Killua makes a final call to his last mentor, only for it to become a battle of wits, before than guidance.

It took a while for Killua to recover from being overwhelmed emotionally. Nathaniel was constantly hammering him with words of comfort. It was a constant reminder that he was loved, not just by Daniel, but the man who made his boyfriend that way.

Daniel mirrors Nathaniel, not Vastorie…

Even if a disaster were struck, destroying him emotionally and physically, till he was nothing more than a burden on his partner, a constant threat to the man's family, Nathaniel would still want him to be a part of their lives.

So, even if by some miracle he was able to turn his partner into a horny slut, Daniel will never be like Vastorie. He'll always be this overthinking, emotionally charged boy that always be creative with his words… He'll always know how to reach him with not only kindness, to say 'I love you' with the most prolific words.

After almost an hour of unashamed crying, he managed to recover himself. The man-made him feel wanted within this family, needed for who he is, not what he could be. He never thought he'd actively search for this kind of feeling, but he'll cling to it for however long that family allowed him too.

He was just glad it was Nathaniel on the phone with him… and Daniel was nowhere near him, it would've been a double whammy from both sides. Once Nathaniel was done being sympathetic, Daniel would've continued where his old man left on, only the boy will be affectionate. And once his boyfriend was done, the other would continue the cycle, each bringing their own, form of love and kindness to the table.

Hanging up was the hardest thing to do, but given what he needed to do… it was a needed sacrifice.

He thought he was alone, able to recover from the mess, but then he heard his sister's voice behind him, "Big brother…?"

Killua turned to the girl with open arms, smiling once he held the girl close. He planted a small kiss on the top of her heard, speaking softly to the girl he adores with his entire being, the one family member he could love freely "It's ok… I was just talking to Nathaniel… he made me feel… welcomed into the family."

"He did…" Alluka smiled into her brother's chest.

"He did…" Killua repeated as he squeezed his sister, "He even made you a part of the family. The man… loves us for who we are, and wants us to be a part of their family, you understand…?"

As Alluka's smile grew, she nuzzled into her brother's chest, "I'm happy for the both of us."

"Me too…" Killua took in a deep breath before being forced to break their hug, "I know you caught me in the moment, but I'm fine now. Try to get some homework done, while I make one more phone call… then we can continue this conversation, okay?"

The girl offered a nod with a smile. But then, surprising her brother, she kissed the boy on the cheek, "I love you…"

Killua gave his sister a quick hug, "I love you too…"

As Alluka grabbed the door for her room, she looked over to her brother who was still outside, scrolling through his contacts. She smiled when she noticed her brother's smile, how happy he was right now. Even after the tears, what he has gone through… he was able to smile in a manner that brightens their world.

Her brother found a family to love him. There was nothing more she could ask for right now.

As Alluka entered her room, Killua dialled Old Hag's number; he was still smiling from the situation. While he knows this call will be a battle of wits, to see who'd cave in first… but he couldn't help but continue to smile from the earlier conversation.

It took a few rings, but he eventually heard the voice of his, surprisingly young looking, but in reality, really old teacher "Oh, what a surprise. Never expected the love-struck teen to call me out of the blue…"

Killua rolled his eyes at the words, "I missed you too…"

"Oh sarcasm, it's gonna be one of these nights. So, how is my little polished Sapphire… is he a shining beacon, or has he become eclipsed by the shining turquoise?"

Killua raised an eyebrow, "Am I to assume the turquoise is Daniel?"

"Hmm…" Biscuit Kruger smiled cheekily, "maybe…"

"He's fine and dandy… a bundle of happy-go-lucky-emotions."

"Oh, so he's reached the peak of making even you happy." The older lady smiled into the receiver, only to grow wider once she heard the sputtering on the other end.

"Of-" Killua's cheeks burned, "of course you old hag."

Bisky's mood snapped once she heard the insult flung in her direction. The sound of her slamming a table echoed through the receiver, "Don't make me come there and throw you through a wall."

