Disclaimer: I wish I owned Hunter but it already belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi :( I just own my idiotic OC, Hitomi... yay...
Chapter 31: Hitomi's Brother x Gon's Date x Killua's Resolution
Killua, who was sitting next to an asleep Gon, glanced to the clock for the eleventh time and sighed. It was later than he would liked to.
He was worried, even though he wasn't going to admit it. Since Hitomi's sudden disappearance, she hadn't come back. Biscuit told him not to worry, that she was strong, but he just couldn't calm down.
His mind swayed again in about going out the house and search for her. Deep inside him, he knew that it would be useless. He wasn't going to find Hitomi in that huge city.
But...
Killua sighed, and reached out the door. He placed his hand on the knob and thought about opening the door or not for a bit.
"That idiot..."
He made up his mind and opened the door to be close to have a heart attack. In front of him, the girl was standing with her hand stretched, like she was just about to enter there.
"Huh?" she blinked.
"Eh?" he blinked as well.
And then, Killua realized what happened. Hitomi was there, wounds everywhere, like she had been inside a fight or something like that.
"Hitomi!" Biscuit said, in relief, behind Killua. "What happened to you?"
"Well... I..." she trailed off, gazing at the floor.
"Let this for later," Killua dragged the girl inside. "Come on."
He gently pushed her into a chair and helped Biscuit a little in treating her wounds. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the girl's blank expression.
"Whatever happened, she is still in shock," he noticed, before pressing further the cotton in her cheek.
"Ouch!" she yelped. "Injured ladies should be treated better, you barbarian!"
"Well, seems doing fine to me," he smirked, before mocking her. "That's what you get after running to who-knows-where at your own."
The girl just glared at him.
"By the way," Biscuit asked. "What happened?"
"Well, I found Knov's student," she confessed softly. "And I fought him... and lost..."
"And he was strong? Oh, big deal," Killua said, sarcastically. "We had fight a lot of tough guys until now and I have never seen you that sc-!"
"That's not it!" she yelled. "I-I... I knew him!"
The other two just looked at her. She clenched her fists, and looked at the ground.
"He... He was Kurapika."
"What?!" Killua exclaimed. "Kurapika?!"
"Wait," Biscuit was confused. "Didn't you tell me that guy was your brother?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
But then, a chill ran through her back. They turned around to see Palm, and suddenly remembered that the girl had a huge heathered for the boy.
"He is, but they hate each other and are nothing alike," Killua lied. "You should really see their fights! There are worse than any world war!"
And Palm slowly walked away, letting the three release a long sigh.
"She totally bought it," Hitomi sweatdropped. "No wonder she's an Enhancer too..."
"Anyway, Hitomi," Biscuit turned to her. "If you don't want to fight your brother, you really should fight Shoot or Knuckle. We can talk about this when Gon-"
"Don't worry, I'll fight Kurapika," her eyes shone with determination. "I'll show him I'm not the little girl I used to be."
"What happened to your face, Killua?!" Gon shouted.
"Yeah, what's with the big face-?" Hitomi joked. "Sorry, I mean, with the long face."
Killua just glared at her. His face now was a mess, especially because of the huge bump that had grown up from it.
"I was training with Bisky," he explained.
"Training?" Gon blinked. "Are you sure it wasn't a lynching?"
"More like a beating..." Hitomi laughed a little more, as a tick mark appeared in his forehead.
"Anyway, Gon," Killua tried to annoy the girl a little, and managed to do so. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yep, I feel great!"
"That's good."
Hitomi's eyebrow twitched a little as Gon laughed nervously. "What's with the side treatment?" she thought
"I expected to be tired, but look!" Nen surrounded Gon's hands.
"That gorill-!" he forced himself to shut up. "That old hag's massage must have done the trick."
Hitomi raised an eyebrow at the boy's sigh of relief.
"Listen now," her words and her wickedly smile appeared in his mind. "If you tell anyone what happened yesterday, I'll make your face three times worse."
And his face fell realizing that she wasn't joking, and then turned serious again. Hitomi just stared at him, as he just remembered yesterday's events.
"Now, do you know your weakness?"
Killua just stared at his teacher, who had become a huge masculine-looking woman all of sudden. A bit of blood ran through the cut on his cheek, but he just focused in her form, still panting.
