Pixie says: Here's chapter four! Thanks for the review, the faves and the follows. Hope you enjoy this one! I think Kurakichi will make an appearance in about 2 chapters, so keep holding on! Feedback is most welcome!

She met the boys at the café. They were already fast at work, each one on their own computer, typing away like there was no tomorrow.

Without looking up, Killua said, "Gon, she's back."

"Welcome back, Nikita!" Gon greeted her. Nikita was still giving Killua a weird look. It was creepy how he recognized her without seeing her.

"How's it going?" She asked, grabbing a swivel chair and sitting down next to Gon.

"So-so," he admitted, showing her the page he was on. She couldn't read much, but it almost looked like this world's version of e-bay. "Sorry about before," he apologized, and Nikita was relieved that he brought up the subject by himself. "I wanted to check first to make sure there was nothing sensitive about you that might hurt your feelings," he explained honestly, and Nikita felt her jaw drop slightly. "We were worried there might have been pictures or information about your accident or family, but there weren't any."

"You're too sweet," she told him, smiling at him. Gon seemed glad to have gotten her forgiveness so quickly. "So, did you find anything?"

"I went on the Hunter website that Killua's brother told us about," he told her, bringing up another tab. It looked like some weird social dating game or something. An image of a bar greeted her, complete with a creepily smiling bartender polishing glass. "I didn't find much though," he admitted, and Killua sighed.

"There was some information that we got for free, but one or two pages had a hefty price on them. We don't have that kind of money right now," he told her, almost business-like.

"I see…" Nikita said thoughtfully. She had no idea how this page worked, but if they had to pay huge sums of money for questionable information, well… she didn't want to burden them with that. She could probably find out some other way.

"What we did get, though…," Killua began, pushing Gon aside from his computer and grabbing the mouse.

"Hey!" Gon objected, pointing at Killua's workspace. "You have your own!"

"I don't have a license," Killua said nonchalantly, clicking on the bartender on the screen. It opened up a previous question they had asked and he read the main parts out to her.

"Basically, there have been known incidents of people from 'the outside' coming here. They think it occurs in connection with the presence of powerful Nen, but that's just a guess. Other than that, it just mentions that Hunters are strictly forbidden from having anything to do with 'the outside', though I can imagine not everyone complies," Killua explained, running the cursor over the parts as he read them.

"This doesn't seem very helpful," Nikita said softly, crestfallen.

"Well, now we know that this has happened before. That might mean we can find someone who has been through something similar or met someone from 'the outside'," Killua told her, obviously looking at the bright side of things. True, there was hope, but she still felt a bit helpless.

"What can I do to find them?" she asked, and Killua shrugged.

"Right now, you should be more worried about people finding you," Killua said. "Your aura is like a huge neon sign telling everyone, like, 'Hey! I'm special! Look at me!'"

Nikita tried to hold in a laugh, but Killua noticed and glared at her. "You might attract helpful people, but there's always the chance that dangerous people get interested in your aura," he warned her, and she nodded in all seriousness.

"So, until then, we can work on mastering your nen and teaching you to read!" Gon said brightly, pushing Killua out of the way and taking back his rightful place in front of the computer.

"Training Nen right now wouldn't be a good idea in her condition," Killua chastised Gon. "We can go over the basics orally, but I wouldn't risk trying anything. From what Leorio told us, she lost an incredible amount of life force, and she'll need more than a couple of days to recover."

"Mm, you're right," Gon said, going through some offers on the e-bay like website he was browsing. "Oops…" he whispered.

"Lost another one?" Killua asked expectantly.

"Yes," Gon replied, almost guiltily.

"This isn't getting us very far, is it," Killua sighed, leaning his head back in defeat. "At least we don't have to worry about car racing games anymore," he said, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"No?" Nikita asked, looking at the two boys.

"The game requires Nen users to enter it- like a virtual reality game," Gon told her, though from the way he pronounced 'virtual reality', she wasn't sure he understood what it meant. "So no more driving off cliffs for me!"

