Kikyo always first breastfed the newborns, and Silva satisfied the second hunger with the bottle. Always it have been and always would be. Or so he thought. Silva would remember this day as the last one as a happy family.
Silva particularly appreciated this intimate contact, the slowly developing bond, the smell of Kikyo's milk in the warming bottle, and he almost enjoyed the deafening screamings of Killua who cried like ten fire stations on the sun.
It was seven in the morning, Silva didn't take any rest since he came back from Meteor City, he was emotionally exhausted and seriously needed a nap. When the milk was ready, he taped the bottle nipple over the baby's body, aiming for the screamings source, hoping the nipple would came into something, and that something would be the mouth. He hardly saw through his puffed up eyes, and his hair looked like a haystack after an army of acupuncturists had looked for a needle in it.
"But how on earth this needle ended up in a haystack?" he mumbled "Is that a logical place to lose a needle ? What kind of person carries needles everywhere ? Ok, Illumi does. But he doesn't lose them. Not in haystacks, in any case."
He was talking to a vertical plane surface who looked hostile to him. He didn't remember he had put any angry surface in the nursery. Maybe if he glanced badly at it, it would go away. But the surface glanced back. Silva felt defied.
"And who are you to critizice my hair ?"
"The mirror" said the mirror.
"Well mister Mirror, I see you're making fun of me, and I don't like that. I'm a responsible father nurturing his last born. I'm respectable. Even if for the moment I don't know exactly how many children I have under my roof."
"Really ?" answered the mirror. "I was told only one birth."
"But before the birth, there has been an arrival. He's not of my own. Well, I think. I'm almost sure. She had my number, anyway, she would have warned me. And I don't remember she had big dark eyes."
"I don't understand very well." whispered the mirror.
"To be honest, neither do I." confessed Silva.
He didn't understand why he hadn't made the boy pass the water glass test. It was yet vital. If he was a transmuter and Killua were not, they'll adopt him. In any other case, Milluki would kill him. It was simple.
As simple as his feelings toward a hypocrite boy who lied his way into his house, lied to his wife, was cold and calculating, a thief, a manipulator…
... a clever, talented boy, abandoned in a dump, who learnt to steal to survive, so patient with young children, who was terrified of storms and didn't know how to give hugs...
"This boy would have deserved better." He didn't feel the sentence passing through his lips. It uttered by itself.
"Well, you think what you want," answered the mirror " but I traveled long, including through a storm, I'm rain soaked, and as entertaining as it is, I don't plan to stay up looking at you talking to yourself."
Silva frowned and slowly turned around. His blurry look made out a small silhouette, surrounded with an impressive amount of luggages. Even though he had only seen pictures of her, he recognized her immediately.
"Miss Krueger" greeted Silva. "I didn't expect to see you this soon. Actually, I didn't expect to see you at all."
"Neither do I, Silva. But Zeno talked about an emergency. And you know I can't refuse anything to Zeno."
"It's none of my business."
"You are literally the business."
"I'd rather we avoid the subject."
Biscuit shrugged.
"As you wish. A cup of tea would be very appreciated, thanks. A light meal too."
Silva stared at her a whole minute, when nothing could be heard but the satisfied sucking sounds of Killua taking in out on his bottle. When he finished, he put the bottle down, slowly raised his arm and project a little ball of nen that passed through the wall without damage. A remote "Ooch !", the sounds of hurry steps, and a butler materialized at the door, visibly unhappy and rubbing his butt. Silva hardly opened his mouth to whistle :" Breakfast for the lady."
"The lady ?" said Bisky while the butler were running to the kitchen. "Silva, you're so formal. Give me the baby. I need to touch him to evaluate his nen."
"He's too young to be evaluated."
"And I'm too old to be underestimated. I've trained hundreds of amazing hunters, and I've learnt a couple of things about nen you'd be surprised to hear about, even if as a Zoldyck you know more than common people..."
Silva did his best hide the concern rising in his mind. Bisky and Zeno were very close, he knew that. They were never in love - he doubted either one or the other could feel the kind of attachment that romantic love is. But their bond was as strong as a married couple. Silva wondered if Zeno had been irresponsible enough to talk to her about the seventh nen. Zeno couldn't have been so serious all this time. After all, he was his father…
The butler came back pushing a dessert trolley and a chair. Biscuit sat, settled the baby comfortably on her knees, rummage through her bag and took out a small soft ball she put on his fist.
