It's… too much."

"Nonsense! This pales in comparison to how much it cost to make Daniel's weapon. Speaking of which…"

Daniel felt hypersensitive about the topic, the question making him feel nothing but remorse for what he was about to say "It ah… broke… during my fight with the Chimera Ants."

"It… broke…" The man let out a long guttural sigh "There goes thirty million Jenny…"

"THIRTY?!"

"Well yeah, do you know how intricately designed that weapon was? From the shaft to the flexible whip-like feature took months to design."

"I…" Daniel was unable to look his father in the eyes "I'm sorry."

Vastorie shook his head before dismissing the argument. To him, money doesn't really matter. The only reason he spends money is to get the things he wishes to make other people's lives more comfortable, or easier "It's ok. I'm not mad, all I ask is did you like it?"

Daniel nodded "It worked wonders, and I was able to even assimilate it into my ability."

"Oh, do tell…"

Daniel went on to explain his ability, and how he used his shadow to manipulate the aura surrounding the blade. The man could only smile, never imagining that to work in this scenario, let alone his son being able to manipulate the shadow of an object. That means his son was a manipulator too, but unlike his father, who was also a manipulator, Daniel willed his shadow and not manipulate other people… "I take it you're a Manipulator then."

Daniel nodded.

"Then tomorrow, I wish to test your Nen abilities, both of yours." The man held out a finger to Killua "Considering Alluka barely knows about Nen, she'll be out. But I won't leave her alone. She's free to read books upstairs, play with Daemon, or she can play with Nathaniel." The man held his fist to his chin, frowning slightly "Which reminds me, I have a new problem now…"

He held out a finger to Alluka, gesturing to her attire "I don't know if Zaikaria has any spare clothes her size. I could try to look, but if she doesn't have anything that suits her. I could always get Nathaniel to take your sister out shopping."

Killua didn't like that, but the fact Alluka's eyes gleamed at the idea, meant he wasn't in a position to argue. The man was so versatile when it came to controlling the mood, let alone the situation. Each piece he moves, Killua no longer could tell the man's motives. Actually, now that he thinks about it, there was one thing Killua needed to know about the journal "Because we need Gyo to read and Shu to write in the journals, others can read and modify them too, correct?"

"Yes, it is possible to achieve secrecy if you use In. You can leave secret messages, but because the way journal works, it's an amalgamation of aura, making it impossible for anyone, but yourself to read text shrouded in In. If you planned on leaving a secret message for others, forget about it. I'm trying to tinker with the inscription, but I'm unable to modify it, let alone copy it. I know how to do it… I just can't do it, no matter how close to the script I can get."

Killua ran his fingers of his chin, thinking seriously on the topic. His witnessed Inscriptions in play seven times now to date. Wing's promise string, Ging's gift to Gon, Wolfbane, The memory cards for Greed Island, the rings within Greed Island, the five books in the library, and now the journals.

The ability to wield or write Inscriptions is quite versatile, using one's own Nen, to alter everyday objects to do wondrous things. He could argue his learnt something new today, but whether or not coming here will be helpful to Alluka, hasn't been decided yet.