"You're too quick to give up. You're too cautious about fighting," she pointed at him. "Some might say you underestimate yourself. When facing an enemy you believe to be stronger, you fight on the premise of escaping."
Killua didn't argue. Deep inside himself, he was well aware that she was just right about that.
"I realize that this isn't your fault. It's the fault of whoever taught you to fight," Illumi's face flashed in his mind. "Habits that are burned into your body and soul aren't easy to break. But I can say one thing for sure. Somewhere down the line, you'll leave Gon and Hitomi behind to die."
The boy froze there, in fright, and swore that his heart stopped beating for an instant. Leaving his friends dying... that was the last thing he wanted... but he was also aware that he would do so anytime soon.
"In a battle, you always assume the worst-case scenario. Even facing enemies with equal strength you worry about how strong they are, or what they might do to you," she continued. "If we're talking about a stronger enemy, there's no question. You don't bother to think how you would win. Running is your only option. That's how losers think."
Killua growled softly, but didn't say anything else.
"Suppressing that bad habit and forcing yourself to face enemies stronger than you will take determination," she sentenced. "If you can't defeat Shoot tomorrow, you must leave Gon and Hitomi's side."
The three of them waved after Biscuit, walking away to fight the other three. After all, today was the day.
"Killua's overly cautious style is the product of a smothering love. A twisted, self-serving love," Biscuit thought, looking at his back. "That just makes his habits stronger, deeper and harder to break. Without extraordinary willpower, this curse cannot be broken," she then felt Palm's murderous aura behind her. "I don't know who will be emerge victorious. Alright then... Time to run for it."
Night was beginning to fall, and the trio stood in front of the other three. Hitomi gave her brother a fierce, determined look, who just narrowed his eyes.
"The loser..." Knuckle said.
"... hands their token to the winner," Gon completed.
In an unspoken agreement, the siblings walked left, inside the forest, meanwhile Killua and Shoot did the same right, letting Knuckle and Gon fight in the same place.
The two stood in front of each other, before Hitomi let out a small chuckle.
"Just before we start the war, fighting and everything, I want to say something," Hitomi said. "Remember the promise I made you before departing?"
"I promise this will the last time I say goodbye to you," she told him."Because next time we met I'll already have a pair of Scarlet Eyes."
"Of course I do," he just replied, a little confused.
"Well, I just want to clarify I'm not a liar," she smirked, and Kurapika's eyes widened. "I already got a pair, in Greed Island."
Kurapika gave her a long, amazed, look before calming down. After a bit, an amused chuckle got out of his mouth.
"I'm surprised you got some just yet," he smiled, as Hitomi let her Nen out. "Seems like you got stronger, so I can't go easy with you."
Then Kurapika's Nen went out his body as well, surprising the girl a lot. It was way bigger, stronger than it used to be last time they met.
"Well, let's start then," Kurapika's eyes shifted to scarlet.
Hitomi stepped back, her eyes turning red as well. She walked cautiously in a parallel direction, analyzing her brother.
"Kurapika's a tough one," she sighed. "Meanwhile I'm here, thinking of a plan, he may be several steps ahead me... That's bad."
All of sudden, she disappeared from his sight. She appeared behind of him and the metallic sound of her bracelet almost hit him. Almost.
The boy reacted quickly and jumped. Using the distraction, the girl tried to kick him in the back, but the chain grabbed her leg and threw her away. Before her back could collide with a tree, Hitomi flipped in the air and put her feet on the trunk. Then, she pushed herself with it and jumped towards Kurapika.
She was fast when red-eyed, sure, but his reflexes were as well. He immediately dodged, gaining only a scratch in his cheek, before hitting right in her belly. The girl backed off a little, still looking at him in determination.
"She's still determined to go, but also are Knuckle and Shoot... There's no chance for Killua and Gon to win," Kurapika thought, looking at her in the eye, moving slightly his index finger. "They are the ones who can make her keep her cool... That's why I can't let her go all alone."
"You look sick, Blondie," Hitomi's voice ran in his ears.
Then, Kurapika felt a huge pain in his head, and felt a little dizzy. He looked at his sister, who was smirking, meaning that she had to do with it.
That was her ability.
"But all ability have its weakness," Kurapika thought. "Well, it's time for using that."