Nikita laughed, ruffling Gon's hair. "Glad to hear that. Though I wouldn't mind playing against the two of you sometime in the future, just for fun," she mentioned, and Gon smiled.

"Mm!"

The boys spent a good couple of hours on the computers, researching, trading, and the likes. It didn't seem to be going too well for them, but Nikita admired their perseverance. She stayed with them the whole time, and would have browsed the internet herself if she knew how to read the damn letters.

She had a good time just watching them though. It was moving to see how close they were, despite their petty quarrels. Nikita felt something sting in her chest, but she somehow knew that she had no siblings. She wished she could remember more about her parents though.

By the end of the second hour, they decided to head up. According to Gon, they usually ordered room service for lunch, and if his hunch was right, Leorio was probably waiting for them with food already.

And he was. Leorio seemed to be in a good mood, having done a lot of studying, and a whole trolley of food was waiting for them in the living room.

While Nikita didn't feel as exhausted as before, she could still feel it creeping up on her. She found it difficult to participate in their conversations, but again, just seeing the three boys interact was pleasant enough. Leorio had a short temper, especially when it came to Killua, but she could tell it was never anything serious when they got mad or yelled at each other. Gon was always in the middle, being the pacifier.

At one point, while Nikita was trying to get a good forkful of mashed potatoes and sausages, Killua nudged her in the side.

"Ne, Nikita. Guess how old Leorio is," he asked her cheekily, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw Leorio's face fall.

"Not this game again!" He huffed angrily, shooting daggers at the white-haired voice.

"Uhm," Nikita said, looking from Killua to Leorio in confusion. Gon shot her an apologetic look. "Twenty-five?"

Leorio slapped his own face and Killua broke out into laughter. Gon just sighed.

"It's not that bad of a guess," Gon reasoned, and that earned him a look from Leorio. "Compared to what other people have guessed!" he added in defense.

"I'm NINETEEN!" Leorio emphasized, looking straight at Nikita. "I can't be more than, what, two three years older than you?" he asked, and Nikita nodded, shocked by his young age. He really did look much older.

"Two," she answered. "I'm seventeen."

"Twelve," both Gon and Killua said in unison.

The rest of lunch passed by in relative peace, with the boys talking about some sort of auction and trade market happening in town. When they were done, Leorio put the cart outside the suite and went back to his room to finish studying.

In the meantime, Gon and Killua were discussing how much money they had left. Apparently, the currency here was called Jenny, which sounded extremely strange to Nikita. She made herself comfortable on the couch, with her bad leg stretched out in front of her. The dull ache she had before was almost completely gone, and she wondered if it had already healed or not.

"Ne, maybe we could go over the basics with Nikita first?" Gon said when Killua mentioned they should go to town and get more information on the auction.

Killua sighed, but then shrugged, taking a seat on the carpeted floor of the living room. Gon grinned at Nikita and followed suit.

Gon began with a very vague explanation that had a lot to do with 'gut feelings' and intangible emotional states. Nikita listened but didn't really get anything. Killua noticed her confusion, and in the middle of Gon's monologue, he raised his fist and hit the poor boy on the head.

"You're just confusing her," Killua grunted, crossing his arms. "Let's just go over the four states."

And with that, they began explaining, in unison, the four different states of Nen. Ren, Ten, Zetsu, and Hatsu. They tried to show her the different states as well, but as she couldn't see their aura, it didn't help much.

"We had to shock our bodies to get our Nen going properly, as we were short on time…" Gon explained, and both he and Killua shared an uncomfortable look together.

"But you seem to have gone through that already," Killua said, activating Gyo. He could see her some of her aura leaving her and it did, indeed, look different. Gon saw what Killua was doing and did the same.

"Woah, Nikita's aura looks really cool! Like light is coming out of you!" Gon exclaimed, having not thought of using Gyo before.

