Daniel and Killua finally have a chance to pull off the impossible. They just need to get Clarisa on board and time it just right. But first… they must get it approved.
A\N: Given that Melbourne has gotten some new cases recently, and rules have changed. I'm not sure if I'll be going on a holiday anymore :(
If so, I'll post chapter 130 sooner
It took a week, but eventually, Eifion found time in his busy schedule to talk to Daniel and Killua. Considering Killua was the latest victim in the drug dealing issue and a key player in helping him narrow down the culprit. The only problem was, it also added work to his already filled plate.
Hopefully, one or more of the teachers were helping him with this case. The boys' opinion, he looked like shit… like he hadn't slept in days. He needed rest, someone to help draw him away from his workload to instead, get some much-needed sleep.
Eifion ruffled through some draws before pulling out a document, placing it on the table, "So, apart from the disasters and loose ends that have been wrapped up… I was able to pull a whole day for the four of you, while also making sure everyone's timetables were free. It was a nightmare to pull off-"
"I apologise for asking this from you… You need rest, not more work."
"Nonsense!" The man waved off the younger boy's concern. To help, this was just a small dip in his restless sleeping schedule. He was ready to take Luca up on his offer, but he still had more work to do before he could even think to ask that man for the chance to spend the night with him. But that wasn't something he was about to bring up with the boys "It was for a good cause. Like I said… your dad would be proud of you."
"I hope so…"
Offering a nod, he continued once more "Yes, it was a nightmare but in twelve days, all of you will have a day off. Now, I don't know how you'll get the four of you in the room… but I can give you a device that will lock one of the Nen rooms for twenty-four hours, after the timer runs out, the room will be unlocked and you cannot lock it again… understood?"
"Yes!"
"If you fail to complete your intended goal, I will not be giving you another chance… not that you will be able to achieve it. Madelyn will be fickle and angry at the two of you… and her roommate, Clarisa, most likely. Other than that, if you do manage to pull this off… Madelyn should in theory become more receptive to the idea of making connections, which will also please your father…"
"Let's say this all works out and Madelyn makes a friend or two… Do you think my father would show up and train her?"
"It's unlikely he'll drop everything and help her right away… but sometime in the future, he may try to assist her with her training, offering tips or directions she could use to direct her attention. Other than that, I don't expect him to help her master Nen. He's… more of a hands-off approach guy. I only know of three cases where he helped someone cultivate their power. One of them was Nathaniel Darkscryer…"
"My dad, helped my other father cultivate his ability?"
"Yes… I, however, don't know who the other two were."
"Wait…? Didn't he help cultivate your ability as well?"
The man shook his head, "He gave me hints and ideas… but this… this is more of a borrowed ability. The rules including how it works are in the inscription, I just need to understand how it works to use it."
"Can anyone else use it? The teachers?"
"Sure, with proper training… I just have an affinity for this ability, unlike the other teachers who follow their own, rules and conditions… developing an ability at a pace that suits them."
Daniel let the news sink in. between the knowledge he just learned, and that they only had one chance to get this right. If they were going to get Clarisa and Madelyn in the room, Madelyn had to be in the room first. Seeing as Clarisa couldn't enter the room without anyone's help, that means either Killua or Daniel will have to come with her.
Now, seeing as Madelyn despises Killua for being so secretive… that means his boyfriend will have to be the one to bring the other in. The other thing about this situation is, what to talk about. They had bounced ideas off each other, but nothing was set in stone. Since they had a date, they could now plan accordingly.
As Daniel was thinking about what to do and say during that time, Killua spoke to Eifion, "I assume Clarisa hasn't spoken to you yet?"
"I haven't had much time sadly…"
"What about the other thing? Was the culprit caught?"
"They have… but I won't be divulging any of the information with you or Daniel. They're still studying at this school, but they received a warning and all their data, the remaining drugs and information related to the topic have been confiscated."
