A/N: Now this is what happens during a spur-of-the-moment, writing spree attack. That's the only sickness I appreciate. Lalalala~

As I bore myself with my doodles for the Christmas poster I have sworn myself I'll do and the Birthday poster I dared myself to do, I ended up doing this...

You'll realize why the chapter was title, "Revealed" as you move toward the end... More dreary than usual, I guess. This is, after all, the Killua arc...

OWC: 2,492

Disclaimer: Togashi-sensei owns HxH!

"Mama would be happy to know I made friends in the hunter exams," Akane said as the tour bus stopped exactly where they were supposed to go down. Leading the way, all four of them stood by the sidewalk. "There's just a little walk more, and we'll be home. It's getting dark anyway, one more night won't hurt, I guess."

It took them a few days to get the city. Akane smiled widely at the familiar scenes; the flower shop by the corner, the boys playing basketball at the village court, the few men gambling by the side of their roads, smoothing the feathers of their roosters as they prepared for the cockfight match later at six. She smiled, happy since she knew every nook and cranny of the little peaceful village, having explored all tiny corners since she was a kid. Her mind was wandering, and since she was a very happy and bouncy girl with her mouth connected to her brain, she pointed at each of the funny things she loved to look at, since it reminded her of home.

Later, they stood in front of a porch of a humble yet very regal house. It was two stories high, with a balcony at the second floor, a nice flower garden, and a good view of the forest on the other side. The walls were painted light-blue, some more faded than the others creating an effect.

"No one tells about our plan to go to the Zaoldyecks. No one tell about rescuing Killua, because we are only merely visiting him. …because I want to save him too, and I won't let you go alone," Akane told them, staring at them with determined eyes that rivaled Gon. "All plans about Kukuru mountain will not leave your mouths."

All three boys nodded, and Akane went in the front porch, them following at her tail. She knocked at the door. "Papa? Mama? I'm home. This is Akane… I'm coming in!"

She pushed the door and called over her three friends. Her mother was already standing up, a few feet away from the door. She rushed over to Akane to give her a hug. "Akane, I'm glad you're home. How was the Hunter exam?" Noticing the extra presence, she stole a look to the three guys awkwardly standing behind Akane. They were staring at their feet. "And I suppose these are your friends?"

Akane nodded, and pointing at them, she said, "Ma, this is Leorio-san, Kurapika, and Gon. We're all Hunters from this year." The grin on her face was big, reaching her ears.

"Well, I bet our new hunters might be famished from their journey. Come on," her mother said. When she finally got to close the door, she smiled. "I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Illyasviel Dukarra… but I guess Illya would do."

Gon nodded. "Arigatou gozaimashita, Illya-san," he said with a smile as they were led by Akane to her room to put their baggage down.

For one, Akane's room was gigantic.

It was probably 10 square meters, box-shaped. There was a ceiling-to-floor window on the two ends of the room, and at the middle was a sliding door, apparently to the balcony facing the forest. The bed was on the top-right part of the room, and on the other side was a little wardrobe. Beside that oak wardrobe was a few stacks of boxes-turned-shelves, marked appropriately with a pen, and that was actually it. The only other things that were in there was the carpet and the curtains… but that really didn't count.

Gon put his bag and his fishing pole at a corner. "We're going to sleep here, Akane?" he asked in an innocent tone.

"Yeah. I'll ask mom for those mattresses she kept on stock… you can use that. …but Gon, you can take the bed. I don't mind," she suggested.

Gon shook his head. "No, I'm fine with the floor…I mean mattress. But you have a nice view!" He said and looked out the window.

Indeed, it had been beautiful. It was a nice forest, lush and green, and at the middle there was a small plain where once in a while, their neighbor would bring out his cattle and make them graze there. Lean far enough you would be able to catch the waterfall that was at the far end of one of the mountains, and if you catch that moment before sunrise, it would show a very marvelous rainbow.

Akane took out a towel from her wardrobe and said, "I'll go take a shower… Dinner will be ready at six o'clock sharp, and don't disappoint Mama, okay?" she said, and closed the door behind her, leaving the boys with confused looks on their faces.

"Akane! Leorio! Gon! Kurapika! Dinner is ready!" Her mother called from below, and immediately they went down. They've changed to some homey-feeling shirts and shorts, and Akane changed to a thin blouse and shirt.

