Hello dear readers! Please enjoy this chapter of blood blade! (published Oct 13, 2014)
Note that italics that are separated with a line break are flashbacks.
The silence that followed Akumi's statement was an awkward one. Illumi, who had been staring out the window feigning disinterest, turned his head towards her at that statement, a single eyebrow raised in a questioning look. Zeno and Silva stared at the girl for a moment, before Zeno burst out into laughter.
"Well girl," Zeno began, "It does seem that you will add some life with us. Please do refrain from scaring the younger ones too much." With that, Zeno rose from his seat and the other people in the room followed.
Silva began to speak. "Come with me, we will be going down to the basement. Illumi too."
Akumi followed Silva as he walked out of the room, staring at Illumi's black hair as they descended the stairs at the end of the hall. She knew that it was useless to ask where they were going, as she would find out in a few moments.
Silva led the group through several corridors, finally stopping at a wooden door.
"We will be doing nen and combat training first," he stated, opening the door to reveal a large room. Akumi couldn't help but let out a small whistle. They just want to hit the ground running, don't they? The room itself was very modern in comparison to the Victorian-esque decor that the rest of the mansion was in. Bright lights lit the room up and one wall was covered in mirrors. The other three walls held racks upon racks of weapons.
Illumi walked over and stood in the middle of the floor, which was covered in mats. Following, Akumi stood facing him, while Silva stood off to the side.
"Focus your aura into ren and hold it for as long as possible. The goal is 4 hours. Illumi is currently able to hold it for longer than that. Begin!"
Immediately, the room swelled with nen. Akumi stood for a moment, gauging her strength. I can probably last that long. It's been a while since I tested it, but last time I checked, I could hold it for four and a half hours. She stood in silence, studiously observing the nen in the room.
Illumi's was a dark purple and released toxic waves that would have made someone with a weaker stomach lose their dinner. Akumi's aura wasn't much better. It was a dark red color that flew around carelessly, giving off a wavelength that would make anyone else cower in fear. A grin appeared on Akumi's face as she saw the effect that it had on the Zoldyck child. Immediately, his eyes narrowed and the muscles in his jaw tightened.
Another second passed, before Illumi disappeared suddenly from her sight, the body that had been in front of her vanishing into thin air. Feeling a presence to her right, Akumi jumped out of the way, right as a clawed hand sliced through the air, right where her stomach was. Without pausing in his motion, Illumi swung his right foot, aiming a kick towards her neck that would have taken her head off had she not dodged it.
"When we do nen training," Silva began, looking bored as Akumi narrowly avoided a punch to the stomach, "you are also expected to do hand-to-hand combat. No weapons around. If you drop your ren, you immediately lose."
Without a word, Akumi began to fight back. Her right hand, which had been propping her against the floor, shot out towards Illumi. A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, flipping Akumi over his head. Mid-arc, Akumi wrenched her wrist out of his hand, sending a kick towards his torso.
The blow, reinforced with ko, caused Illumi to skid across the floor even though he had guarded against it. He sprang into the air, aiming for Akumi's head as he fell back to the ground. Quickly, Akumi spread her nen out, focusing it on her spine and hands as she caught the foot that was aimed for her. Before Illumi could recover, Akumi threw him to the ground, leaving a body shaped indention behind. She stepped away from Illumi, who laid face up, staring at the ceiling.
"Take that!" Akumi said, not caring in the bit that she sounded immature. She turned around, ready to walk away, when she felt the massive killing aura thrown at her. Pivoting, she made a quick one-eighty, just in time to feel Illumi's body crash into her, pushing her to the floor. A clawed hand immediately found its way to her neck, the claws pressing just hard enough so that she couldn't speak.
"First rule," Illumi began, crouching over her with a bored expression. "Never turn your back on an opponent who has not admitted defeat. " He removed his hand, allowing her to speak.
"Well here's my rule," Akumi said leaning forwards slightly. "Hold down your opponent's legs when you pin them to the ground." Illumi was allowed a single moment during which his eyes widened before Akumi's foot connected with his face, causing him to fly up in the air.