Killua frowned at the news, looks like he won't be able to have a word with the culprits, to find out the reasoning why they tried to target Daniel. But there was still something he wanted to know, and now that Daniel was listening, he needed to know this information as well just in case, "I want to know at least one thing… why did the drug work on me? I should've been immune…"
The man sighed. While he didn't want to tell many people about the information, he's keeping a secret, Killua at least deserved to know that this, was a one-off chance occurrence. The chances of it happening again were very unlikely, "I can't tell you everything… because I don't understand everything myself. But I have a theory, at least one that most likely, comes close to the truth. The person who made it… was a Nen user, a genius. He intermingled his aura with the drug, creating a binding agent that bypasses the immunity system, by intermingling with it. I assumed as a kid, you most likely would have had multiple cocktails of poisons to bolster your immunity system…"
"You would be correct…"
"What this drug does is when introduced to your body, rather than your immunity system viciously attacking the substance, your body gave the all-clear and let it in… along with the alcohol."
"Wait… I got drunk because the person's Nen ability made my body confused?"
"Not confused… but accepting of the outside interference. Did you feel well-rested afterwards?"
"Besides my first hangover, yeah… I felt well-rested and not at all… you know… needy."
"We all went through it… don't be ashamed of a normal bodily need."
Killua quirked an eyebrow "Even you…?"
"No, but that's a completely different issue… One, I don't want to talk about." He paused to look the boy over, "That being said… your immunity shouldn't have been compromised because of this, so need to fret about that issue any longer."
"Two more questions… first, you said it bonded with my immunity system… are the effects temporary, or long-lasting?"
"Temporary. It looks like it dissolves along with everything else after your body cycles it through your system. Next question?"
"Why was Daniel the target? I want to know, just in case it's related to Victor in any way."
"I can say for certain that man isn't involved. But… I can't say any more on that. He was a target, for a reason… and that's it."
"Is it a serious threat…?"
"No… it won't be. Which reminds me…" The man shuffled through his draws, "I moved the majority of your students."
Daniel looked worried at the man, "Wait, were we bad teachers?"
"No, I don't believe so… you had positive reviews from the students I removed out of your care. You're not that you're inadequate as teachers, it's just the whole drama that went down, makes me want to make sure you get well-rested. I want you to relax… well, relax as much as you can, given that your only student will be Madelyn for the moment… Clarisa will be joining you if she decides to learn more about Nen… after you introduce it to her."
"I rather have Isaac… at least he doesn't complain twenty-four seven."
The man stopped searching to smile at the boy, "Well… I couldn't move Madelyn anywhere else… she won't listen to anybody else. Even if I tried… she wouldn't show up… at least with you… she attempts to show up."
Killua sighed in defeat at the news; it was true in a sense. She did show up… no matter how much she despises them, well, at least him. But still, he'd rather deal with Isaac, than her. At least that boy didn't go out of his way to not pay attention to the finer details they laid on her.
They were hoping that after having a four-way conversation, at least they'll get everything in the open. Then Madelyn will have no choice but to admit the truth because she got her way… she'll find out things that Killua wanted to keep a secret.
Secrets that could get another hurt…
He still needed to finalise what they should say with Daniel, but knowing that day was approaching a little under two weeks, meant that things will get even more stressful before then.
Daniel held out his hand, offering it to the man with a smile, "So, are there things we can and can't do while under lockdown?"
"Yes…" The man pushes the document forward, "there are a few rules you need to follow. If at any point, Madelyn's stress skyrockets, I will end the lockdown prematurely and pull her out of the room. So, anything you want to tell her, that you know will cause her to breakdown… I suggest you leave it for the end."
"Sounds fair…"
"No harming, of course, unless she tries to hit you, I suggest you be the bigger man and avoid her attacks at all costs. She'll probably lose concentration and break a bone or two… maybe more."
"Understandable…"
"I'll also be listening in. If she requests to get pulled out, I'll do it."