"Good luck. Where I am, even the tiniest hint of bloodlust would get you thrown to the middle of nowhere… or somewhere, it's quite random."

"Oh, that sounds familiar… I think I know where you are."

"Anyways…" Killua quickly deterred the topic, "I called you for help."

"I'm sorry, could you say that again… but this time with a please on top." Biscuit extended the silence, wanting the boy to add the suffices at the end of her name.

"I called for your help…" Killua sighed, "Bisky-Sama…"

"Less sarcasm next time."

"As you wish, your majesty."

Biscuit frowned, "What do you need help with? Is it manners?"

"No… As you're aware of… Daniel has this… string of aura wrapping around me."

"Uh-huh…" Biscuit picked up her latest men's magazine, looking through the catalogue as she waited for the boy to continue.

"Well, I was thinking we should do something about it…"

"Something as in removing or strengthening it…?"

"Strengthening…"

Biscuit Kruger smiled widely, "Has someone developed feelings for a long-haired boy?"

"The eighteen-hundreds called; it says to get with the times…"

"Listen up you little rascal, the next time you bring up my age, I'll turn your face into a pizza base… got it?"

"Crystal clear…"

"Good! Now tell me about this relationship you now have…"

"Uh uh…" Killua wiggled his finger, "I will give you no juicy gossip about what we have. I called for something else, not to fuel your boy's love fantasies."

"First of all, eww… Second, of all… that's adorable. You consider yourself a part of boy's love fantasy…"

Killua snorted at the idea, but he may have accidentally given too much about his relationship with Daniel. Who knows where that old woman's mind will go with that? "Sure, keep dreaming about our relationship. I'm giving you nothing else… now are you going to help us, or will continue to joke about the scenario."

"Hmm… finding some juicy information does sound appealing, but I can hear the tone in your voice. You're stressed about something."

"You too would be stressed, if you came to terms with the idea of your ability roasting Daniel alive like a turkey in an oven."

"That bad huh…"

"Yes, that bad…" Killua argued as he ran a hand through his hair, letting the strands bounce back into place, "I wouldn't have called you otherwise."

"Alright!" Biscuit snapped her book closed, "talk to me. What's your ideal scenario… what are you hoping to gain out of this?"

"First and foremost, we want to stop each from sending a pulse down the string of aura from our abilities. That means, I can't electrocute Daniel, nor can he use my shadow for his abilities. He may have set conditions on himself, but one of those conditions means he can't manipulate other shadows… but with the connection we have, that might extend to me… which, in theory, means he'll be breaking his conditions. I don't want him to face those consequences… Second, we want to stop ourselves from being manipulated by others."

"Hmm…" Biscuit thought about it, the way the boy added the last bit sounded fishy to her. She was going to twist Killua's arm until he snaps "Sorry, can't help there…"

"What do you mean you can't help us…?"

"I'm missing key facts, like the reason you want the second half. Maybe if you tell me… I might be able to help you."

Killua bit his lip. So, this is where, he'll have to start spinning the lie, "Well, a skilled Manipulator would be able to use the string of aura like a funnel, manipulating one of us through our weakness…"

"You see, I believe you…" Bisky's lips curled into a cunning smile, "but I'm hearing crap spew from your mouth. By putting a block, or conditions on each side of the funnel, that would stop a Manipulator from manipulating the other. So, if Daniel is put under someone's control, they can extend their ability through the string of aura to also manipulate you as well, or vice versa."

"Not always the case…" Killua lifted a finger, "Since the aura originated from Daniel, manipulating him would make it easier to bypass the conditions we used to erect those borders. However, manipulating me would follow a different set of rules; since Daniel is infatuated with me, if he felt like he could save me using the connection we have, within a heartbeat, he would erode his walls which in turn, would make him an easy target to manipulate… he's gullible like that."

