So many computers! Computers everywhere! I only knew how to play games on the computer! I looked everywhere. It wasn't full, but it wasn't empty. Kurapika went to a random computer and started typing up things. I sat next to him and looked up online games. I was having so much fun I didn't hear what they had said. I found the snake game I liked so much. I kept dying after a certain speed, and a long length. I huffed. This game could have been so much better if I could do it in real life! Argh! I yelled, dying again. If I accidently ate myself, I wouldn't die so do does the snake die? Hitting a wall and dying? This snake is so weak! It needs to ram into the wall until it has grown an immune system to the wall! Stupid snake!
"Mitsuki. We're going." Kurapika said nudging me from the game.
"Okay. Today I admit defeat, but one day I'll beat you." I told the snake game.
"Did you even pay attention?" Hikaru asked me.
"I didn't. . The snake was overwhelming me."
"That's an easy game."
"Are you telling me you finished the game?" I shouted out.
"No. I'm saying that kind of game never ends."
"I don't believe you. Someday that snake will run out of room and I will then succeed by find the end."
"You're so obsessed."
"Why is it going to take three days? Is it that far from here?" I asked ignoring Hikaru.
"You're going to ignore me now?" She said pissy.
"Yup." I said putting my hands behind my head.
Three days passed swiftly. We rode on an airship and then arrived by train. All the while, I was on alert. Kurapika and I caught up. I told him who Lina was. I finally revealed the girl who turned me around. Her name was Fuuka. He told me how he started to train. He told me what he had seen what was left of our home. We just told each other about the past years. It was nice to be with one another after so long. I admit I had started to forget. I couldn't recall what Pairo sounded like now. We both grew up so much. He said he didn't recognize me. I told him how I thought I had thought I saw him so many times, but I knew it couldn't be.
Hikaru traveled with us. She said she had to make sure Killua was on the right track before she went home. I knew she was comfortable with our group now. After Killua she was going to see Seji. She asked if I wanted to go. I declined. I couldn't leave Kurapika. No I didn't want to leave Kurapika.
We saw Kukuru Moutain. It was huge! It just stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Look! It's Kukuru Moutain!" I pointed out excited.
"It's a lair for a family of killers. The looks alone set a bad mood." Leorio commented. He began to look wary of the mountain.
"what shall we start with?" Kurapika asked.
"I want to go to an inn. I need to freshen up and of course bathe." Hikaru said brushing her hair with her fingers.
"Yeah. Let's go to an inn and make a plan." Leorio said agreeing with her."
"It'll be okay. We've just come to visit a friend, haven't we?" Gon said with so much innocence.
"True that! They should accept us! We are friends of Killua!" I agreed with Gon. The others just looked at us as if we were deranged, or just a tad bit crazy.
We got off the train. We started asking around about Kukuru Mountain. Apparently there were many tourists that came to the mountain to look at the infamous family. One woman laughed at us, when we said we wanted to go to their residence. She just told us to take the bus. I didn't mind a bit, but Gon looked a bit upset.
"It's fine. At least we can get close by riding the bus." Hikaru said, trying to get him to cheer up.
"No she just doesn't understand." I said getting why Gon was a bit upset.
"Yeah. She just hasn't met Killua, it looks like." Hikaru said getting what I was hinting at.
We got on the bus at last. The speaker was a pretty woman.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the company 'Terror Buses' thanks you for joining us. Today, we'll present to you the assassin family of Dentora's Province." She introduced to us.
We saw some folks who didn't look like tourists. They looked like thugs trying to cause trouble.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please look to your left. This is Kukuru Mountain. The sadly famous place where the Zoldycks live. Somewhere on this volcano, culminating at 3,722m, surrounded by a mar of vegetation, may stand a residence, but no one has ever seen it." Gon looked in wonder, I couldn't help but be enchanted by the land. Sure it was ominous, but it was private too. The thrill of wanting to look at it was there. "The Zoldycks are: great grandfather, grandfather, father, mother, and five children. They're all professional killers. If you agree, we will approach the mountain."