She ran to him to punch him and he avoided. The sound wave went across the ground but he jumped high in the air. Despite of the pain in his head, he managed to flip and wave his chain around. She easily ducked and stood behind.
Kurapika panted, resting his body on a knee, but smirking.
"What's with the smirk-?" she then noticed something. "What the hell?"
A chain with a needle-like thing in the tip was stuck in her feet. She retired it and stared at it with a frown. Aside from the blood, there was some brownish fluid dripping of it.
"You poisoned me?" she asked.
"No, it's not poison," he stood up.
She shook it off, and jumped again to attack and this time the wave of sound hit his back. He turned around and hit her instead with the chain. She fell on the ground.
"Man, what the hell?" she thought, panting. "After using my Nen, I had never got that tired... Oh, wait. Can't it be...?"
Her eyes widened. Uh-oh.
"Noticed yet? That's the ability of the index finger's chain: The Poisoned Chain," he explained. "It makes Nen run out the double of quick than it should."
Hitomi panted slightly, as she leaned forward and rested her weight on her knees.
"That technique of yours is great, but seems to consume a lot of Nen," Kurapika narrowed his eyes. "My headache is nothing compared to your exhaustion. So, please Hitomi, give up. If you continue like this, you could end up losing your Nen for a week... and even for life."
"No..." she panted. "No way in hell!"
All the Nen she had left was consumed in a flash, as she disappeared from his sight and kicked him in the head, then in the back and right arm.
She then was going to punch his belly, and Kurapika looked at her, shocked.
But in the end, she lost the grip on her legs. Still surprised at it, Kurapika grabbed her before she could hit the ground.
He gasped for air, as a tiny drop of blood went out his mouth.
"If she managed to land that last hit, I'd be out," he thought, before looking at his sleeping sister. A warm smile drew in his features. "You've grown up before I realized."
"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Kurapika told his sister.
"Yeah, guess so..." Hitomi mumbled, looking at the floor.
"Cheer up a little, Hitomi. You're strong."
Well, he could say that everything he wanted, but things weren't going to change. She had lost the battle, she had lost her Nen...
What could be worse?
"Yeah, your brother is right," Knuckle ruffled her hair. "You are way stronger than the other two brats."
"Eh?" Killua glared at him. "We aren't weaker than that idiot."
"Idiot? You're the idiot!" he shouted at him. "You could be only strong enough to be her minion! You should notice sometime her beautiful strength and-!"
Kurapika's cold glare was all it took to shut him off for good.
"Oh, right, now I remember... He is her brother..." Knuckle sweatdropped. "That's really bad... Kurapika from all people!"
Hitomi raised an eyebrow to the older man before sighing.
"Well, like I was saying, take care," she told her brother.
"Yeah, you too," he replied.
Gon looked like he was about to cry all of sudden, and his gaze got struck in the floor. Kurapika's eyes went out Hitomi and looked at him.
"Gon..." he said, sadly.
"Kurapika... Knuckle..." he then looked at them. "Promise me! You have to... You have to save Kite!"
Knuckle nodded.
"Got it, I promise we'll bring him back," he said.
"We'll bring him back to you, so don't worry, Gon," Kurapika agreed.
And like that, the three got inside NGL. Gon looked at the sky, meanwhile the other two started to walk away the place.
"Killua... Hitomi..." he mumbled, making the two face him. "I'm weak. I never knew... how frustrating... weakness could be!"
Hitomi looked at his tears, but couldn't say anything. She too, was tired of being that weak.
"If you can't defeat Shoot tomorrow, you must leave Gon and Hitomi's side," the words echoed in Killua's mind.
The girl looked at the other boy and sighed, without knowing what to do. He, too, was crying. But in silence.
"I was that weak... that I ran away."
Once on the truck, the three sat down in silence. Killua saw Gon resting his face in his arms, possibly crying in silence.
"Hitomi, Gon... For the time that you can't use Nen, I'll protect you both. I'll do whatever it takes!"
Then, he gazed at Hitomi. She went towards Gon and told him something, maybe trying to cheer him up, and smiling warmly. Even though he knew it wasn't for him, it hit him directly on his chest.
But, he had already made his mind.
"After that, it's goodbye."
