Vastorie brings all the teachers up to speed with what happened to Luca, he sets the goal that they must decide what happens to the boys.

Vastorie held the auditorium's attention, all the teachers gathered in one place. There were some new faces, some old faces that would instantly recognise him. He walked along the wooden floor, boards barely creaking under his weight, "So, as some of you are aware, Eifion has been on leave, Luca hasn't been at work…"

He stopped, "I have taken over for the moment, to bring some revelations, including a trial that everyone, except for the ones involved will get to vote on." He hit a button on the controller, cueing a video.

As it started to play, Vastorie monologued over the movie, "Late in the afternoon, roughly three weeks ago, a man attacked this school." He paused the clip, zooming in on the man's face, "He is a dangerous man, a man I assume none of you was briefed on."

The room erupted into murmurs, the man held out his hand, silencing everyone, "His name is Victor Tempest, a batshit insane monster Nen user."

"And your father…" Daniel muttered under his breath.

"I failed to stop him, which resulted in Luca being put in the hospital… for that, I apologise for that mistake, however…" He continued the clip, showcasing Eifion trying to take on the man, right up to the moment when Luca stepped in to defend the man, "But, Eifion failed to think about the man, instead opting to take him on as Kyle Cilka attempted to close his wounds… if it weren't for his involvement, Luca would've most likely died…"

Vastorie offered a hand to the boy, "I wish to offer your thanks… and my apologies also, for what I need to reveal."

Killua grit his teeth, frustrated at this news. He's thanking him, but with his next breath, he plans to reveal the details that will ultimately sway everyone's opinions.

"He was able to step in and assist because Luca had given him his badge before that day. Furthermore, neither he nor my son had been gracious enough to tell you not only why Victor attacked the school… or their connections. Victor is after my son, Daniel Darkscryer… had he not been in the school at the time, Victor wouldn't have attacked. Another point to be made, his partner is lying about his origins. His name isn't Kyle Cilka, it's… Killua Zoldyck."

The room erupted into noise, some of the teachers looking at him with fear in their eyes. The boy swore if he said boo, some of them would've had a heart attack.

"He's also with his sister, Alluka Zoldyck. You may know her as Audrey Cilka… Eifion kept this information from you because he felt you'd be judgemental of that fact… I'd agree." The man's expression became stern, "That being said… Eifion kept most of this information from you because of me… I made a poor decision it would seem. The reason I'm telling you… is because you'll get to decide their fates. Option one, they get to remain in this school, with the threat of danger possibly lurking outside these walls…" Which I have threatened to never come here, but you don't need to know that…

"The other option is to kick them out. I'm not going to make you hold up your hand in front of them, there will be booths set up for anonymous voting for that. But before that, there will be a few disclaimers… Luca is okay. He's in the hospital recovering, same as Eifion. I would've liked you to hear their opinions not just mine to be the only voice for you to hear… but due to Luca's recovery, I don't believe they'll make it. Moving forward… I'd also like you to take into consideration what your deacon has done for you… how he'd react to this… including his ideals set on the school."

He opened his arms, "Any questions before we vote?"

"Yeah…" an older gruff man spoke, his arms crossed. Vastorie turned to the man, waiting for his question, "Why reveal these facts now when we should've been told the moment they stepped onto these grounds?"

Vastorie crossed his arms in response, smirking at the question, "Would you have graded Killua work, knowing that he could probably slit your neck from ear-to-ear before you could say sorry…?"

The man kept silent, refusing to speak after that.

Vastorie's eyes scanned the crowd, "Any non-stupid questions?"

A female stuck up her hand, "Why are you picking on these boys specifically? I taught them maths for a long time, Kyle- I mean Killua doesn't seem murderous to me, he's a stand-up student."