A chorus of agreement came and the bus continue to drive on. It stopped at these enormous gates. It was so huge! There were dragons on the top. We got to get off the bus, finally.
"Impressive." Leorio said. Hikaru wasn't as in awe as we were, I guess she was just used to it.
"This is the main entrance. We also call it 'Door of the Other World.' The reason is simple: once you pass through, you'll never return alive."
"Is that a chall-" Hikaru hit the back of my head. "OW! Rude!" I said looking at her. She wasn't gentle. It felt like she hit me with all her force. Maybe we were going to fight.
"You're being rude." Hikaru said, "She wasn't even challenging anyone."
"Mitsuki." Kurapika said looking at me sternly. I immediately stopped thinking of revenge plans against Hikaru. Damn her. She had Kurapika on her side for once.
"But Kurapika!" I whined. "I know for a fact that WE" I gestured to all five of us, "will all come back alive."
"No excuses. You can't just challenge everyone we meet." He looked me in the eye. I began to pout.
"I remember when you would always challenge the village elder. Every. Single. Day. Even called him a geezer. Didn't have respect for your elders." I said sitting on the ground. I was a bit upset. Kurapika sided with Hikaru. "Gon!" I decided I would cling to him. "You're the only one who loves me! Everyone else is just too mean to me!" I said sticking to him like a blob. Unknowingly Kurapika's soul left his body for a moment as if he couldn't understand what just happened. Gon just petted me on the head. The woman had still been talking, but Leorio brought us back to the subject, Killua.
"What?" He shouted out loud. "But the mountain is still far away from us, isn't it? So why?!"
"Yes, I know. Here begins the mar of vegetation and Kurkuru Mountain, consequently all this is the domain of the Zoldyck family." She explained. In that moment, all of our souls departed our bodies, minus Hikaru. Seemed like she excepted this. It just dawned upon us the difference of a rich family compared to meager us..
"You mean.. All this is their private garden..?" Leorio asked. None of us could believe it.
"Miss guide?" Gon called out to her.
"Yes?"
"How do you get inside?" The guide smiled, she kept smiling. It was creepy.
"Tell me, kid, did you listen to what I just explained?"
"Yes, but-"
"If you enter, you won't come out again alive. It's a killer's lair." She said her face close to his, trying to make sure he understood.
"That's a bluff." One of the thugs said. "A phantom murderer family that nobody's ever seen."
"I heard somewhere there's a bounty of 100 million for the one who takes a simple picture of their face." Another one spoke.
"Seriously? If I had known, I would have taken a picture. Mitsuki, you probably took one right?" Leorio said looking at my bag.
"I'm not selling it." I looked at Leorio, hugging my bag closer to me.
"From a rumor, it became a legend. But I'm sure there's nothing dangerous there." They walked up to the guard. The big guy tore off the door He grabbed the guard and threatened him.
"Open the door." The guard wasn't even scared.
"What a nuisance. I'm going to be in trouble with my master."
"Don't worry! We'll take care of your master." One of them smirked. They grabbed a key and threw the guard. They then went inside.
"Are you okay?" Gon said running up to the guard.
"Yes, yes. Hnn. Mike will have something other than his usual food once more."
"What?"
"Mike?" I questioned. What kind of name was that? The door creaked open and a pair of skeletons came out. Leorio, Hikaru, and Kurapika were freaking out. A large claw like hand tossed out the skeletons. The rest of the group screamed out in fear and ran to the bus.
"The master has forbidden that you eat between meals!" The guard yelled to the creature. "If you get fat, it won't be because of me!"
"But.. what was that?" Kurapika said not believing what he just saw.
"A monster." Hikaru answered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I suppose you've all seen what happens when you want to enter: A cruel silhouette.." She said.
"Aren't we leaving now?"
"Hey! That's okay! We understand!"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and get on the bus!" one of them yelled at us.
