Leorio sighed as he dropped his suitcase at his feet, settling into the seat for the tour bus. It had been a very long week, an emotional rollercoaster that he hadn't felt since… since Pietro. First, Jasper was going to actually send him into cardiac arrest if he kept pulling near death stunts. Second, Leorio needed to be stronger. He was still going to be a doctor- it was his life's goal after all- but he'd learned that it wasn't going to be enough going forward if he wanted to help his friends. Kurapika was stuck on some sort of revenge, Killua was a brat but he also had a good heart and he was trapped by a crap family, Gon was strong but also naively oblivious in the strangest ways, and Jasper seemed to die nearly every time he left the kid alone. Just one of them was enough to stress him out but all four of them?

He had no idea how he was going to keep up.

Menchi passed by his seat and plopped herself on the bench next to his own. He took a moment and allowed himself to look again. On the upside he had a very beautiful lady to ogle… as long as he kept it to a minimum. She'd already threatened him about drooling over her and he'd rather not experience it again. So, he swept his gaze across her form, appreciating the curves she still had despite the very obvious muscles- and wow, her chest was eye-catching every time!- before he turned his attention elsewhere. The burning gaze that turned to the side of his face told him he'd looked away just in time.

Moments later, while Leorio was celebrating his successful glimpses of a beautiful lady (and trying not to think about his heart-attack-inducing friends), Kurapika sat next to him, settling his leather side bag on his lap. The Kurta's eyes were as unfocused as they had been since they'd spoken with Harry (and he was still reeling over that revelation because- what?). In front of them, walking up the aisle were Gon and Jasper. Gon was excitedly chattering about what they could do while visiting Kukuroo Mountain while Jasper was yawning behind his hand, bleary eyes watching Gon bounce around. The two kids plopped onto the seats in front of Menchi- Gon closer to the window so he could shove his face into it- with two extremely different levels of enthusiasm.

Leorio eyed them carefully. After that medical scare from Jasper, the boy had been rather quiet. He had explained to them what he'd done once Leorio had done his check up. It had been rather off-putting how cooperative Jasper had been considering every other time he was a terrible patient but when he'd heard why the boy was so distracted-

No one slept last night. After their early landing and brief stay in an emergency room (where Jasper was proclaimed fine) they'd needed to catch up on lost time and had decided to travel through the rest of the night. Thankfully, they'd already arrived in the Republic of Padokea so they just needed land transport which was easy to find with Menchi already well used to traveling. And so they spent their ride in silence, everyone pensive, tense, and tired. And now they were on the last bus of the day for the Kukuroo Mountain tour with a focus on the Zoldyck family.

So, no one had slept… but no one had asked any further questions of Jasper either. But they were all watching. Waiting. It was honestly the worst. Leorio didn't deal well with stress very often. It made him lash out just to release some of the heavy pressure it built in his chest but he couldn't do that here.

The bus tour was long, with an overly chirpy tour guide. She was cute, all round in the face with a dimpling smile, but Leorio just couldn't find it in himself to appreciate her slender form when the Mountain loomed ever closer.

And then they stopped way before their destination, blocked by towering stone gates.

His eye twitched, his jaw clenched-

And Jasper and Gon exited the bus nonchalantly ignoring the protesting tour guide-

Leorio deflated.


Kurapika couldn't stop the whirling vortex that were his thoughts. His mind was a wreck of burning curiosity, frigid disappointment, and a whole other mess of sticky emotions and stray thoughts. It had taken him all night long just to get some semblance of control to try to deal with all the tangled threads.

He started with the disappointment because it was causing the most problems, his thoughts tainted by it, constantly returning to it. It was irrational to be disappointed that Jasper was not like the Kurta. Technically he hadn't even confirmed that Jasper's family wasn't the same. Maybe they all had split personalities that changed their eye colors. It was highly doubtful but still a possibility. It was just a possibility that he didn't want to put stock in (despite the tiny ember of hope-) because now he was just reaching. It wasn't fair to lay the blame of his own disappointment at the boy's feet either, because Jasper hadn't done anything wrong, nor had Harry. It was just Kurapika's own mind getting ahead of itself again. He'd thought he'd gotten rid of that habit and here it was popping up again.