"Please don't…"
The man raised an eyebrow, "Why not…? Even if you think this is a conversation you want to keep private, I-"
Daniel stopped the man "I don't mind you listening in. You already know most of the things we plan to tell her."
"Most…?"
"Most as in the things we plan to tell her, are things she needs to hear about Vastorie. Apart from that, there will be many things she doesn't want to hear. If you pulled her out whenever she asked, it'll make it impossible to talk to her. I guarantee right at the start, she'll already want to leave… so please don't pull her out."
Eifion offered a quiet nod at the statement. He could defiantly, see that happening. When it comes to Madelyn, she prides herself as being strong and independent. But when she becomes uncomfortable in a situation… she wants out, immediately.
She doesn't even question why she feels that way, she just moves on and forgets about the situation.
He'll trust Daniel's judgement here…
He believes the boy's father would say the same, except with more… colourful, degrading words. Especially if she was refusing to listen to him after hearing valid facts about himself.
"I will stand by my earlier comment. If I felt she's being overloaded with information, even if it's something she needs to hear… I'll pull the plug on your plan, okay?"
Daniel agreed to those terms. It's not like he could object to it anyways. If the girl is refusing to listen to anything he says, after hearing way too many things she didn't want to believe, to the point she was suffering… he'll allow her to walk away.
Even if it was his one… and only chance at making everything right.
"~"
"Alright, we need to agree with everything that's going to be said that day…" The boy started the conversation as he tapped a pen against the notebook. There were going to be things that Daniel wants to say, that he doesn't want to agree with.
They know the method they were going to dictate information, but there were still going to be questions and things neither of them should answer.
"Well… we'll start simple… talk about Nen, it's capabilities. Show them what we're capable of. Madelyn knows what we're capable of… but Clarisa isn't."
Doodling a small cloud storm, Killua filled the empty cloud with the words 'open discussion', before writing down the first dot point, along with the idea. By the time they should be done, there will be a lot of things crossed out, lines directing paragraphs to new spots or re-written sentences. Provided they get the order correct, they should be fine on the day, "I'll write the ideas as they come, but just in case we decide to change the order, I'll cross off things, point arrows between locations or rewrite them as we discuss this topic…"
"Okay! Then, as we agreed… we should say our actual name."
"You do realise that will put her on edge, especially once she realises, Clarisa has known for a while."
"Yes, but I believe we need to put it out there if we're going to have a chance at getting through the harder stuff."
"Fine…" Killua scribbled a note, "but if I find something we should talk about before that… I think it's better if we arrange these things, okay? However, for the moment… we need to follow this up with something Madelyn knows, that Clarisa doesn't. And it has to be something just as important…"
"Hmm…" Daniel thought about the situation, becoming more stumped the longer he thought about, "I don't know what we have told Madelyn, that we haven't told Clarisa…"
"We certainly have been more opened with Clarisa, than we have been with Madelyn… but she is easier to talk to if I'm going to be fair about the situation."
"Agreed…" Daniel ran a thumb across his chin, "How about… we put Madelyn in the limelight. Not just by showing what we're capable off, but that Madelyn has also improved. Show her that she's physically stronger than she looks."
"That's… actually, a good idea. Introduce Clarisa to the basics, via Madelyn's strengths." He made a note before directing and arrow in-between the first two ideas, "It'll be a problem if she doesn't agree… but if we egg her on, I think we can manipulate her into proving her strength." He put another note next to it, giving himself mental ideas of what they should bring to prove how strong the girl has become over time. "What else?"
"Since you don't like the idea of Madelyn knowing about Alluka's ability, and I agreed to you lying about it… we'll tell her that like a genie, she grants wishes via her Nen ability… however, unlike a genie, she'll only grant the wishes of people she trusts, like you…"
Killua wrote it down before he found himself crossing the last part, "Actually… Not people she trusts. That'll be too direct. It'll make her think that she's untrustworthy, which she is… but not in the way she thinks it. Not only that, since Alluka trusts you, it'll make her think you can ask for wishes too. Hmm…" He made a small correction, "She… has a contract with. I have a contract with her… Nen ability that allows me to ask for wishes on behalf of others. I can…" Killua wrote his next choice of words, "include other contracts, but they must earn the respect… Nah… he crossed out the last few words. I can include others who can get wishes granted… but… I get the final say. How's that sound?"