"ah.. Well. That's okay, just leave. We're gonna stay here." Gon said not explaining anything. We just got blank stares. They just left us.
Finally we explained everything to the guard.
"I see. You are Killua-kun's friends?" he said looking at us questioningly. We were a bunch of different people. There was Gon, who was a kid. Leorio, always with a briefcase and a suit, odd I know. Hikaru, who looked so fashionable, neat, and just a girly girl in a sense. She's wearing high heels, and has been able to do what we've been doing! Kurapika, who's wearing a tabard. Me, who's wearing Kurata clothing, which just didn't make sense in a world like this. Yet he still served us some tea.
"It's a real please for me! Having visitors, this way. I've been working here for 20 years and you're the first ones to come in peace. As an employee, I may be punished if I say this, but what a sad residence! Nobody ever visits here. There's an endless stream of people like these who come, but well, it's not a common assassin family, so it's normal. That's the way they planned things." He took a sip from his tea. "But I'm really happy!" He said bowing down to us.
"Ah don't worry!" Leorio said waving it off.
"However I can't let you enter." He said giving off a serious aura. "You saw it too didn't you? The paw of that enormous animal.. That's Mike. The guard dog of the Zoldycks. If obeys only the orders of the family. It's uncontrollable. For ten years, it has loyally obeyed the orders of its master. Which can be resumed in killing intruders. More than loyal it's greedy. Anyways I can't let you enter. I can't let Killua's friends be reduced to bones." Somehow his story made sense but at the same time it didn't.
"Tell me guardian-san, why are you unharmed?" Kurapika said asking what was on my mind.
"eh?"
"You can enter can't you? Otherwise why would you have this key?"
"Good remark." The guard chuckled. "But you are half right, half wrong." I just got more confused. So if they key wasn't the way then how?
"To enter, I don't use this key. This is the special key for intruders. All these weird people of 10 people, 8 or 9 come proudly up to the front door. When they can't open the door, disconcerted, they try to destroy the entrance. It's annoying. So we built a door on the side with a lock. This way, intruders come to steal it from me, and I don't resist. Then they're killed and eaten by Mike." The guard said. "Under my appearance of sympathetic guardian, I'm only in charge of cleaning up the messes Mike makes."
"On the real door, there's not lock." Kurapika said deducing everything in his head.
"Exactly."
"What?!" Leorio said not even realizing this.
"How then?" Hikaru asked, coldly sweating.
"Strength." The guard answered.
Leorio walked up to the gates. He pushed against it with all his might.
"Aaaarrggghhh!" He couldn't help but let out as he kept shoving and pushing. "I pull! I push! To the left! To the right! It doesn't open!" He shouted out in frustration.
"That's because you're weak." The guard told Leorio.
"Idiot! I gave it all I had!" Leorio spat out, he was so pissy. I just laughed at him.
"Look." The guard said, stepping forward to the gate. "This door's nickname is 'Door of Verification.' The ones that can't open this door." He started gathering his nen, his muscles started to bulge. He was intensely concentrating. "The ones that can't open this door do not have the required qualities to enter into the Zoldycks' domain HA!" The guard opened the door. I was the only one not surprised, everyone else had shock written in their face. The guard opened the first door. It looked so easy. He then let it go. "As you can see, the door closes automatically. Once it's opened you have to enter without pausing. Year after year, it becomes harder to open. If I failed to open it, I would get fired, so I don't have any other choice. Do not attack people that enter through the 'Door of Verification.' That's the order given to Mike. Each side of the first door is two tons."
"Two..." Leorio and Hikaru said in disbelief.
"Normally, nobody can push such.." He drifted off thinking, "you said 'first door?'"
"Yes. Look. You can see that there are 7 total."
"Yeah?"
"The weight doubles each time the size changes."
"It doubles?" Hikaru and Leorio shouted out in alarm.
"They were built so that we open the one corresponding to our strength. When Killua entered, he opened the third door."