"Counterpoint…" Bisky acted cute for a second, trying to hit him in the one place is considered Killua's major weakness… handling embarrassing compliments "Maybe you're afraid that having this connection would mean, the stronger Daniel becomes, the easier he'll be able to retrieve your most intimate thoughts… like I don't know…" The older woman leaned forward, her voice calm and private "deepest, darkest needs… hmm?"

"The day that happens, will be the day I call you cute…" Killua pushed away from the woman's notions. That would be a blessing in disguise, not a problem. He wouldn't even need to look in his partner's direction. He'll just walk in their room and bam, there's his boyfriend, presenting himself for him, "Besides, that's hardly the problem…"

"Wait…" Biscuit Kruger stood up straight. It wasn't what he said was the problem, it was how he said it. Besides, that's hardly the problem… there was a bigger concern, something Killua wasn't being forthcoming with her about. Was Killua in active danger, and he was playing it off by seeing if he could deal with the situation on his own? Was Daniel also aware of this, or was Killua trying to hide it from his partner as well?

Something wasn't right. She needed to pull it from Killua, even if she has to slap the boy around, "You're hiding something… something that makes you scared… spit it out! Right now!"

"The only thing I'm scared of is your bulging muscles." Killua trying to pass off the danger with a joke, but his old mentor was having none of it.

"This is not the time to joke around. What… or who are you afraid of?!"

"No one! Are you going to help us or not?"

Bisky frowned. The boy was lying… how was she going to get it out of him? She paused to think over Killua's question, he'll most likely hang up if she even thinks of using no in a sentence, "Alright… How about I play twenty questions. Since you won't tell me, I'll guess it… It's not Daniel, but someone close to him… Vastorie?"

"If you hadn't been living under a ditch, you would've known the man's in hiding."

Sarcastic, yet aggressive… maybe someone closer to that man… "Secret brother…?"

"Nope!"

"Daniel's sister?"

"Hell no…"

The woman paused. The way the boy sounded; it was based on a different kind of anger. She knows Killua and Zaikaria didn't get along, but their relationship may have degraded after a different issue. She'll have to come back to that later.

"Uncle?"

"Nope!"

"Father…?"

Killua paused, "Stop trying to guess… I'm not saying jack shit!"

She heard the pause in the boy's voice, how it took him a second longer to answer than per usual, "It's a father, perhaps on Vastorie's side."

"Who knows…"

"Dismissing the argument. You may think you're a good liar, but I'm years ahead of you."

"Yeah, you've also been here since the spawn of humanity, that's hardly a skill to be proud of."

"I would watch your mouth if I was you… before I smack it off."

Killua let out an irritated click of his tongue, "It's not like you can help us with this issue."

"Try me. I've had years of practice…"

"Fine…" Killua grinned cruelly "First, you'd be wrong with your assumption. I'm not scared of a dead man… I'm more afraid of what my father and brother would do, to get through to me. Daniel… is a weakness of mine, they'll use either him or Alluka as a bargaining chip for me. So, I wanted to have a way to bypass Illumi turning my sister, OR Daniel into a brain-dead needle man, just to get to me. Happy?"

He sounds truthful in his words… but it still feels like he's hiding something from me. "Let's say I believe you… Does your family have any reason to go after you right now?"

"No… but that doesn't mean he won't go after us if the situation changes…"

"Like what?"

"Daniel proposing to me…"

"Yeah… that sounds like something Daniel would do."

"So, are you going to help us or not?"

Bisky scratched the underside of her chin, "This sounds like a problem, but then this situation doesn't take into consideration the first half of the issue. Why do you want to erect the barriers to block off each other… why not force Daniel to scrap it…?"

"Because I like it…" Killua muttered under his breath.

"Sorry…" Biscuit grinned cheekily, "I can't hear you."

"You heard me!"