"As I said, Victor is after Daniel… the lengths he'll go to, is a risk you'd have to be willing to take. He's already attacked Eifion… he's hurt Luca; other students wouldn't be that far off. He'll use whatever methods he can, to get his way." He stated it calmly, without an ounce of hatred or enthusiasm. He was trying to argue to the teachers about why keeping his son in the school was a danger to the other students, "Do you think a trained killer would be willing to depart from the person he knows is the true target… to save another student caught in the crossfire."

He then looked in Killua's direction showing no remorse for his hypothesis, "I'd kill the student to reduce the leverage they have on me."

"Fuck you!" Killua screamed, frustrated at Vastorie picking on the old version of him, the one he was trained to be. He wasn't like that, he'll rather create distance and run away from the danger until they were ready to take it on.

Vastorie frowned, "You thought about running didn't you…"

Killua's eyes widened, looking at the older man in fear. He was by no means a mind reader, but did he accidentally show hesitation? He didn't think he did… He felt paranoid within the moment, believing for a second, he could leave others to die, if it meant they had more time to create distance between the current danger, who's to say that wouldn't be the best plan of action.

Vastorie held out a finger, "I can see it in your eyes, your expression, you thought about running away from the danger. You didn't think about the student at all… it's what you were trained to do. But… I know Victor, if the leverage doesn't work, he'd discard it to the side. One less annoyance to deal with… and he'll keep going, until, he finds something that will get Daniel to give up. He'll find a way… he always does…"

He did it without thinking about the harm he was inflicting on his son, by putting this burden of danger on him.

He knows his son didn't need this…

But unfortunately, the other teachers needed to know this, to know the dangers involved. Eifion might be strong, but the others… the other teachers are much weaker in comparison. Even if he trained every single one of them, he'd have an easier time shooting a rocket at Victor's face, at point-blank range… than training one of the teachers to take on his father.

Daniel had enough of his father picking on Killua for that matter "Killua is right, fuck you! You show up with zero warning, step onto the school grounds and pummel us for a mistake out of our control. You argue that Killua would leave a student to die, to protect me… what about Luca, is Luca dead too? Is that man an undead corpse now…? You said he'd leave someone for dead… yet you stated he saved Luca. What kind of father are you meant to be with me…? A serious one or a jokester…"

"One that chastises you when you make a mistake…"

Daniel crossed his arms, "but never point out I did the right thing with the circumstances given…"

"You've made only mistakes here…"

Daniel grit his teeth, pointing an accusatory finger at his father, "Do I mean nothing at all to you, that from a single mistake we couldn't defeat, you're willing to slam us into the floor as you did deacon…? I was there for a reason… a reason I can't remember… but I was there. If I go by my ideals, I would've been there to get the danger to follow me… instead of attacking Eifion, I mean the deacon! You make me sick… Killua wouldn't go above and beyond to defend-"

Vastorie held out his hand, silencing his son, "It's you who doesn't understand the position you're in. If your original plan was to run… why didn't you the moment Victor showed up, hmm?" Daniel didn't argue. Vastorie frowned at the lack of defence, "Had Victor seen you… he would've ignored everyone and gone straight to you. You say Killua wouldn't hurt anyone… but would he have not left Luca to die… just to protect you…" His expression shifted, looking at his son dangerously, "It's a habit you can't train out of existence, I would know…"

Daniel raised his hand to object, only to find himself putting it down moments later. Killua would… he feels the same for Killua. If only, he could get out of the mindset that all lives were precious to an extent.

If he could take that step, to kill Victor… then neither of them would have to think of the possibility of needing to run.

"Well…?" Vastorie asked once more, expecting his son to be defiant. Instead, all he saw was defeat in the boy's eyes. Seeing it, almost made him break character. But had he broken his façade, he may not have the strength to go through with his plan, to make sure Daniel fears Victor… to always run away from that danger if he ever comes for him once again, "I thought so…" You're doing this to protect everyone… don't forget that.

Shifting his gaze, he turned his attention back to the teachers, "Everyone, listen very carefully. If Victor comes back… none of you, will be safe from his wrath. So, when you think about the vote… think about what's more important here."