"The third one?" Gon asked, he had a look of determination. "12 tons!"
"Err.. 16 tons, Gon." Kurapika said a shake of his head.
"You understand now? To enter the domain, you must have some abilities. The world where you lie is different."
"I don't like this.. sir, lend me your keys." Gon spoke, with determination in his face. He looked as if he was going to do something stupid.
"What?"
"Even if I only came to see a friend, I must pass a test. So being an intruder fits me better."
"Gon, that's not the way to do it." Hikaru chastised him.
"Hikaru, he's not going to listen when he sets his mind to things." I said shaking my head in understanding.
"Lend me the key. I'm gonna enter through the intruders door. Refusing won't change anything. I'll climb the front."
"Don't say stupid thins Gon! Didn't you see the monster a while ago? One of his paws was already bigger than you!" Leorio shouted at Gon.
"Perhaps, but all this stuff isn't okay with me. Testing his friends is weird, isn't it? I refuse to enter thorugh such a door."
"I think you're right. But it's madness wanting to pass with force. You'll get yourself killed for sure." The guard said looking at Gon intently.
Kurapika then spoke up. I hoped he could persuade Gon, yet I knew in my heart Gon wasn't going to listen to us. "I agree with you, we have some time, so let's try opening the first door."
"Gon!" Leorio shouted. Gon wasn't listening to anyone. He just had his hand stuck out in front of the guard.
"I can open the gate." I volunteered.
"Gosh, Mitsuki stop telling lies." Hikaru got onto me.
"Stupid Hikaru, I'm stronger than you think!" I stuck my tongue out at her.
"Ugh useless. Right now, he's deaf to us." Leorio told us all. He didn't hear my offer.
"I kinda want to know, what door I can open." I said looking at Kurapika.
"You really think you can open the door?"
"Not think, I know."
"I'm sorry, but I can't five you the key. I can't let friends of Killua-kun satisfy mike's appetite, so easily. Wait a moment." With that he turn away and went back into the building. He then made a phone call. I turned back to the wall. I stopped paying attention. I closed my eyes, and gathered my aura around me. Breathing evenly, I opened my eyes and stepped forward. My muscles didn't bulge like Mr. Guards, but I easily knew how to use my aura better than his, I could tell. His was rough. Looking at my aura, it was fluid. Gathering them around my hands and feet, I stepped up, and opened the fifth door. I could easily walk through but I stopped, and let go. The gates came back to their original place. I stood proud and smiling. This was my limit. I still beat Killua and that made me happiest. No one had even noticed, they were all inside and I then heard Gon yelling.
"WHO ARE YOU TO KNOW THAT KIND OF THING!? THAT'S ENOUGH! LET KILLUA GET OUT OF HERE!" Even I jumped to the sound. It had just came out of nowhere for me. I decided to walk inside. Just as I was about to, Gon walked out. He looked mad. He was beyond pissed.
"Gon?" I asked him.
"He's out of his mind." Leorio said. Gon then swung his fishing pole to the wall. "Calm down, GON!" Leorio yelled at him. Gon paid no attention to any of us. "Gon! I'm telling you to stop!"
"You guys wait here. I'm going alone."
"Are you an idiot? I'm not going to stand for this!" Hikaru shouted.
"You really think I'll let you do that?" Leorio added in.
"You three, start by keeping your cool." Kurapika said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"What happened?" I asked Kurapika, he was rubbing his nose.
"They called up the Zoldyck intendants, who refused for Gon to come see Killua. Gon spoke to them, and now he's angry." Kurapika said simplify it for me. "What did you do out here?"
"I can open the fifth door!" I said smiling, throwing in the peace sign.
"It's not nice to lie" Hikaru interrupted.
"I'm not lying! I swear I can open the fifth door!"
"Gon if I go with you, there's a small chance that Mike will remember me and won't kill us. Well, you can be almost 100% sure he'll kill us, but'-"
"No, that way, it doesn't work. I don't want to cause any problems for you." But you'll cause us problems? I thought to myself trying not to strangle the boy in front of me. Kurapika randomly held my sleeve. I felt my all the tenseness leave me. Ugh stupid Gon. He's lucky we are friends.