With that root of that problem identified he ruthlessly quashed the feeling (quashed the ridiculous hope-!) and moved onto the next item to be handled. His fear for Jasper during the episode was mixing with the old fear from the latest phase of the Hunter Exam. He'd thought he'd taken care of it, thought he had a handle on it, until the convulsions started. When Menchi had shot up from the other couch it had startled Kurapika. He had looked up from the table where he was reading a book, just in time to watch Jasper face plant while his body contorted in short painful spasms. His heart had lodged itself in his throat, the red of the couch seeming to ooze like blood as a flash of a dark fleshy hole appeared in his mind's eye. He'd frozen then and that was unacceptable.

What if something like this happened again and he freezes at the wrong moment? What would it cost him? What would it cost the people around him?

He couldn't afford to be haunted by Jasper's problems as he was by the sorrowful cries of his clan's desecrated eyes.

So, he tamped down on that feeling as well, forcefully shoving all of the panic, the fear, the adrenaline into a tiny box in the back of his mind.

Then, he took a deep breath and moved onto the next feeling and the next and the next until all he was left with was a burning academic curiosity for Jasper's unique situation. Harry had his own unique personality, seemingly a lot more subdued and mature than Jasper. Of course, he'd noticed that Harry's attention had wandered. He was very coherent, offering information that even Jasper hadn't had (which spawned a whole new cluster of questions) but he'd also been very inattentive. His eyes would flit over the people in the room before moving onto the walls and windows, then falling shut. Then the whole process repeated. It wasn't just his eyes either, his foot kept tapping the arm of the couch, his fingers constantly scratched at the fabric, and his voice changed volume constantly, as if he were testing it.

Harry had mentioned that they'd been separated so maybe he hadn't been able to experience being in control? But wouldn't the second personality naturally know what it should be like? Harry acted like a foreign entity. Of course, everything was just speculation but he couldn't help but wonder…

He shook his head, focusing on the here and now. He would have plenty more chances to talk to Harry if he wished so he should really pay attention to rescuing Killua. It didn't really help that he'd gotten no sleep last night. And that the touring guide kept trying to be 'spooky' but all she came across as was chirpy which was grating on his patience since she was causing him a headache.

Of course watching the guard be shaken down by some unsavories that entered a side gate and was returned as only skeletons was enough to start the adrenaline pumping. He swallowed harshly and couldn't help but feel a sense of dread settle over him.


Menchi sighed through her nose as she watched the green haired brat talk with the guard. The kid's unnatural charisma was already working it's charm and the gate guard, Zebro, had shown them the 'true entry'. She took a moment to look over the gates in contemplation. She could probably open the second gate without any nen… but with it she might get to the fifth. Not that she was going to open the gates for them. She was here to keep an eye on her troublesome chosen apprentice, not do all the work for them.

And then Gon was claiming he'd climb over the walls and Jasper, who'd been quiet this whole time, chimed in a tired agreement.

Zebro looked them over with a laugh. The kids didn't look like much (their whole group didn't really but she'd noticed Zebro clock onto her nen very quickly) as tired and wrapped up in bandages as they were. And really, when compared to a family of assassins that was renowned the world over they weren't much, but at least their determination could be admired. Zebro apparently agreed as he tried to get them entrance through the butlers. That didn't exactly work out until Jasper plucked the phone from Gon's hand while he was in the middle of yelling.

"Hello. My name is Jasper. Killua thinks he killed me, I'd like him to know otherwise."

She gaped as did everyone else in the room.

"I see. Well… I'd be more than happy to show you the scar where his hand entered my chest but to do that you'd have to send someone to verify, right? We can wait."

Jasper's head tilted as he listened to the deep voice on the other line. Menchi couldn't make out any words but she'd be damned if she wasn't a little impressed (and afraid) of the very blunt, calm manner the kid was using. It was like he was having a chat about the weather when she knew he was talking about his own very close brush with death.

"Oh. Well, that's unfortunate because we aren't going to go away even if we have to fight our way to the main house. I need to speak to Killua-"

He stopped talking for a moment, his eyes widening as his lips pursed.