"I believe she'll accept that… Especially, if she knows you're a Zoldyck."
"I could put it before or after our names, I guess." He made a note, including arrows that went both ways between their names and Alluka's ability, "Done… what else?"
"Talk about Vastorie distancing himself from us, then stating the reason why is because of Victor's interference. We should also mention that we don't know what he looks like because of his ability, but if he introduces himself to them… they should tell him where we are because of he's dangerous."
"What if she asks for how do you know his ability, but not his looks?"
"His ability masks his presence, so the moment you look at him, you forget about his existence. We only know his ability… because Vastorie told us about it."
"What if she calls us out on that lie…?"
"Vastorie told us, because… we should use Eifion's words here. Even if he shows no signs of caring… deep down, he cares enough to worry about his family while also hiding his interference in the subject. If Victor found signs of Vastorie caring about us, it'll only make him more furious…"
"Hmm… that'll make Clarisa curious as to why Victor wants you, or us… you know, dead."
"We don't have the motives… which is true. We don't understand why Victor has this deep grudge against Vastorie having a family."
"That opens us up to more questions though…"
"Then… we don't know the motives, but what we think the reason is that Victor wants absolute control."
"But how…?" Killua was trying to nit-pick his partner, to see where he goes with his thoughts. The last thing any of them needed right now, was a contradiction, "You saying you don't know… but absolute control sounds like your set-in-stone… that you know something." Killua rubbed his chin, trying to think of the best way to say the conversation is off-limits, without a threat of any kind.
Knowing her, she'll still take their words as a threat to back off, but they needed something to satiate her hunger for hidden details, while also laying out the roadworks to the middle of nowhere, "How about this… Not absolute control, but rather the need to control the narrative… He's trying to spin a lie, one we've yet to uncover?"
"That… works. Thanks, Killua. It's better than what I would've thought of."
"No problems." The boy spoke with a soft smile, a blush dusting his cheeks. Killua made a note before pushing on through the conversation "What should we discuss next…?"
"How about we go into a little detail about how your family works?"
"In what way…?"
"Hmm…" Daniel paused, thinking about what they should discuss. Maybe leave out the names and number of siblings Killua has. But the mechanics are something they should talk about, "You remember how you discussed the family rules during a confrontation. Like when Illumi attacked us, to kill Alluka. That part…"
"I think I know what you mean… When the family is split from an idea, how everyone moves in conjunction with their own idea of what is right. I can also use that as a reason to slide Alluka into the conversation while making it very clear, her ability is off-limits."
"That works…" Killua jots down the note, "Alright… so we need to think of a way to push Clarisa into acting upon impulse, without… you know, triggering Madelyn."
"Hmm… I'm thinking of while you're talking about the mechanics of your family, drop subtle hints that there is more than you're letting on? Like little lies to help build the web…"
"That could work… but we'll need to expand on the genie concept then. Adding small rules and conditions that allow outliers. But when she presses for more information, bam… I'll hit her with my assassin mode. Make her fear me… that'll get Clarisa to act."
"Another option, talk about your previous history, the lives you've taken before you became a Pro Hunter. If you make it sound like it's meh history, that could also infuriate her enough to make her act. While in assassin's mode, make it very clear… that your history doesn't define you, but rather the actions you make from now on."
"That would work too…"
As Killua added that to their building list, he spoke more on the topic, "I don't think this will be enough to get her to open up… but it should be a great starting point for us to bounce more ideas off each other. However, if it's not enough… I think we'll need to talk about our adventure with Gon, the Chimera Ants specifically… I feel like that would encompass how our relationship changed, to how different I became… after, you know… removing that needle Illumi implanted into my head."
