Hello fabulous people. Here is the second chapter! Shout out to breather, who is my beta reader and has helped me figure out so many things. Also, I don't own any of the characters except random OC's, along with Akumi.
Zebro walked out of the tiny building beside the testing gate, ready to greet the tour group that came to the top of the mountain three times a day. He took a quick glance at the thugs, inwardly sighing... It's another day where I have to get "beat up." His gaze traveled over the rest of the group, seeing the normal batch of civilians before stopping at the figure that was dressed entirely in black.
That person is dangerous, Zebro thought to himself. He quickly took a look around before hurrying into the small office right outside of the "door" that he had the key to.
Closing and locking the door behind him, Zebro grabbed the phone and dialed the head butler's number.
"Gotoh-sama," He began, eyes darting quickly to the window. He was sure that the odd person wasn't going to do anything... yet. But he knew that the thugs would soon come to get the keys and he needed to talk to the head butler of the estate first. "We have an... uh, interesting person coming to visit."
"What sort of person are we talking about?" Gotoh's voice was guarded, as it always was from years of training and working for the Zoldycks.
Zebro swallowed nervously. "This person does not have any murderous intent, not yet at least." There was no sound coming from the other end of the line so he continued. "I must go, but I thought it would be good to warn you. Something may happen."
"Very well. I will tell Silva-sama about this. Act based on the situation. When they come through the gate, call again." Gotoh hung up without any goodbye, most likely to go tell Silva about the guest that they would be having.
Zebro grimaced faintly, remembering his first day on the job. It was one of the few times he had personally talked to the head butler face to face.
"Remember," Gotoh had said. "You call for two reasons. One, someone is coming through the testing gate that is not a Zoldyck. Two, a possible threat is coming our way." And they both knew that there were very few things in existence that could be a threat to the entire Zoldyck family when they were together. The odds of one of these things coming to visit were slim to none.
Powerful nen-users avoided fights if possible, especially if they were on equal footing. No one wanted to challenge another when they were not sure of the outcome, unless there was good reason to. In this case, Zebro wasn't sure if he had called because of the first reason or both reasons.
Letting out a sigh, Zebro placed the phone back on the dial and walked out of the room, "accidentally" crashing into the group of thugs that stood outside of the office who were not-so-subtly waiting for Zebro.
"We want the key," the thug said. Inwardly this time, Zebro sighed, before putting on the scared façade he usually donned in front of the brutes. At least they cut straight to the point, Zebro thought to himself. I already have enough to worry about with the possible threat.
"U-u-uh... what key?" Zebro was still amazed at the fact that no one had thought about how no one thought it was a trap. Mike usually ended up getting an extra meal at least once a week. Zebro would have thought for sure that someone would have figured out something by now.
"The key! You know, to the, uh, door. Right? There is a door right...?" The second half seemed to be more to the brute himself than anything, but Zebro still heard it.
"No! I won't give you the key!"
"Oh yeah?" A snicker. "We'll make you!"
Here we go... The thugs advanced on Zebro while the latter just closed their eyes. Just take a few punches and pretend to give up and give them the key. I don't have time to worry about Mike's weight tonight.
Approximately thirty seconds later, the thugs were congratulating each other and patting each other on the back, happy that they were able to complete the first step in entering the Zoldyck estate. Of course, it was only thirty more seconds until he was able to feel the vibrations through the ground of Mike sprinting through the ground towards the doors for an early dinner.
Once he heard the screams, Zebro got up, adding a few grunts and hisses to make it seem like the thugs actually did some damage. Looking to the left, he saw that most of the tourists had sprinted back towards the bus after hearing the screams.
Clunk! Zebro's head turned towards the right just in time to see Mike's colossal paw dropping the bones into a neat little pile by the door. I really should just get a trashcan and keep it there for Mike to put the bones in. It would save me a lot of wo- Another scream was heard, this time even more hysterical than when Mike dropped the skeletons in front of the door. Turning towards the noise, Zebro saw that the tourists in the bus were staring in horror over something across the road. Following their pointing fingers, he saw why.
The person that he had called Gotoh about had just stabbed the tourist guide, Kite something, in the back. But that wasn't what made Zebro's eyes widen in shock; it was the 2 four foot long red blades that were sticking out of the figure's arms that caused Zebro to quickly gesture towards the bus driver to leave as quickly as possible.