Vastorie turned towards the door, hoping that Eifion would bust down the door and chastise all of them. However, he never came…

"~"

The votes had been counted, the majority ruling in the favour of having the students kicked. Out of six hundred of the facility members, only thirty voted for the kids to stay. The fact that they had that many were an impressive amount.

He swayed the opinion of thirty members, whether that be their teachers or unknowns, he wasn't too sure. But with them being kicked out, it means he'll have to track Victor's movements, to make sure he doesn't dare stay on the same continent. If the boys happen to fly to the same continent, he wonders if his father will leave… if he has a way to track the boys without ever being near them.

Maybe with some luck, he'll be able to flush the spies out without having to dig in the records. Closing his eyes, he thought about it for a moment, letting his mind linger on what would be the best plan of action.

Opening his eyes, he was reminded of the task at hand "Daniel and Killua will be kicked." Everyone looked away, feeling guilty about the moment. Even though a majority of them agreed to it, they still felt disgusted with themselves. It was a good thing, it means their humanity hadn't completely left them, "They'll have a maximum of a week to leave. To pack their bags and-"

"WAIT!" A voice called out, radiating disgust and anger.

When Vastorie's eyes shifted towards the voice, he showed no surprise, not even words to stop the man from saying anything. Eifion showed up far too late, there's nothing he could say to change the situation, but that doesn't mean he won't let the men talk.

Eifion had come in with Luca. They were holding each other, but he believes it was more to support each other, rather than to show off their obvious developed relationship. The deacon spoke for the two of them, "I can't believe you'd do this…"

The man crossed his arms, "The vote has been cast, I won't be doing another-"

"I wasn't talking to you…" Eifion glared at the older man, "I'll get to you. Don't you worry…" The man turned to the others, "For the longest time, I strived to make this school welcoming to all, NO MATTER their backgrounds… or have you forgotten that? Poor… rich… strong… weak… EVERYONE, is important here. YET, most of you decided to kick two students to the curb, just because one of them has a vengeful monster chasing after him…"

He turned away, "I get it… I made a mistake… a huge one. I'm not strong, but rather weak…" When he looked at Luca, he saw the man wanted to object, but without a voice… he couldn't say anything, "I'm not perfect… BUT, neither is Vastorie… Daniel or Killua… we're all flawed here. We all have our weakness, but then I saw something new… something interesting… despite their flaws, they work better together. I wasn't the only one who saw it, Luca saw it too… but he won't be able to tell you about it personally. But it's not just our voices… why don't you ask their Nen students. They'd be disappointed in your actions today. You'd have deprived the one, and the only teacher able to reach through to Madelyn Khoury… I'm sure you've heard she's been improving a little every day, have you not…"

Vastorie smiled on the inside. So, they were able to reach her… impressive.

"You've deprived her of further progressing on her training… I hope you know that."

Daniel made a mental note to talk to her later.

"Not only that, there were others who've improved, others who have learned something after meeting them. I know I have…" Eifion then shifted his gaze to Luca, "and he has too. Which, he wants to talk about."

Luca raised a quizzical eyebrow, making Eifion retract his statement, "Which I will talk about in his stead. He has prepared a speech, which I'm going to read." Luca handed the sheets over to him, the speech written out with careful hands. He appreciated how clear the words were.

Luca gave him a nod, Eifion now turning to the group, "Listen up you…" The man's head snapped in his partner's direction, "I can't say this." The man in response flicked out his wrists, gesturing for the man to continue. With a sigh, the deacon found himself forced to utter someone else's words, words that will never match his mannerisms "Let me make this clear… these are not my words, they're Luca's. Understood…?" He shot a glare at all the teachers in the room.

Everyone except Vastorie nodded.

Eifion's eyes narrowed at the older man before looking down at the paper, reading of his partner's words, "Listen up you cock guzzling piece of shit of a father."