"He's too young to grab" objected Silva. But the baby didn't let the ball fall.
"It's a mystery I never solved, despite my experience. Nen able babies are born with uncommon capacities they will lose, and learn again later. Education scrambles instinct and hypertrophies mental…"
Biscuit took the ball from Killua's hand, squeezed it, shocked her head and took from her bag two pieces of shimmering fabric. She wrapped the baby in one piece and kept the other one in her hand.
"... But it only partially explains the phenomenon. Even the Zoldyck children, well-versed in nen practice since a young age, suffer this loss. And the bigger the loss, the stronger the future adult."
Biscuit freed Killua from the fabric and superposed it to the set aside one. The colors perfectly matched up. She took in her purse a copper wire she tangled to the two baby's indexes.
"It's not entirely due to nen itself, even if nen brings this out. The same phenomenon can be observed in non-users. Those who carry a hidden talent. They can't reach it before being broken and accepting it. At this only condition the talent can break free and emerge through the rifts. It doesn't fix them, of course. It's not what it's make for. But it gives the soul a new form. It can manifest any way. Some people show this amazing talent of existing on their own way. It's rare but appreciated..." She looked down at Killua, frowned and chewed a toast.
"Talent and ease are usually mixed up. But ease is the contrary of talent. Those who have an ease and improve it thicken their soul and bog it down. Ease protects, where talent exposes. Eased people could make the most of the world; but the world would never do anything good with them. They are happy and functional failures. It's not a bad fate, I don't feel sorry for them. He's a transmuter."
Biscuit untangled the wire from Killua fingers and bring it to Silva's sight. The wire showed blue undulations.
"It's not usual to react to copper." continued Bisky sipping her tea."He'll develop an interesting skill. If you want an advice, don't teach him nen too soon. Let him discover it by himself. What are you going to do with the two other ?"
"Two other what ?"
"Your other children, of course. You have an heir, now, you have no longer use of them. You gonna keep them ?"
Silva stared at her with wide eyes. He needed to clear his throat to be able to speak again.
"You… must be kidding."
"Never about business. A friend of mine is looking for a pupil. Good man. I could put him in a word for you. The little chubby is good for nothing, but the skinny weird one shows potential."
"I would not even honor you with an answer. Hospitality laws force me to let you finish your breakfast before I boot you out. Trust me, I regret it."
Unimpressed, Bisky bite a buttered toast. "I've just sailed 800 miles on dragon back. And nen dragons are not more comfy than real dragons. I dropped everything I was doing, for your family, because of one Zeno's word. I don't ask you to consider me as your mother. I never wanted this. But I wish you saw me as a faithful ally. I almost belong to this family."
"A woman who has abandoned his child and then tell him to dump his owns belongs to no family."
"I didn't abandoned you. You were with Zeno, and endless line, a sure and brilliant career. A present, a past and a future; that's everything a mother can wish for her child. Please don't talk about love or bounds or affection. You're a Zoldyck, I know how Zoldycks are."
"No. Obviously, you have no idea."
Silva took his baby back in his arm and rocked him. Killua slowly closed his eyes and yawned, and Silva took on himself not to yawn as well. He was sleep deprived, and too many things had happened in too short time. He started to grumble for himself without noticing : "And anyway, why don't they buy another needle ? There is no longer haberdasheries in this world ? Why do they want this specific needle in this haystack ? It's gone. It's ridiculous, just as this idea to burn the haystack and rummage through the ashes with a magnet. Haystacks burn well, at very high temperatures, it would be all melted, this needle. What kind of crazy man would burn a good stack of good hay to find a melted needle ?"
"You're talking to me ?"
"No, I don't…"
Something bothered him, and he couldn't find out what. Well, a lot of things were bothering him right now, and there were another one he couldn't identify. And suddenly, the idea came through the mess of his train of thoughts to reach his brain.
"When were the last time you came here ?"
"How old are you ?"
"So how do you know how my sons look like ?"
"Ho Silva, you must be tired. Your sons show very good hatsus, but you should have been able to notice them behind the half closed door. Chubby was hungry, obviously, and followed the butler from the kitchen. He brought his brother along with him, I suppose. I've been surprised when I saw him. Parents are usually more harsh with their eldest, but you should take care, Silva. It's not safe for young people to be hit on the head. Even from the corner of my eyes, I clearly saw he has a pretty deep scar on his forehead."