The older woman frowned at the reaction, "You wanting to keep it is not a good reason to leave it, especially if you're afraid of Illumi, or another manipulator from coming in on your life and tapping into it and destroying the two of you from within."

Killua felt offended. Having this connection is one of the few semblances of normalities he has ever learned to like. He's not giving it up just because some sick-fuck like Victor or Illumi can come in and manipulate the two them with a flick of their wrist. No, this just got personal for him "For fucks sake, jeez… I'm fucken in-love with Daniel… get over it!"

"Huh…"

"You heard me you fermented sack of old cheese." He didn't mean to blow up that way, but his frustrations came out like a tidal wave, "I… am… in… love… with Daniel. I don't want to lose him. I don't want to lose Alluka, over some bullshit that we want no part in…"

Bisky's expression turned stern, "I knew it, you're hiding something major. Tell me the truth right now…"

"I…" Killua bit his lip. If he hadn't acted out of character just now, he would've had her on the ropes, believing in some half-baked bullshit. But like that breakdown he had seconds ago, even the one while talking to Nathaniel, the walls he thought weren't going to crumble… ended up crumbling, "A man who's able to manipulate memories, is trying to use Daniel as a hostage to pull his father out of hiding."

"For what reason?"

"I don't know. For all I know, daddy dearest wants his son back to take over the world… What I do know, however, he's like my brother on steroids. What makes it worse, is if we cross paths, we won't know he's been around us… because his ability wipes the memories of those who've been around him. Hell, it may have even been set up to include those who look at him."

"This is… so out of character for you." Bisky paused, wondering if what he said was the actual truth. Him snapping like this could be Killua trying to bury the truth within believable lies, "Why did you snap so easily after hiding it for so long?"

Killua took a deep breath, stilling both his thoughts and emotions, "I've been on one long… emotional roller coaster for the past few months. You've met Nathaniel Swordcross, correct?"

"So that's his name before their marriage… I have, he was a student under Netero, alongside Vastorie, myself, and a few others…"

"You're also aware that Daniel is their son?"

"Yes, you were there when Gon and Daniel were telling me…"

"Right…"

Bisky hummed in understanding. This was probably something hard for Killua to talk about, not because it's something that makes him uncomfortable… it's the fact he's not used to talking about it. It was clear from the uncomfortable silence "What are you getting at with this?"

"Well…" Killua felt his cheeks burn, "Nathaniel considers me like a son, and my sister a daughter. Going from a family who only cares about your performance, what you can do thanks to your blood heritage… to one that cares about you, personally, no matter how much you screw up along the way… I would say it's… relieving… But to me, it's much more than that… I've developed feelings for his son. And rather than objecting to the idea of an Ex-Assassin dating their son, like any sane parent would do…" The boy quickly added, "Sure, Nathaniel objected at the start… then he spoke to me like a human being… not a monster. After that, they've been very welcoming of us… Then Daniel lost his memories thanks to Victor Tempest, Vastorie's father…"

"Wait, Victor… as in Isaac Netero's first right-hand man, one of the very first Zodiac's rat? That man was a mythological beast, a skilled Nen user… But he died well over fifty years ago."

"It turns out he surfaced around 6 years ago… quite alive and freakishly young…"

"How young are we talking?"

"He looks like he's in his forties… at least that's what Daniel and Eifion have stated."

"Oh, there's another name I recognise…"

Killua froze, he dropped a huge hint, "Eifion?"

"He's a big wig around the Hunter's community. He's not considered powerful, at least Nen and status wise. That doesn't discount the fact, that he's a well-known figure. He looks after Hunters who study at his school after obtaining their licence. Good kid, strong head on his shoulders. That would explain your earlier comment: Where I am, even the tiniest hint of bloodlust would get you thrown to the middle of nowhere… or somewhere, it's quite random. It's a good move if what you're saying is true."

"Unfortunately, it's our only move…" Killua let out a frustrated noise, "but we can't hide here forever…"

"Too many lives in danger…" Biscuit pressed a hand to her chin before offering a nod in understanding. She followed her next words with a smile "So, this is where I come in… you want my advice."