Vastorie burst into laughter as Eifion was forced to continue "I do not care about who this Victor guy is, nor will I ever worry about him-"

Having heard that, the man stopped laughing, his mood turning sour "I'll-"

"Let me finish!" Eifion parroted, his eyebrow raised "No seriously, he wrote that down as if he knew you'd object." He looked at Luca, then back to Vastorie, "Bla, bla, bla… useless off tangent information about guessing you'd object, hoping that you'd do so, so he doesn't look like an idiot." Luca pouted in the background, arms crossed until Eifion found something to press on with "Uh, hah… here we go. I may not be a father, so I can't say anything about being a father figure… but what I do know, whether your son likes to hear this or not, he needs you. Not the jokester, not the emotionless prick…" Like Daniel defines you as…

He frowned. Vastorie didn't need to hear that, nor did Daniel need to have that opinion voiced, no matter how true those very words felt to him right now. Not important… "He needs you to step in and help him. No more backstabbing… no more rejection or pushing him away. Take this opportunity to help him."

He looked at the next paragraph, seeing that it was split into two options. The first was out of the question, Daniel and Killua had already been evicted, so he continued with the second one, "You put Killua and Daniel in this position, forcing them out of the school to protect the other kids. But it was the wrong move… shame on everyone who said they should be kicked out. We strived to protect all the kids, even if one of them was the reason the school was in danger… had we forgotten that?"

A small smile crept up on Eifion's face as he continued, "No matter if Killua is a member of the infamous Zoldyck family, along with his sister… or this Victor guy wants Daniel dead, we should be doing our best to protect them. HOWEVER, you just had to let Vastorie get his way… so if he wants to eat his cake, he needs to bake it himself. You want them out of this school… you're going to help them… you're going to direct them to a path they should be taking. Not just because you're Daniel's father, but because it's the right thing to do…"

Vastorie's next choice of words was cold, "No… No matter how funny it was to watch Eifion's face grimace as he insulted me, I won't help them."

Luca gestured for Eifion to hand him the paper.

Vastorie stopped the man, signing to the man to use sign language, as he could understand it.

Eifion and Luca stared dumbfounded at the man.

Vastorie returned a look of concern, "Neither of you knows sign language… are you kidding me?"

Both men shook their head.

Vastorie let out a groan of frustration, "Alright, but seriously… does anyone know sign language here?" Three teachers put up their hand, "That's not good enough. I want more of you to learn it, Eifion, seriously… hire someone to teach the majority, if not all of you sign language… especially now that Luca can't talk."

"Alright…" He handed Luca the book, "But after I say whatever Luca needs to say." Luca quickly scribbled what he needed to say, hopefully, in legible writing. He nudged Eifion, who grabbed the paper once more. The man chuckled at the words, "He insults you again…"

Luca nudged the man, guesting him to read every word. Eifion sighed, "Alright, don't be a worthless piece of shit. Again, his words… not mine. Do the right thing. Don't ghost your son; actually, help him… help them make the right choice."

"I can't…" Vastorie grit his teeth.

"You can't or you won't…?" Daniel yells out in frustration.

"Victor has spies everywhere. If I help you now, and he finds out later he'll…" The man shook his head, "It's not important. My lips are sealed. Do what you think is right… don't listen to me."

"How can I…? I can see it in your eyes. All you've said is I made only bad decisions, yet you refuse to offer me guidance. What kind of father leaves his son for dead in a pit he doesn't know how to escape from?"

"I can't be the hand to help you escape…"

"Then stop judging me for my actions… Stop telling us we did the wrong thing when you aren't willing to help us in the slightest." Daniel grabbed Killua's shoulder, "we're leaving. Vastorie is useless… He'll never…" He hid his tears, walking away without finishing his sentence.