"You're very rude, Mr. Gotoh. I wasn't finished speaking. And if you try to hang up I will just keep calling back…. Thank you. As I was saying, I need to speak to Killua so he knows I don't blame him. In fact, I am sure the whole thing was caused by his older brother. I don't like him. He tried to kill me through his own little brother. It was very rude."

This kid…

She hadn't even realized she'd been shaking her head in disbelief until she caught Gon's happy grin and the sight made her pause in incredulity. This was a Zoldyck butler and they were just- How- What the hell had she gotten herself involved in with this group?

Her hand came up to pinch

Everyone else looked no better than her, especially the gate guard who had completely frozen and was watching the whole thing with wide eyes.

"Then, if there's nothing I can do to prove who we are through the phone… why can't you come verify in person… I see…. Okay. Then we will prove ourselves by going through the gate and making our way to the main house. Please wait for us."

After that whole conversation they ended up being taken through the gate by Zebro, who had them meet Mike (which was terrifying because she'd never met a Guard dog that large) and then took them to a small house where everything weighed over 20kg at least. Which was a perfect training opportunity and Menchi was absolutely delighted to be handed this opportunity on a silver platter.


"You're dismissed."

Silva watched as Gotoh bowed before disappearing through a side door.

"What do you think, Father?"

"Illumi did confirm that the boy survived through some use of Hatsu."

He hummed, leaning back on his favored chair. Killua had not been handling anything well and it hurt to see his son fall to such lows. Killua had a naturally strong spirit bolstered by his strength of will and curiosity. When he'd given Illumi permission to place a needle into his heir it had been in the hopes of tempering some of his natural wildness. It had worked, though he had started to form a sort of rebelliousness almost directly afterwards. Though not consciously aware of it, Killua had always rejected the presence of Illumi in his mind. Over time it had come to encompass his entire family and now Illumi had pushed in the exact wrong direction using it.

They had deliberated over telling him he hadn't actually killed his friend but Silva had put it off until after his punishment was over. A mistake on his part because everything only went downhill from there. Every time a new opportunity would arise, Killua would plummet into a meltdown of some sort and Silva had decided that the information at this point would be detrimental without proof. How convenient then that the very boy himself had arrived at their estate.

Silva huffed. "Do you think he could help?"

"It's a possibility," his father said, tucking his hands behind his back and gazing at the dark ceiling thoughtfully.

"Let them prove themselves first," he decided eventually. "They seem determined to make it up here on their own, so we will let them try."

His father's eyes closed as he bobbed his head. Good. They were in agreement.


Jasper wheezed as he ran from the knives that Menchi was throwing. Wearing a heavy vest was not conducive to running and yet he was not allowed to take it off. He was all for training but this was more like a form of hell!

Constant Vigilance, Harry barked.

Jasper yelped and tumbled forward into a hasty roll to dodge another knife. When he popped back up- stumbling because his center of gravity was all thrown off with this blasted vest- he couldn't help but gulp when he noticed it had sheared straight through one tree and was stuck in the one behind it, leaving a hole in the first.

Quit staring and run!

He hastily complied, absolutely hating every moment of this. Gon was cheering him on from the sidelines, which while nice, was absolutely no help when trying to listen for the whistle of the knife. He barely ducked away from the next one, receiving a thin slice on his forearm from just the wind around the blade. He stared at the scratch and groaned in dismay.

"Ten minutes. Not bad, runt." Jasper practically collapsed on the spot, panting heavily when Menchi stepped in front of him. Her hands were on her hips and her lips were stretched in a sunny grin. "Alright. I've seen what I've got to work with physically so now I need to see your nen."

"When," he hissed, "did I- agree to- this?"

"You mean, you don't want to get stronger?"

He groaned and flopped onto his back while she snickered at him. The dirt was cold and the sun was blindingly hot above them. The morning mists had long been burnt away and he really wished they'd come back so he could at least try to hide in it from this crazy lady.

She's not wrong Jasper. Getting stronger is always a good thing in this world.

"Shut up, Harry."

"That was really good, Jas," Gon exclaimed plopping down right beside him, his arm tucked tight to his vested chest. Everyone- bar Menchi and the guards- were wearing one to help increase their physical strength. They were heavy, suffocating, and his was far too big for him (though Gon was faring little better) which was just annoying all around.