All six of them, including Akane's parents, gathered around the table. "Itadakimasu!" they said in chorus, and one-by-one, they took food from the serving platter.

"So how was the Hunter Exams, 'Kane?" Akane's father asked her before putting in his mouth a piece of raw egg. "I heard you have become an official Hunter."

Akane nodded. "I have, Papa. It was hard, but since I'm still alive, I guess it was tolerable," she said.

Oh, you don't know, the voice in her head snickered, but she decided to ignore it.

"Good for you," he said with a smile before pushing his glasses back into place. "And these are your friends, correct?"

Akane nodded again. Her father was such a stuck-up when it came to boys—basically, he never wanted one boy to lay a hand on Akane. Thus, she grew up in an all-girl world; but she never was contented. She hated being alone, that was another reason why she went to the Hunter Exams. "Pa, These are Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika," she said.

Something in her heart told her that her mother was suspecting something about one of her friends. Maybe Leorio, because it was obvious that he was the oldest in the group and there was something in his personality. Maybe Kurapika, since they have stunningly the same facial characteristics, especially the hair color. Gon… don't even ask. There's nothing you can suspect of Gon other than he's a very happy character.

"And you have your License, I suppose?" her father asked with a stern voice. He obviously did not trust the youngsters, and there seemed to be a mischievously distrustful aura around them. There was something he couldn't put his finger on.

Akane nodded and handed her License to her father. She had actually been waiting for this, almost nervously even. When she had told her parents she would go to the Hunter Exams, it was her father who argued at her to no end, but when she said nothing could change her mind, he gave up. Right now she knew he was searching for a hole he could use to tell on Akane about stuff on the what-ifs. "Only 7 of around 400 got to pass," Akane stated as her father flipped the card around, looking at it. Still with a distrustful glance.

"Do you expect you'll find your goal with this?" he asked slowly, waving the card that was between her fingers. But she didn't answer, her head hanging low. Illyasviel looked at her daughter with a worried glance. "Katarina. Answer me."

Gon cocked his head to the side. Katarina? He didn't expect Akane to be called like this. For all he knew, Akane's name was, well, Akane.

"I think, Pa, that it is the friends I have found while gaining this that will help me reach my goal," Akane answered calmly. "I believe that that thin piece of paper will get me some helpful privileges but without the people that will help me, I will not be able to reach what I wish to reach."

Akane's father smiled gently. Obviously he just wanted to prod his daughter, to see if she had learned something from her long absence. "Brilliant. I believe you've done well, Akane."

"Thank you, Pa," Akane said, looking back up. "You're still the best."

"Akane?"

Akane rolled from her comfortable position in her bed, turning to face Gon in her wrapped-up-in-my-blanket position. "Yeah?"

"Why did your father call you Katarina?" he asked, voice kept low as the other two were already sleeping, resting in dreamland. "I thought your name was Akane."

"My name is Katarina de Marquez Dukarra, Gon," Akane said. "I just prefer to be called Akane. It means red, in Japanese." She breathed, knowing that Gon will not quit with just that. "My mother's name is Illyasviel de Marquez. My father's name is Andropov Dukarra. And I am named after his mother." Still knowing that that wasn't enough for Gon—as he remained silent—she continued, "I read the name Akane from one of Papa's books. I just thought it was cute."

"Why not Rina?" Gon asked. "It's cute, too," he added.

"I just haven't thought. But isn't it cool? Akane Dukarra. It's like, a different and completely unique name. They're names from Japanese and… I forgot," she said. "Nmm… Gon, I want to sleep. We need to sleep… we have a lot to do tomorrow…"

Tomorrow… she thought. Tomorrow's going to be one hell of a day, she thought, and she knew it would be true.

"One more thing, Akane-nee-san," Gon said, making sure to add the 'nee-san' so that she wouldn't be able to resist. Akane blinked sleepily and turned to what Gon was pointing at. "Who's the extra person in the picture?"

He was pointing at the photo hanging on her wall, the fullest family picture she could get. It was made from a digital store, since she wasn't there when the picture was taken. She stared at the four images staring back at her. Her mother, her father, herself, and the one family member she never got to meet in person.

Her older brother.