"What is it supposed to look like?" Nikita asked unsurely.

"Most people's aura looks like mist, I think," Killua replied. "Not nearly as flashy as yours," he pointed out, and Nikita gave him a bemused look.

"So, did you understand everything?" Gon asked her, and after a few moments, she nodded.

"I think I got the hang of it, theoretically. I just think it'll be difficult to apply it in practice," Nikita explained. "Ten, Ren, Zetsu, Hatsu, right?" she asked, and they both nodded in confirmation. At that, Killua stood up and stretched.

"Well, you'll probably have time to practice when you recover," Killua told her, and Gon stood up as well.

"How long should we wait?" Gon asked Killua, who shrugged.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Guess I'll ask Leorio…" Gon mumbled. "Well, I guess we'll head to town for a bit, Nikita. Do you want to come?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No, thanks. I think I need to rest a bit," she told him, feeling positively fatigued at the moment. It wasn't a hazy feeling like the day before, but it was definitely there now. The two boys nodded.

"Leorio will probably stay in till we're back," Gon informed her, "so just let him know if you need anything."

"I'm sure she can survive being alone for a while, Gon," Killua chastised, and Nikita grinned.

"I'm glad you have some faith in me, Killua," she told him and he just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Let's go before it gets too late," he said, and they left, with Gon waving at her before closing the door.

Slowly, Nikita peeled herself off the couch and went to her room after telling Leorio she'd take a nap. The new clothes he'd bought her were still on the bed, and she decided it would be nice to take a shower before changing into something fresher.

And so, she did just that. She was quite happy to use the hotel's complementary shampoo and shower gels, and their towels were extremely nice and fluffy.

Going through her new clothes, she picked a pair of black sweatpants and a long sleeved grey shirt to wear. She washed the clothes the nurse Lisa had given her at the hospital by hand and left them on the towel rack to dry.

Feeling much better after a hot shower, she towel-dried her hair and then crept into her bed, sighing contentedly before curling up on her side and pressing her forehead against the wall. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.

Reality was unveiled before her in white. The familiar smell of antiseptics filled her nostrils, and in the silence, she felt the missing pieces of her memory come together like a jigsaw puzzle. Her eyes shook as she took in the bright white ceiling, and the sound of two heart monitors beating out of harmony.

She couldn't move her body, but that didn't frighten her. She used her eyes to glance to her left and saw that there was a bed there, and looking down she saw that she was in one herself.

She heard the familiar inhalation and exhalation that belonged to her father- the heavy breathing of a man who had worked hard the whole day. They lived in a tiny house on a ranch, and the walls did not have good sound isolation whatsoever. While he did not snore often, Nikita had fallen asleep countless times to the sound of his breathing, content with another hard day's work with the dogs and other animals.

But he wasn't content this time, and they were not home. They were in a hospital, together. That much she knew. She could feel it in her bones that she was home, in her own world, rather than the strange one with Leorio and the others.

She felt her eyes blur as her body began to give in to sleep once more. Nikita fought the feeling, wanting to hold on to the beeping of the heart monitors and the nostalgic sound of her father sleeping. But she was losing.

In the end, she gave up, satisfied with the fact that he was still alive. He was okay.

They were going to be okay.

Nikita opened her eyes to her dark room at Regent Hotel, and her chest filled with disappointment. One glance at the clock told her she'd been sleeping for quite a while. It was almost two in the morning.

Getting up slowly, she realized that she was shaking. Her eyes felt watery, but she held back tears.

She remembered things now. Everything came flooding back so fast that her head began to ache.

Her father was alive. He was okay.

But she could not, for the life of her, remember what had happened that caused them both to be hospitalized. The doctor had told her it had probably been a car accident, but she drew a blank when she thought of what happened before she ended up on the streets on York Shin.

It took a few minutes before she got the shaking to stop. She rubbed her eyes and decided to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.

Using her crutch, she huddled over to the kitchen. The living room was dark and quiet, and she supposed the boys were sleeping, but then she saw that the kitchen lights were turned on.