As the boy continued to walk away, Killua watched his partner leave, upset from his boyfriend's look of defeat from the situation. The boy won't leave, at least not until he says his piece, "I may have been tortured… left alone in isolation for long periods of times… but at least my family tried to help me…"

Vastorie's features held still, but internally… those words counted like a punch to the gut. Killua would've been treated like shit, especially, since he was their golden goose. But he had a good reason; he can't help them… if he continued to pretend not to care, Victor won't go after them.

Yes, while it's true he threatened to kill everyone close to his father, anyone that has helped that man… however, he used that mostly as a bargaining chip, one that will help give him time to focus on the task at hand… to kill Victor.

But looking at his son walk away, seeing him so broken from the mess they collectively created… well, Nathaniel would be disappointed with him. Vastorie gestured to everyone in the room, "Get back to your jobs-"

Eifion once more found himself interrupting Vastorie, "I have one thing more thing to say before everyone leaves." The man stares into the eyes of the other, "since Daniel and Killua made an inexcusable mistake, I'm not exempt from my own either. After today, I'm effectively stepping down from my position."

Vastorie opened his mouth to say something, only to shut down from rebutting his statement, "I saw the video… I almost left Luca to die. Had Killua not intervened, we'd have had a different outcome. I'm not capable of making sound judgements… if I were to go by your harsh words to the young teens. I am not fit to be the deacon, either. If I can't-"

Luca tugged the man's shirt, trying to stop him from continuing. When he had Eifion's attention, he made several easy to guess gestures. Even if he was the cause for the man making a fatal mistake, he doesn't want that kind of guilty conscience plaguing the man.

"I'm…" Eifion stopped himself, focusing on the gestures, not the fact he was terrible at charades, "No… man… win…?" Luca shook his head, repeating the gesture, "Oh, do not… let…?" the man nod, his head "Do not let Vastorie win… what?"

Luca gripped the man's hand, holding it tightly in his hand.

"Together…?"

Luca smiled, nodding at the word. There were a lot of missing keywords, but hopefully, Eifion would understand without them.

The man looked at their hands, Luca refusing to let go.

Eifion knows what he said months ago, that they should keep their relationship quiet. But if he were, to be honest, he appreciated having his hand being held right now. From his understanding, Luca was telling him not to quit his job… he didn't want him to step down.

The question was why…? It couldn't just be because he didn't want Vastorie to win…

Unless… was he missing some context with the word, together? "What do you mean-"

Luca pulled the man in, kissing him on the lips without a care in the world. He didn't want the man to step down, no matter his flaws, he was best suited for this job. Not as Vastorie's puppet, but rather as himself making choices on what he felt best.

Had he not stepped in, Eifion would've definitely… wiped the floor with the enemy. It was just at that moment; he was afraid to lose him. He didn't want to lose Eifion. Pulling away, he tapped the man's chest with two fingers, then motioned to where Daniel and Killua once stood.

The man offered a nod, "I understand…" Leaving the man's side he stood in front of his mentor.

The man had his arms crossed, stand as if he were daring him to say something. Without missing a beat, he slapped Vastorie across the face, shocking not only the older man, but himself in the process, "Luca is right… I won't step down. Instead, I'm kicking you off your high horse. They are some of the strongest individuals I've ever met. They will… one day be stronger than me… you… Mistakes are what pushes us to get stronger. You're not perfect, nor will you ever be… but, when they get stronger, you better acknowledge that."

Eifion once more moved to his partner's side, a single-arm wrapping around the man's waist. Turning his head slightly in Vastorie's direction, he spoke coldly, "Just know for a man who thinks they know everything… you're doing the wrong thing. That man, Victor or whatever it is… they already believe you are helping them… you just refuse to see it." He held his partner closer, letting them know they'll be leaving.

Luca gave the man the older man the finger before walking away with his partner, annoyed at how things ended. He thought he could push Vastorie to help the boys, but the man was so stuck in his ways, it doesn't look like he'll be helping them at all.

Vastorie shot a glare towards the other teachers, "Return to your posts. You have kids to teach… and if Victor returns, leave him to me…"