"Hey, don't you feel this place... a little gloomier than before?" Hitomi asked.
The three of them were standing now in front of the hotel in where they were staying before, and Palm's murderous aura was all around the place. The sight of it immediately remembered Hitomi of a haunted house.
"Before I worry about enemies, I have to protect them from Palm..." Killua frowned. "Or just Gon, more likely..."
Slowly, Gon opened the door. The dark aura hit them directly, as they stared at the frightening scene. Palm was sitting in the middle, Gon-faced plushies everywhere. Hitomi grimaced, when she noticed her stabbing it with her kitchen knife.
And the three froze, as the young woman directed her eyes at them.
"You must take responsibility," she stood up, as her knife shone in a creepy way. "You promised to take me to NGL... You said you'd swallow a thousand needles if you broke that promise."
"Rest in peace, Gon," Hitomi thought, solemnly shaking her head.
"Uh-huh, I'm sorry," Gon said, seriously.
"I don't want an apology…" she replied. "But there's no point in having you swallow a thousand needles."
"So what can I do to make up for it?"
"Let's see..." she started to think. "You must... do any one thing I say."
"Hey!" Killua jumped in the conversation, angrily. "Right now, do you know how Gon feels-?"
"Okay, I agree!" Gon cut him off.
His two friends looked in worry at Gon, before directing their gaze to Palm. Hitomi narrowed her eyes, waiting for her friend's death sentence.
"Go out with me," Killua and Hitomi nearly died there. "Go out with me..."
"Eh?" that was Killua reaction.
"Okay."
"Huh?!"
Hitomi facepalmed. "Do you actually know what are you getting into?" she sighed.
"Yeah," he nodded. "But I did say I'd do anything."
"Seriously, you...!" Hitomi's eyebrow twitched.
Killua, on the other hand, turned to Palm. "And you have no problem playing dirty like this?!" he shouted at her.
"This is none of your business. It's our problem," she said, seriously. All of sudden, she placed a hand over her chest and blushed under her black hair. "It's up to the two of us."
And then, Gon's friends stepped back in fright.
"You should stay away from her, Gon," Killua whispered to him.
"Definitely," Hitomi agreed. "And if you want to live, just run for it."
"Don't interrupt us!" Palm shouted. "This is something the two of us must decide alone!"
"You just want an excuse to say that!"
That's when Hitomi started looking around and noticed something... Biscuit wasn't there like she always was. She growled softly.
"She ran away after all... that old hag..." she sighed.
"Just be quiet," Palm looked dead serious. "We are going to go out... There's somewhere I really want to go..."
"Oh, sorry," Gon apologized.
Palm was confused about his reaction.
"I can't go out today."
"Eh?"
"Oh," Hitomi whispered to Killua. "He is dead now."
"Today, I have to train with Killua and Hitomi," Gon explained.
"Correction," Hitomi facepalmed. "We are dead now."
Gon, on the other hand, didn't notice the creepy aura on her. He just smiled widely and brightly as always.
"I know! You can train with us, Palm!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Palm's knife got closer to the boy, but he didn't seem to notice. "Didn't you say we'd go out?" Gon nodded. "Then, why are they tagging along?! And why would we train?! Are you toying with me?! This will be a date! Our first date! The first date for us! The. First. Date!"
"But it isn't a date," that was Gon's answer. That took Palm aback. "We can have a proper date later. Since is our first date, like you said."
The girl looked shy all of sudden, as she started to play nervously with her knife.
"Wow..." Killua mumbled. "The word 'date' keeps popping up..."
"So true..." Hitomi just blinked.
"And I need time to prepare for it, too," Gon continued explaining his actions at Palm.
"Prepare? Prepare for what?"
Gon grinned. "That's a se-cre-t~!" he said. "You get to find out tomorrow."
"Oh... In that case, it's fine," she dropped her knife and then smiled. "If you'd explained first, I wouldn't have been so angry."
Hitomi and Killua just sweatdropped, as their continued to watch a shy Palm poking tenderly Gon's forehead.
"Yep, definitely a yandere," the girl mumbled, and Killua gave her a long look.
"And manga's references keeps popping out of her mouth," he sighed.
"Holy Chain," Kurapika's eyes turned scarlet.