The brightness hurt her eyes when she walked in, and it took a few moments for them to adjust to the light. When they did, she saw Killua looking up at her, a lollipop in his mouth and a pen in his hand. He had a piece of paper in front of him that he had been writing on.

"Hey," she greeted him weakly, making her way to the sink and pouring herself a glass of cold water. She drank it all up in one go, and then filled the glass again.

Killua stayed quiet, watching her. She made her way to the table and sat opposite from him, setting the glass down and resting her crutch against the chair next to her.

"You were sleeping for a while," Killua observed, trying to break the silence. Nikita nodded, crossing her arms on the table and resting her forehead against them. "Are you sick?" he asked cautiously, and she shook her head- her forehead rubbing against her arms. "Then why do you look like crap?"

The bluntness of his question caused a giggle to escape Nikita's lips. She tilted her head up and looked at Killua, who had removed the lollipop from his mouth.

"I went back," she told him, almost giddily. Killua wondered if she'd eaten anything funny.

"What?" he demanded sharply, not sure what she meant.

"I went back," she repeated. "I was at home for a bit," she explained. "I heard my dad. He's alive," she added, and Killua shook his head.

"Wait, wait. Start over," he told her, and she did. She told him about her 'dream'. She was sure it hadn't been that- a dream- but she didn't know what else to call it. Killua listened without saying anything, and then tilted his head back when she was done, as if everything was bothersome.

"This doesn't really help your situation here, though, does it?" he asked through his teeth. "So, you remember things now?" he asked her and she nodded.

"I live with my dad on a ranch. He's a dog trainer and runs his own shelter, too," she told him.

"And your mom?" Killua asked, which caught her off-guard. A moment of thinking brought the memory back.

"She died when I was seven," she told him, and then her eyebrows furrowed. "In a car crash. I was with her, but I made it," she said, confused. She was quite happy she hadn't lost both her parents to vehicular accidents.

"Hm," was all Killua said. "Well, at least that means you can get back somehow, ne?" Nikita nodded, taking small sips of water.

"I was almost disappointed when I woke up and was back here," she told him meekly, watching his reaction. He rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, I'm disappointed you came back, too," he told her, but a small smile tugged at his lips showing her that he didn't mean it. She laughed softly, finishing the rest of the water. Her eyes glanced at her cast and she looked back at Killua.

"Hey, how can I get rid of the cast? It feels like my leg's healed already," she said, and Killua put the lollipop back in his mouth and the pen down on the table before standing up. He made his way over to her side of the table, and without a word, Nikita watched as he transformed his fingers into razor-sharp claws- right out of a horror movie.

With one swift motion, he'd cut through the rock hard cast as if it was paper, and Nikita felt the relief of the weight being removed. Still not saying anything, Killua took what was left of her cast and threw it in the bin.

"Better?" he asked, almost pointedly, his voice muffled by the lollipop, and Nikita had to find her voice for a moment.

"Y-yes," she said, and her eyes trailed to his hand, which had gone back to normal. Killua took a seat again and began writing some more things down.

"You should go back to sleep," Killua told her without looking up from his paper. "You look awful."

"Thanks," she muttered sarcastically before standing up. Her leg felt so much better without the cast, but she still decided to use the crutch so as not to put too much pressure on it. "What are you going to do?" she asked him, and he shrugged.

"Just making notes of the trades we've done," he informed her, but then his face turned sour. "So far, it's been mostly losses. I don't think this is the way to go."

"Oh," she said, almost stupidly. "Well… I'll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for removing the cast," she added, and made her way back to the room. She saw Killua wave without looking up before she left.

Settling back in her bed, she felt conflicted. She didn't know what her so-called dream was about, and now that the relief over her father's well being wasn't as strong, it troubled her. She also couldn't get the image of Killua's deadly claws out of her head. It took a couple of hours before she finally succumbed to sleep again.