"No, it wasn't," he huffed.

Menchi laughed, still standing over him, though now she was bent down to stare him in the eyes. "Sure it was. Keep in mind you're a starved waif that has had multiple traumatic medical problems recently. Now come on. It's lunch time!"

She straightened back up and knocked her foot against his shoe, making him grunt and pull his leg away. Her lips twitched but she only spun and sauntered away back towards the little cottage they'd been staying in for the last few days.

"It really was cool," Gon hummed beside him when Jasper didn't budge from his spot. "You're already doing a lot better than when you first put the vest on and you can bend really far," he laughed. "I didn't know guys could do the splits."

Jasper snorted suddenly, unsure why the thought of Gon trying to do the splits was so funny. "I didn't know I could do that either, you know."

With how out of practice you are, I'm surprised you could do it too, Harry cut in dryly.

Gon turned and grinned sunnily at him, stopping him from replying to Harry with the force of his smile alone. He was almost dazed by the sheer innocent happiness in it. "Whoah."

Agreed.

Gon just tilted his head, grin still firmly in place. "What?"

Jasper took a moment to blink before responding. "Your smile is dangerous. You could probably kill with it."

The grin dimmed somewhat in confusion before Gon burst out laughing, his legs tossed in the air, kicking with mirth. The brunette fell back into the dirt, his head landing close enough to Jasper's that he could hear the whuff of air as it was displaced beside him. "You can't kill with a smile, silly!"

"Yes, you can. People would be so distracted by it they'd walk right off a cliff! Or into a monster's lair! It's that dangerous!"

They both started laughing (though Jasper was entirely serious).

Kurapika eventually came out to drag them to lunch.


With Seaquant taking his shift at the gate, Zebro was able to stay home and watch the progress of Killua's friends. He was quite impressed with their quick advancement. The tall one was well built and took to muscle training like a duck to water, the blonde one was less suited it to it but seemed very determined to get every drop of training he could without overtaxing himself, and the Hunter they brought with them wasn't really training herself but one of the kids (and the other by technicality). While the teens and younger adults were impressive, the kids… Well, he could certainly see why Master Killua had taken to calling them friends. He had a fierce hope that these boys would be able to assist the young master in his recovery.

Gon had suffered a broken bone but he wasn't letting that stop him, hopping into any activity he could get away with to help him get stronger. The little boy was bright and happy, full of an innocence that was rarely seen anywhere near the Zoldyck family and it did Zebro's heart good to be around the boy. Gon would be the light that could wash away the shadows on the young master's soul.

Now, Jasper… that one was a tougher nut to crack. He could clearly see the smallest of the group had his own trauma's and issues but he'd come for the young master regardless.

Everyone on the estate had been made aware of this situation in vague terms at the very least. Zebro himself was given a little more information in case Master Killua had tried to run, but even he was mostly left in the dark. Before this group's arrival he'd only known that something traumatizing had happened to debilitate their young master. Knowing what he did know, he could certainly see why. Zebro had never directly asked but from conversations around the cabin and the initial phone call to the Head Butler Gotoh, he'd been able to piece together quite the sad tale. Master Killua had struck his own friend down because of Master Illumi and in his rush to get away from his pain, was not aware that young Jasper had survived.

Zebro had seen the scar only once when the two boys had fallen into the creek and had to be fished out. The vests and clothes had come off to dry and he'd seen the cratered flesh right above the boy's heart. It dipped inwards, and was a splotchy light purple. That wasn't the only scar, of course. There were several on his arms- one being a distinctive handprint- and quite a few elsewhere. One of the more prominent ones was on his belly almost entirely circling it- as if he'd nearly been bisected- the same purple color as the one over his heart. The rest seemed much smaller in comparison to those two and they were an old silvery color. He possibly could have gotten a better look but he wanted to be polite (and he was distracted by the particularly skeletal look that denoted long periods of starvation) so he'd only ushered the boys into the bath quickly and then left.