It's been nice working here I guess, Zebro thought to himself as he saw the figure approaching. Looking now, he saw that it was in fact a girl. Upon closer inspection, he guessed that she was probably fifteen or sixteen.
"I'm going to cut straight to the chase." Definitely a girl, Zebro thought to himself. "I want to go in. And don't try and feed me to the giant dog like you do to the others."
Zebro had to hold back at wince when she talked. Even if the girl was younger than master Illumi, her mannerisms showed that she was prepared to extract information at any means necessary- including bodily harm. Though her arms no longer had weapons coming out of them, she still had a presence that was as threatening as Illumi's when he was angry. The blood that was splattered over her face and legs did nothing to help calm Zebro's nerves.
"Also," the girl continued on, "as a show of good faith, I'll let you see what I look like," She pulled her hood down, revealing bone white skin and blood red eyes. Her black hair was short and messy, making Zebro think that she had cut it with a blade. The geometric designs from her arms and legs continued, climbing up her neck and around her face.
The eyes were not what Zebro gape at. Instead, Zebro couldn't help but stare at the piercings covering the girl's face. Three over the left brow, four on the right, and probably ten combined on both ears. Closer examination showed that there were various scars where previous piercings had most likely been ripped out. Why does she continue to wear them if they get ripped out? Zebro thought, before dismissing the question. He had more important things to worry about than a person's choice in accessories.
Zebro knew the real intent for the girl to show her face. It wasn't a sign of trust. In fact, many would consider it the opposite. A killer does not show their face unless they're either stupid or extremely confident in their abilities. So confident in fact, that they do not fear if the authorities know what they look like and attempt to chase them down. That girl was ready to kill anything at any time with no remorse.
"These 'decorations' are actually doors, usually referred to as the Testing Gates," Zebro stated, knowing that trying to hide the fact would lead to his pointless death. "The first set weighs four tons, two for each door. The second is eight, the third, sixteen, and so on up to one hundred twenty-six tons for the seventh door. Anyone that enters through the doors is not attacked by Mike."
The girl nodded, staring at the door intently trying to judge her strength. Zebro was not sure what the girl's strength was, but he knew that she was strong. Looking at her aura, he guessed that she would open the fourth, possibly the fifth door, with the use of her nen.
He closed his eyes, knowing that resistance was futile and it would just lead to his death. When he heard footsteps walking away, his eyes opened in shock. He had no idea why the girl would kill the tourist guide and not him.
"You must be confused as to why I'm not going to kill you." Zebro stared at the girl, who had turned around to address him. "I want to talk to the Zoldycks, and I don't think that it would be in my best interest to kill their gateskeeper. That's money gone to waste. The tour guide on the other hand, she wasn't a direct employee of them. Thus, it would not have a negative impact on me if I killed her.
"Oh yeah, I guess I should tell you my name," she added on sheepishly, a grin appearing on her face. That almost made Zebro run away screaming. "My name's Akumi."
Akumi placed her hands out in front of the door, her hands resting on the first set. Activating Gyo, Zebro stared intently, trying to gauge the amount of aura that the girl had. Akumi pushed at the door, bracing one leg against the ground.
Zebro's eyes widened in shock, so much so that he almost lost his grip on gyo. The girl had opened... one, two, three, four, five... Five doors without any nen! The girl was in a constant state of zetsu. Had Zebro not felt a slight ripple when the girl killed the tourist guide, he could have possibly believed that she had no knowledge of it.
Akumi held the doors open, staring up before making a sighing noise.
"I only managed to get five? Damn, I need to work on that." She stepped through the doors, pausing to look back behind her when there was only a sliver of space as an opening.
She let a wild grin spread across her face, releasing the full extent of her aura for a moment. The force was enough to push Zebro back a couple of steps.
After the door slammed closed, Zebro ran to his tiny office to call Gotoh. The Zoldycks were going to have an interesting day.
Thank you for reading the second chapter! As always, feedback is appreciated. As for those that followed this story for the Phantom Troupe, it will be a long time before they come into the mix, but they will be important. Also, even though this story follows the canon, Akumi will be following her own path, occasionnaly popping in on the main characters!