They came together, two forces clashing together in a battle of speed. Both now had hands that were claws, and it was a battle to see who could get the first blow in. The two bodies flew across the room as one person tried to get an upper hand on the other. The first slip up came when Akumi tripped on the seam in the mat. It wasn't much of a slip, but there was a stutter in her attack, leaving Illumi a single opening. Taking it, he kicked forward, throwing all his strength into it.
Akumi barely had time to sloppily move her nen to guard her stomach before the blow connected, causing her to fly against the wall. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, knowing that it would hurt to crash against the mirror. Her eyes snapped open in surprise when she felt a hand grab her shoulder, and barely had a moment to think, you sneaky bastard, before her head was slammed to the ground with enough force to knock her out.
A fourteen old Akumi flew against a wall, hard enough to leave her with a few cracked ribs. Her vision swam in front of her, watching as the figure in front of her walked away, looking back once before turning a corner to leave her in an alley as her life seeped out from her skin.
Akumi woke up to find herself chained against the wall, shackles holding her arms and legs in place. Without opening her eyes, she took stock of the surroundings. It felt like she was up against a giant wall. She still had on her normal clothes and felt something- most likely blood- drip down her face. Opening her eyes, she looked down at herself. Everything looked normal except for the various wires that were hooked up to a box that looked suspiciously like a generator.
There was a pair of legs behind the generator, and when Akumi looked upwards, she saw that Illumi stood in front of it, fiddling with some wires.
"Morning," she said brightly, contradictory to the voice in her head that wanted to slap the bastard in the face. "What's next on the fun list?"
Illumi continued clicking away at a screen in front of him, acting like he hadn't heard the girl.
"Hello…? Mr. Blank Face, I would like to know." Another moment of silence passed, before Illumi began to speak.
"We will be doing pain resistance training." Without another word, he flipped a switch and Akumi could barely open her mouth before the electricity flowed through her system.
The injured girl sat against the wall- for how long- she didn't know. Time seemed to stop and start as she drifted in and out of consciousness. For every minute that passed, she felt more and more energy leave her even though she knew she wasn't bleeding heavily from any wound. It had only been a single punch to the gut, but it had been enough to send her flying.
Her vision started blacking out again, something that had happened several times in the time that she sat against the wall. The exact same thing happened this time, except she saw a hunched over figure hurrying towards her. A single whisper slipped out of her mouth before she slumped down, unconscious again.
She didn't pass out after the first time. She merely clenched her mouth and stared daggers into Illumi, thinking of all the ways that she could cause bodily harm.
"Again."
Akumi woke up, this time in a bed. Before she could fully make sense of what happened, the man in front of her started speaking, rushing the words out.
"You need to close your eyes and relax. Your aura is flowing out and it will kill you if you don't control it." Akumi stared in confusion at him before he continued on. "Focus. Imagine the energy around you becoming calm and flowing, like a river."
Wordlessly, Akumi followed the old man's instructions, closing her eyes and focusing on the aura around her. Within seconds, the mist around her focused into a calm cloud that moved slowly around her.
"Amazing," the man whispered, eyes wide as he saw the girl master Ten in a matter of seconds. He moved from the foot of the bed to beside Akumi, a small smile on his mouth before he asked her, "My name is Izo Kasuse. I will be your nen master."
"More."
"Akumi, you don't need to continue practicing ten for this long. Don't strain yourself."
Akumi had to hold back a sigh as she stopped meditating. It had been over a month that she had been practicing nen and her master was already holding her back. 'Only practice an hour at the max. Don't push yourself. Go at your own pace.' The old man wasn't a strong nen user, she had realized, but she did not know that his weakness was a result of his lack of ambition. He didn't push himself and went slower than a snail's pace during training.
Nodding, the girl got up and left, headed to the forest that was near her house.
She silently seethed as she thought of her benevolent master. He was holding her back, so she had to take things into her own hands. Entering the clearing, she sat down on the ground and basked in the sunlight while staying in a state of ren. After another two hours of this, she ran laps around the town in a state of zetsu. Her master wouldn't train her properly, so she would have to do it herself.
Illumi unlatched Akumi from the wall, ignoring the glares that she sent him. The training had gone on for two hours, until Illumi decided that she had done enough.
"You were able to withstand nearly double of the energy that we started with. Good job."