And now, after having seen the weight of the boy's past in the form of his scarred skinny body, he was getting a front row seat to his nen training. This boy was anything but weak, a survivor in his own right and his nen was only proof. First he'd been tested on bringing out his Ten, and once he'd mastered that within only minutes he was moved onto his Ren. Already the boy's Ren was a match for Zebro's own which had come as a pleasant surprise. If he had such levels when he was still so weak in body, what would he be like when he was healthier, stronger, more honed?

The young master had chosen well for his friends indeed.


Kalluto frowned as he watched the testing gate open. He'd wandered further from home than he'd thought. Just off of a shift from watching his big brother, he'd not wanted to go back to the manor just yet. Everything there was always tense now and he wanted to lash out at the cause but he couldn't pinpoint it. Could he blame Big Brother Killua? Yes. But every time he looked at his brother he looked so hollow that it actually made Kalluto's chest tighten painfully. Could he blame his mother? … After thinking long and hard about the situation… yes. Though he'd never say so aloud. Mother had only worsened the whole problem so she did share part of the blame. Could he blame Milluki? Certainly, but his older brother was already being punished and Kalluto just preferred not being around him in general. Overall, it was a mess of a situation and he just needed to be away from it all.

So, here he was watching the gate open, with one of the gate guards watching behind them. Normally, he would take them out himself for a little bit of stress relief but he remembered Grandfather mentioning that there might be guests… Actual guests.

He flicked his eyes over to the young butler standing at attention next to him, tapping his fan to his mouth in thought. He'd run into her not even a minute ago while she was walking the perimeter as one of her assigned tasks for the day. They hadn't even spoken beyond a brief greeting before the gates had started shifting. If this were a normal day he would immediately alert Mother so she could come assess their guests but after recent events with Mother very depressed and only really talking to Father that didn't seem to be an option. He was left with a butler, himself, and strange people that might technically be welcome. Attacking guests was very poor manners so-

"Canary."

The butler turned her head slightly in acknowledgment, the rest of her body staying taut. "Yes, Master Kalluto?"

"I believe…" He paused, unsure how to continue for a moment. He was never the one to take charge, not really being allowed to since Mother kept him close. He didn't have orders for this situation. He tapped his lips again before speaking. "That you should hold these 'guests' while I alert Grandfather of their arrival. They might be… our expected guests but for now, until proven otherwise, they do not have permission to proceed. Is that understood?"

She turned her head, bowing it in acknowledgment. "As you say, young master."

"Good."

He gave her a decisive nod and took off at a slower run towards the manor. He dearly hoped that his orders would be well received when he reported. He didn't want to let any intruders up to the manor and if they were the guests… it wouldn't hurt to have a spar before being brought to the estate, right?


AN: A little bit of cooldown time from the heavy angst of last chapter! What did ya'll think of the POVs?

As this is the 20 benchmark I'd like to remind everyone to get a drink of water!

Q&A: KrixLight: Eeee~! Welcome back and thank you for your comments on the last three chapters! In answer to your question on chapter 17, yes, Harry gave up the ability to taste for this healing session. He actually gave up the ability to feel hunger in a previous one which means that Jasper has been grievously wounded at least once before in the known storyline.

As for Killua, he is banging his head to get Illumi to shut up. In a round about way you could say he's trying to get rid of the needle because that's where Illumi's influence comes from. Killua is currently unaware of that though. If Illumi found out his brother was suicidal he would change the commands he has in the needle. Instead of having Killua run from strong opponents he would change it to something more along the lines of 'live before anything else, be afraid of dying'. If he cannot access the needle he would do inadvisable things like insert another into Killua.

Always love hearing from you!

Bluepeony0: As you can see he actually did talk to Illumi about the events of the exam and because he did that, saw no reason to talk to Netero about it. I believe they are friends, yes, but not close enough to ask for favors/information without anything in exchange. Illumi was a free resource. Illumi did, in fact, mention the similarity to Alluka but Zeno and Silva are taking it with a grain of salt until they see it.

Tetractys: Killua is definitely in need of a guiding light. Jasper and Gon are on the way!

Drakality: The Zoldycks are trying to clean up after this major mess. It's not exactly their area of expertise but they're trying. And Jasper most definitely should have started much lighter, but he was dumb and desperate. Never a good combination. I hadn't even realized the word count! Thank you~