Fourth Chapter of Hunters x Assassins, in which the Zoldycks celebrate a birthday

Birthday Time

("It must be hard, an ex-assassin turning away from blood… Tell me, do you have nightmares?")

…

…

He missed. It wasn't every day that he missed.

One second he was aiming for the heart and the next his target had dived forward on to the floor, rolling away from him to gather distance. He felt skin and muscle and bone slice away under his nails but not the heart. He had missed. It was hard to see in the darkened room with no windows, but he studied his target anyway.

A man.

Thirty? Forty? Athletic, but easy enough to kill now injured.

What could only have been a millisecond hung in the air for eternity – the two staring each other down.

Blood dripped to the floor by his feet, pooling over his fingers. The lucid warmth was familiar but unsettling. So close – another centimetre and his target would have been dead. However, there was little time to scold oneself. He had an objective in front of him and reinforcements were storming up the stairs, their footsteps a painful reminder of his failure to finish off his target quickly.

He needed to act quickly. He moved with instinct, his mind a little distant as his body moved fluidly and suddenly he was striking for a second time, with his claw like hands aiming for the man's neck; the man's eyes widened – not a lot, but enough to show his fear.

The man leaped back again clumsily, clutching his would with a shivering hand. There was a wall behind him.

Trapped.

It was over. The thought seemed to register in the other's brain as a something changed in his demeanour – a grim sort of conclusion etched on his face.

"Stay still, and it'll be quick," he said. Emotionless. Mechanical.

The man put his hands up in a last futile move a defence. It was pointless and the man knew it too. He struck without mercy.

There was blood on his hand. There was always blood on his hands. Or so it seemed.

Killua woke with a gasp, unsure for a second where he was.

The ceiling came into focus, lit up by streaks of sunlight streaming in through the top of the curtain; the rest of the room was still dark, the light blocked by a thick curtain.

Nightmares. He never used to worry about those – they had always crept up on him, sometimes or often, but blood was such an everyday thing back then. They could never scare him. It was different now. Memories like these left his heart beating and sweat slick on his face.

Yawning, Killua stood up. Walking up to the window he opened the curtains, letting the warmth bath his pale form. The height of summer had come and gone whilst they were away but the stifling heat was still there and although the mornings were reasonably cool compared to the evenings, it was still warm. The air was moist.

Killua glanced at his alarm clock. 6:00. It hadn't been set; Alluka had no school because it was the summer holidays had started. The house was silent, still, like the walls themselves were asleep. It was early for Killua, but not quite early enough to go back to sleep so he stood up and exited his bedroom.

He entered the kitchen-diner quietly. After opening the curtains to let in the sunlight, Killua sat down on the dining room chair, feeling heavy with the aftereffects of sleep still clinging to his muscles. For a while he just sat there, staring through the window at the drab grey of the apartments stacked on top of each other on the other side of the road. They were on the second floor and so the street below was hidden from where Killua was sitting but he could hear the hoots of cars.

After a while the room was getting noticeable warmer and the sun higher in the sky. Killua stood up. He moved away from the dining table and towards the kitchen, thinking about breakfast. Alluka would probably be up soon too. She was a generally an early riser.

(Gon had been too, thinking about it.)

Almost as though she had heard his thoughts, there was a soft clatter from her bedroom and ruffle of movement, indicating that Alluka had awoken. With a click, her bedroom door opened, revealing a blaring looking Alluka standing in the doorway, looking at Killua through the hallway.

"Brother?" she said. It was Alluka again. She was smiling.

"Morning," Killua greeted. He got a frying pan from the cupboard and lit the hob.

"Happy Birthday!" Happy… oh. July the seventh. Killua had completely forgotten. He was fourteen now. Alluka had entered the kitchen, bounding with excitement.

"Did you forget, Brother?" she asked, giggling.

"N- No," Killua stuttered. Alluka jumped towards him, embracing him tightly. "Stop it, the stove's on." Alluka didn't let go.

"I've got something special for today," she muttered, although it was hard to hear her when her face was buried in Killua's shirt.

"What?" Killua asked.

"Se-c-ret," she teased.

"Hey! Tell me!" Killua said. Alluka only giggled more. "Please?"

"I'll tell you later," Alluka said.

They ended up making breakfast together – Killua warming a sausage in the microwave ("Brother! How can you burn something in a microwave?") whilst Alluka whistled next to him chopping carrots. After they had eaten and cleared away, Alluka disappeared back into her room without a word. Killua sighed. She was being so secretive.

Without thinking about it too deeply, Killua showered and dressed quickly in to his usual outfit of a turtle necked T-Shirt, a V-neck over that and shorts. By the time he came out of his bedroom, Alluka too was dressed, grinning slyly. Killua noted how her hands were tucked behind her back.