"Not just that… my discussion with the Chimera Ant King, Meruem. How he went from a tyrant to wanting to spend the rest of his life playing a single game with a human that changed him… one he fell in love with."
Killua pressed a hand to his chin, "Compassion, even from a monster's heart… at least, a monster in the beginning… That will show it's possible that people, no matter how evil they were in the beginning, can change over time."
"Clarisa is well aware of the fact that even if you took evil actions while you were working as an assassin, you have a sense of compassion… that you care about people, especially those closest to you."
"We can also use that to double down on Vastorie's past. How he's acting like he's trying to redeem himself of his past… or at least that's what we gathered from the people on the list, what've come to understand about your father."
The more Daniel thought about it, the more he realised that's all they've learned about his secretive father.
Vastorie is a mastermind at manipulating the situation, at least… when it comes to controlling how he moves people around like they're pieces on a chessboard. But the boy couldn't deny the fact that the man was seeking some kind of… redemption.
Between Eifion and Scarlet's history, he did the opposite…
Vastorie took Hinrick's life to save Scarlet's. But for Eifion, because he took the man's uncle's life… he tried to make it up to him by not only giving Xavier's research to the man but helped build the school of Eifion's dreams…
How he's acting… seems to be like he's trying to redeem himself, including, protecting those he loves. But at the same time… Daniel doesn't understand this version of his father's love. It's distanced… almost uncaring.
Until he learns the full truth, it'll always feel like that to him…
"You're overthinking… aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Daniel sighed in defeat. Although, it made him secretly happy to know that his boyfriend was able to pick up on subtle hints. Even if it wasn't because of the connection they shared, he was still trying to understand him.
Killua tried to gauge his partner, trying to figure out if it was because of his father, or that he was about to confront Madelyn with this information… He couldn't use the connection they have, as the boy's internal feelings weren't always clear to him.
He found it was better to ask sometimes, "Are feeling overwhelmed by the situation?"
"No… it's just a lack of information about the other situation is lingering in my head."
"Ahh… Vastorie."
"Yeah…"
"Well, we've learnt all we can her if I'm being honest. Eifion has nothing else to give, so our best bet is to track someone else on that list, then move on."
"What about your sister… shouldn't we stay longer here for her sake?"
"Well, yeah… that is important too. Giving her life a sense of normalcy, mattered not only to me, but I know it matters to her as well. But finding out the truth is just as important…"
"We also have too many loose ends here."
"You're right… we do have loose ends. Clarifications we need to clear up with Madelyn, at least… but after that, we only have Victor lurking outside these walls. After we talk with Madelyn, I say we try to draw Victor out, get Eifion to hit him with his ability… and then we book it."
"What if he doesn't get teleported far…? Or worse, we bump into him as we're travelling."
"We'll deal with that situation when it comes…" Killua laid a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, "trust me… don't overthink about the situation, just be clear with your thoughts and feelings. We can beat him… it'll just take a well thought out plan."
Daniel gave a nod before pulling his partner into his arms, "Thank you…"
Killua returned the gesture, arms wrapping around the boy's back, "That's what I would do for my friends… It's what I'll do for Alluka and you…"
Daniel's grip tightened; he was thankful he hadn't burst into tears with joy. He couldn't deny that he was close to doing so, but where his feelings laid right now, was him being thankful for having Killua as his partner. Especially, the love and affection he receives from the boy, "I'm thankful for having you as my partner…"
Killua was thankful Daniel's head was on his shoulder, or he would've seen his face explode into various shades of red.
Still…
It's nice hearing someone was thankful for him, for him being there for them.
Daniel needed to know he'll always be there to protect his boyfriend, no matter what.
What he felt like he needed most, was knowing that the people he cared about, will continue to love him, no matter his faults and mistakes.