The wind howled loud and scary outside, and it beat angrily against the fiberglass windows of the doctors' house-turned-clinic. Winter had started early this year, and everyone had a hard time coping with the sudden blizzard and hailstorms, especially the children. Winter, which usually starts late November to Early December, had started ten days ago with frightening speed.

It was November 19.

The couple sat on a warm couch, enveloped in a cozy, fluffy, thick blanket in front of a warm fireplace, holding each other to become warm. The heaters did not work well, and the fixer couldn't come at this raging weather, so for the meanwhile they had to rely on other means to keep warm.

Suddenly, the woman's eyes jerked up and fixated to the closed wooden door. "Andre, someone's knocking," she said in a jittery tone.

"Please, it's just the snow and hail, Illya," the man said, yawning, and curled up deeper under the blanket.

"No, I believe there really is someone..." she insisted, and gingerly took the blanket and wrapped it around her frail, tiny frame. She put her feet into the soft pink rabbit slippers and tossed her messy black hair backward. She fumbled for a clip and blinked her deep brown eyes. She headed to the door.

Her mouth hung agape at what she found standing outside her doorstep. She sheepishly let the couple she found in. Two sunshine haired people entered the house in bloody shirts, a baby wrapped and embraced protectively in her mother arms. Andropov—or yes, more probably called as Andre—was taken off guard and he jumped off the sofa, rushing to button up his polo as he neared the visitors.

"What happened?" Illya asked in utter shock, staring at the baby with beautiful blonde hair the same color as the mother, and radiant blue eyes.

Instead of answering, the woman handed the baby to her. "Please... she needs warmth, she's cold."

Illya's mother instincts from eleven years back made her grasp the shivering baby tenderly, and quickly she tried to find the baby rocker. She left Andre to do the first talks as she tried to rub the baby's skin to encourage warmth from friction. The baby seemed to be at peace, head cocked to the side, tongue lolling out. Illya laughed light-heartedly.

After she arranged the baby in the rocker under a blanket by the fireplace, secured, she went over to Andre and told him to tell her everything.

"Well, she fell into labor two hours ago. No clinic let them in; people are like that nowadays, dearest. So they stumbled around to search for one willing to... she just wanted to save her baby," Andre said. "They wouldn't tell me the rest, they said it was personal and only for them."

She just wanted to save her baby. The words pulled a string in Illya's heart. How she knew how it was to be unable to do anything for their child... something she learned the hard way six years ago. She knew she could've done something for her child, but she was just unable to, because she was so stupid. At least, that's what she told herself.

And she never really got the hang of it, and she never got over it.

"I understand," she finally said. "You can stay here for free until needed," she added.

"Thank you," the mother said solemnly. "May the gods bless you."

Illya nodded. "Andre... bring them to his old bedroom."

Andre heard her flinching through her voice, knowing how painful that delicate situation was for her, but nonetheless he brought them there.

A silent tear slid down her cheek in sorrow as she shot a glance at the photo frame lying dusty at the corner of the fireplace. Illya, Andre, and their little boy.

She threw the picture into the flames, watching as the boy's face burnt first.

Andre watched from the corridor, watching, mourning.

"Akane?... Akane!"

Akane blinked. "Oh… sorry. I was… I was just thinking of Killua." Honestly, I'm worried sick.

"Killua's going to be okay. He's Killua, after all," Gon said with a proud smile. "Ne, Akane, do you know how to get to… you know…" he leaned closer and whispered, "…Kukuru?"

"On the other side of the road there's a bus station… for the curious tourists, it's called the Terror bus. It goes straight up to Kuku—"

A voice stopped Akane from her explanation, and it was angry and demanding explanation.

"What are you planning to do with the Zaoldyecks?"

A/N: Here's a trivial trivia... Katarina "Akane" Dukarra and I share the same birthday! =3 I just thought it would be cute, laa~

What do you think of the 'Katarina' and the non-Japanese related names? You will understand how very much related and important those kind of names are to the story in the weeeee future. Because with those names, I have bridged the gap to that weird idea I have gotten oh-so-long ago... you want clues? Clues? You want them? They're scattered all in the chapter. xD

Sorry for making Akane's father so mean... just that, hey, if she is something like the perfect me in anime/HxH world, why should she get a better father? We should be equals.

I'm working on the main parts of the Killua arc, I sweaaaar... I just had to type this filler part, yes... sorry... xD