"Happy Birthday! It's from both of us, Brother," she said. With a dramatic flourish, she revealed what she had been hiding. It was a small picture frame made out of brownish clay, a glass plane protecting the photo inside. His breath hitched in Killua's throat. Black spiky hair, bright brown eyes, massive grin; it was a face Killua recognised well.

(Gon.)

"Alluka…"

"You miss him, don't you?" she said.

"I…"

"Don't worry, I know," she said sincerely and even though Killua wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, he felt immediately comforted, a warm bubbly feeling inside.

"Thank you," he told Alluka, taking the picture in to his hands. Killua smiled. "And thank you to Nanika too." Alluka nodded.

"You're welcome," she said.

"Shall we go somewhere today?" Killua asked, patting his sister's head. Alluka grinned brightly and nodded.

'Somewhere' turned out to be the beach, an hours train journey away. It was busy and full of tourists but somehow they managed to find a more secluded spot among the throng of people to put down their picnic rug.

"I'm going to school next term," Killua suddenly said as they settled down for lunch in the searing heat. Alluka looked up at him, surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked, her lips in a little pout. Killua laughed. However the noise was lost among the squawking of sea gulls and the conversations of other people around them. Sapphire stretched endlessly in front of them, reflecting the blue, blue sky.

"It slipped from my mind, I guess," he said. It hadn't – he had thought about his assignment almost constantly whilst Alluka was at school, but to be honest, he had never even considered informing her. Killua winced. He should have, really. She had a good nose for sniffing out deceit.

"What class will you be in?" she asked.

"Class 3-E," he replied. If there was shock or bemusement at the answer (Class E's reputation was infamous among the school, apparently), Alluka didn't show it.

"You'll be the youngest then, with your birthday so late" she said instead. Killua calculated quickly in his head.

"I'm technically in second year," Killua said. "Are you the oldest?" Alluka shook her head.

"There's a few people who are already thirteen," she said. Alluka would only turn thirteen in the autumn term; Killua intended to do something extra special, just as he had done the year before. It was to make up for years of missed birthdays, he guessed.

Opening a can of juice, Killua stared at the azure sky, feeling the strong heat hitting his pale skin – he should have probably gotten stronger sun cream. Suddenly having a thought, he turned to Alluka.

"Tell me about school," he said.

"Aye," Alluka replied, Nanika style, with a laugh.

Tired from their day, the two siblings sat quietly on the train home. Alluka rested her head on Killua's shoulder, her eyes heavy with fatigue; it had been a fun day – talking about school, running round rock pools, splashing each other in the warm, salty water. The tiredness that surrounded Alluka wasn't an unpleasant one; it was warm and happy. Tonight, Alluka would sleep content.

Nanika was stirring inside, reacting to Alluka's sleepiness. She had felt cooped up it seemed. Being a shy person, she never came out voluntarily in front of strangers, even though as long as she was 'white', they rarely gave her a second glance. Now that Nanika no longer had to listen to everybody's wishes, she was 'white' quite often. She preferred it that way, Alluka thought.

She was always 'black' for Killua.

Although Alluka could say with confidence that she was the person in the world who knew Nanika the most – they had been with each over for as long as they could remember - Nanika still held a little bit of mystery around her.

Killua's regular breathing was calming and after a few minutes staring into the buildings and trees whizzing past outside, Alluka quickly found herself slipping into the comfortable realm of a dreamless, hazy sleep. When she found herself yanked back into reality, the vicinity was already semi-dark. She was in the living room, lying on the sofa with her eyes fixed on the TV screen – there seemed to be a drama on.

Nanika?

Killua patted my head!

Alluka gave Nanika a metaphorical smile.

Killua was sitting on the other side of the sofa, fiddling with the remote.

"Brother?" she asked, looking up at Brother walking steadily onwards. He looked down and smiled.

"Are you awake?" Alluka glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room. It was seven O'clock, and probably time for dinner. Hunger clenched in Alluka's stomach, causing her to sit up from her comfortable position and stare at Killua.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked.

"Yes, Nanika was out," Killua explained. Alluka nodded. He too glanced at the clock, as though thinking the same thing that Alluka had been thinking only a few seconds before. "Dinner's almost ready," he added.

"Brother."

"Yes, Alluka?" Killua responded with a warm smile. Should she say it? Alluka thought she was good at reading Killua's emotions but this was one thing Alluka wasn't sure of. However, it seemed Killua needed some advice, any advice, so Alluka went all in.

"…Don't be scared of school," she stated clearly.

"I'm not," he said, but Alluka knew him enough to hear the small, unconscious change in his voice.

Thank you everyone for reading and review! Feedback is appreciated greatly!