"No I'm coming too. Staying here would be the same. Whatever, if some friends of Killua-kun were about to get killed in front of me, I could never hope to see his face again. If you die, I'll die too." The guard said. He had such a strong love for Killua. It took Gon a moment. He retracted his fishing line and actually apologized for his actions.
"Gon, you like animals, don't you?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"There was no doubting it. You spent all your time playing in the countryside, didn't you?"
"Yep! How did you know?"
Gon, I'll reopen the Door of Verification once more. This time look at Mike's face." He gathered his nen and pushed the door open. We walked in and the guard called out for Mike.
"Uh.. Don't we risk anything if we enter too..?" Leorio asked scared.
"No. By the Door of Verification, there's no danger." Then Mike stepped out. He was a giant creature. Some sort of canine. His eyes are what I noticed first. They were focused, filled with greed. Something most animals didn't have. His eyes didn't waver. They only saw things, I didn't want to imagine. He was a perfectly trained guard dog. There was nothing in him that would help us out. I understood why the guard had said he was greedy. This was a monster.
"Gon do you understand? You see, it's a perfect guard dog. There aren't any wild animas like this, that you've met in the countryside. You thought you could communicate with it.
"Until I saw his eyes, yes."
"Now, it's recording the silhouette and the smell of a human he's seeing for the first time. Apart from this, he has no other sensations. It's like a machine. If the condition, emitted in order, are fulfilled.. he would even attack someone like me who comes t see him every day. You want to fight against it?" Gon shook his head.
"No way! It's terrifying. I don't want to confront him at all."
"Well, this way, if you want to follow me." The guard said walking away.
"huh?" We all said in unison.
"My house is close to here. You can rest here tonight."
"Finally a bed." Hikaru wearily spoke. She looked tired the most.
"That's guests? That's not frequent." This guy spoke as he saw us enter. "If Zebro likes you, you surely aren't ordinary people. Make yourself at home. This house isn't a palace." with that the guy left.
"Try to open this door. It's a door you have to push to enter." Zebro explained. Gon pushed on it and he noticed it.
"It's.."
"Yes, each side of the door is 200 kg. Because you have to be in shape, try to enter." Leorio went in. It took him a moment and he did it. That was impressive. "You can use these slippers. Each on is 20 kg. Some tea? Take care, without the liquid, the cup is 20 kg." Zebro handed us. As I suspected, Hikaru had a little difficulty but she was going to do this with us.
"If you're tempted, you could have special training here." Zebro told us over tea. "Of course, I can accompany you to the mountain if you prefer, but that doesn't satisfy you either?" We all looked at one another. The determination was all around us. "You're young, and I think in one month, you'll surely be able to open the first door. It's not forbidden for three together to try to open it, so it's still possible."
"Even, if I don't like to be tested against my will.." Kurapika started.
"It's not like there's any other solution.." Gon continued.
"I think we have to pass this.. right?" Leorio spoke.
"For the sake of our friend..." Hikaru stated.
"We will be victorious." I finished, smiling like the devil himself. " We understand and we accept." I said speaking for all of us. Zebro smiled at us.
"Wear this all the time, except while sleeping. We'll being with 50kg. As you get used to it, I'll increase the weight." He walked towards Leorio, he touched his arm. "You. You're well built. in less than a month, you'll be opening the door alone."
"Well I'll wait for all you guys to open the door." I said.
"You can open the door?" Zebro turned to look at me.
"Yup. Want me to show you tomorrow?" I said yawning.
"We can amp your weight."
"I'll do that."
gUYS! So I was doing the math on the doors! Yeah Killua can open the third which is 16 tons!
It goes, 2, 4, 16, 256, 65k+, 4 billion!, to 1.8447440737e+19! Like that family is on steroids or something!