Before she could flip him off, the door to the room opened, revealing Zeno. He stepped in and motioned for Illumi, who followed him as he stepped out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Akumi's knees gave out on her, before which had stayed working through sheer willpower. The training had continued for two hours. Akumi had never hated two hours so much as when she was chained to that goddamned wall being electrocuted.
Illumi and Zeno re-entered their room.
"It's time for you to meet the rest of the family," Zeno began, unaffected by the smell of burnt flesh in the room.
Are they batshit crazy like your lovely son here? The thought almost made Akumi loose the pokerface that she had, but a look from Illumi managed to keep her under control.
"Follow me," Zeno said, turning around and walking out the door. Akumi followed, ignoring the pain, shifting her face back into an emotionless mask. The trio walked up the stairs, finally arriving in the main area of the mansion. There sat the entire family and their children. Silva and who Akumi assumed to be his wife sat on the sofa while their children sat in the floor. Illumi moved to stand beside the other three children. The first was a white haired boy who was engrossed in playing with his train set. Another was on the chubby side, clicking away on a laptop that he had in his lap. The last one was dressed in a girl's kimono, playing with a simple paper fan.
"Zoldycks," Zeno began, still standing beside Akumi who faced the rest of the family. Immediately, everyone's attention focused on Zeno. Even the younger kids paused in their playing to stare at the grandfather. "We will be having someone stay with us for a while. She will be participating in training with us. Introduce yourselves."
Silva spoke up first. "I am Silva Zoldyck. Head of the family."
His wife followed, the laser on her face staying locked on Akumi. "I am Kikyo."
The boy dressed as a girl went next. "I'm Kalluto."
"Killua!" the white haired boy yelled, the only one that seemed to have a personality in the family.
Illumi didn't bother to look at the girl, eyes still focused on Zeno. "Illumi." Without pausing, he threw a needle at the one typing on his laptop, who had not paused when Zeno had begun to speak. The boy paused in his typing, startled when he saw the needle stuck in the ground beside his foot.
"Introduce yourself," said Illumi, still wearing his expressionless mask.
The boy seemed dazed, not really hearing what his older brother had said. Impatient, Illumi threw another pin, this one flying directly past the boy's nose.
"Why do I have to introduce myself to that crazy hag?" Everyone's eyes flew to the girl in question, whose face was still a calm mask. Akumi tilted her head slightly before letting a grin appear on her face.
"Sweetie," she began, eyes opening to reveal her entire iris. Killua and Kalluto both took a step back, even at the small ages of four and seven, knowing that things had taken a turn for the dangerous. "I don't believe I heard you correctly. What was it that you called me?" Her aura lost it's smoothness, swirling into chaos that surrounded Akumi like a miniature hurricane. Added to her appearance which consisted of fried hair, scars, and dried blood, Milluki was unable to hold back a small whimper that crawled itself out of his throat.
Akumi stood there, waiting for a response, even though given the child's condition, it was highly unlikely she would get one. Silva moved his gaze from the girl to Illumi, who immediately got the message. He plucked a single pin out of his clothes, throwing it straight towards the girl's right eye.
Without taking her eyes off of Milluki, Akumi caught the pin between her index and middle finger a hairlength from her pupil. She tucked it into her pocket and switched her gaze to Illumi. Immediately, she slipped back into a normal state, letting her nen return to its calm flow of ten.
"My name's Akumi. And I'm sixteen." The second sentence was directed towards Milluki, who still was staring petrified at the girl. "I'll be staying here for a while. I am someone who has a very short temper, so please avoid annoying me. Otherwise I might attack you, and I always kill when I get into a fight."
Without another word, the girl turned around and walked out, leaving the other Zoldycks to sit and take in their first impressions of Akumi Chisio.
Several seconds later, as Akumi was climbing up the stairs to find a room to stay in, she was able to hear the distinct voice of Zeno Zoldyck, who had began laughing after she had left the room.
YAYY! Chapter 5 is done! Once again, thanks to everyone that favorites, follows, and reviews this story. I still want to hear your theories on the vows and limitations, as well as any other theories for the plot. Also, as always, thank you breather, who beta's this story and deals with all of the typos I make!