"Well… can you help us?"

"I can't do anything about his enigma presence. If he can erase his presence for this long without resurfacing, it's going to be difficult to counter that kind of ability. But for your other request, it's possible."

"Great!"

"But to pull it off, you'll need absolute trust in each other. I'm talking sky diving without a parachute and letting Daniel catch you kind of trust."

"So, what you're saying is, Daniel… and myself, have to jump out of an aeroplane and then expect the other to catch us… before we fall to our death."

Biscuit wiggled her finger, dismissing the notion that they need to throw themselves at Death's doors in order, for this to work. No, what the boys needed was unyielding trust in not only in each other, but themselves as well, "Close, but not entirely… you need to have absolute trust in each other. No matter the risk, you trust each other to have your back… as well as yourself. Even the tiniest bit of self-denial would break the kind of bond you need… especially if you're going up against someone as powerful as Victor. If your story is to be believed. He did manage to wipe Daniel's memories of you without any blowback…"

"So, Daniel is a liability in this condition."

"You both are if I'm being honest."

Killua never felt so offended in his life. He's not as weak as Bisky thinks he is "Not only do we need to have a healthy relationship, to have each other's back… we need to maintain our partner's mental health…?"

"Yup…" Biscuit Kruger smiled widely, "Meet those conditions, and you'll have the perfect foundation."

"What about the ability? The rebooting of memories…?"

"First the foundation… then for that bit, you need to be prepared to trust each other with your deepest, darkest secrets… No more being embarrassed, tongue-tied… jealous… thoughts. If you're even the slightest bit scared, you must be prepared to tell the other. You need to be able to look each other in the face, and say whatever without fearing the consequences…"

"That's it…?" Killua raised an eyebrow in disbelief. It can't be that easy, well to be fair it was difficult to achieve. They had trust in each other. What they needed, was next level trust… No more secrets… Even wanting to surprise their partner with a present could breach the contract needed to pull this off.

"You have to be true to each other… Share everything."

Killua's cheeks felt like it was burning a thousand suns, "E- Everything…?"

"Every~thing…" Bisky repeated with a smile.

"And then we'll be able to build this kind of ability?"

"Yup!"

Killua looked deflated, "Well, we're already off to a bad start."

"Yup…" Bisky swung her hips from side to side, "a very poor start." Shifting the balance, the woman asked her next question, "So what did Zaikaria try to do to Daniel and yourself?"

"She…" Killua looked down at the floor, "she doesn't trust me… due to something that happened years ago. Apparently… when I was younger, she thought she saw I was trying to kill her brother, Daniel… So, she tried to wipe the boy's remaining memories of me." He heard the audible gasp on the other side of the phone, "HOWEVER, it didn't go so well… her ability clashed with Victor's, trying to fight for dominance. Little snippets of the boy's memories were sweeping through the gaps. So, she had to break open box that was keeping the boy's memories hostage… or risk losing him. We later learned from Daniel that I was trying to save him in the past…"

Killua sighed once more, "But she won't believe her brother until my memories of that night come back, and she gets to view them."

"She's starting to sound worse than when I met her. She's a brat who doesn't know how to let go of grudges…"

Killua snorted, "Right… she does sound like that. But I understand her sentiment… she wants to protect her family. I won't excuse her for being a cow to me, but there are too many sides to this situation."

"So, what are you going to do right now?" The older woman asked, wondering how Killua is going to act in this scenario. Their best bet was to stay in the school, but that would be putting everyone in danger… especially if the older man is lurking around the school for a reason.

"We're staying in the school… If we want a chance to survive out there… we need to improve on both an individual level and a unit."

Her smile grew at the news, "My students have grown up over these past few months. I can't wait to see how you two turn out in the years to come." I can't wait to see what they're like polished…