He still couldn't believe the situation in which he was in. The King had been born way earlier than he should have, leaving the Queen in a critical state. Because of that, a condor ant called Colt asked the Hunters' help, to save her.
Now there was he, in front of a dying Chimera Ant Queen and helping a couple medics to heal her. But he knew, and was sure that she did too, that his Nen wasn't that strong. It was a matter of time until she finally passed away.
"Can you use my organs?" Colt offered. "You can have all my blood as well!"
They all tensed, including Kurapika, who was giving his best to cure the ant. He had to admit it, though. That ant was different from all the others who ran away to follow the King. His loyalty was something worth to praise.
"Unfortunately, it won't work," the medic replied. "Chimera Ants from different generations are completely different organisms. But the sentiment is appreciated. We'll do our best, so pray... That, miraculously, all the artificial organs will function."
The medics started operating the ant, meanwhile Kurapika kept doing his work. He was getting exhausted, and the worst part was that it didn't seem to take effect on her.
But...
"Are you okay, Kurapika?" Knuckle asked his partner, bending a little next to him. "You look terrible."
"I'm fine. It's just that apparently healing an ant with Nen is more difficult that a human," he smiled faintly, as he wiped away the sweat from his forehead. "And her bad condition affects me too."
The blond boy looked at the chain and narrowed his eyes slightly. It was just that, deep inside himself, he felt that he was actually healing something, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Just looking at her face, he could tell that he wasn't doing a great job.
Then, Colt suddenly moved closer to the Queen, like he was telling him something.
"What's that?" Morel asked.
"It's telepathy?" Kurapika asked as well.
"Yes," the octopus-like ant next to her replied. "The Queen cannot speak as we do."
"Can you tell us what she's saying?" the medic asked, and the ant nodded. "Perhaps she has a hint for saving her life."
The Queen weakly turned her head to Colt. "My son... Is my son all right? Did he have any defects?" she asked him.
The other ant looked hurt for a little, before faking a smile. "You have nothing to worry about," he chose to lie. "He's perfectly healthy, and right now, he's taken the Royal Guard to search to help you."
The one telling the conversation shook his head after saying that. "The truth is that, after he killed and ate Squadron Leaders, he left in search of a new territory. I doubt he'll return."
"He ate them?!" Knuckle was shocked.
"The King has no concern for the Queen's health?" Kurapika asked, feeling a little angry. "For his own mother?"
"Not at all."
The boy looked down, fists clenching and unclenching. The memory of his parents and the happy moments he had with all his family together flashed in his mind. Kurapika himself, he would do anything just to see his parents' smiles again. To have them in front of him again. To hug them again...
And the thought of someone, either ant or human, letting their mother die like that made him sick.
"Then, the King is safe?" the Queen asked Colt.
"Yes," he answered.
"That's wonderful," she said, and then remembered something. "Oh, no. Send the King off at once. There is no time to waste on my well-being... My son has the potential to rule the world. He was born too early, so I was very worried. However, it appears... I have fulfilled my duty... That was all I wanted."
"What are you saying?!" Colt's eyes watered. "You are our guiding light. Without you, the rest of us will lose our way and perish."
"I know my body better than anyone else... I will not last much longer."
Kurapika and the lead medic sighed. They both knew she was right.
"However, I have no regrets," she continued.
"I beg you... Please live!" Colt shouted, before turning to the medics. "Use my body! Please! Give a shot! Until you try, you don't know it won't work!"
"Listen..." the medic sighed. "You must listen to what the Queen has to say."
Colt was taken aback.
"I have one last request... I thought of a name... for my son... For the King..." the Queen said, weakly. She stretched her hand to the light. "Meruem... It means the light that illuminates all... Deliver my message to him... My beloved son..."
The condor wanted to take the Queen's hand but it fell limply at her side before he could do something. At his mother's death, the ant cried. It triggered even more his memories of when he was human, when he couldn't protect his little sister.
Knuckle tried to hold down his tears, at the same time that Shoot looked at his feet. Kurapika gritted his teeth.
He didn't manage to save anyone. It made him feel kind of useless.
The boy was about to retire his Holy Chain, when he noticed something more. Just below the cross he had attracted at the end of the chain, something was moving up and down, like breathing.
"Something is there," Kurapika retired the chain, gaining everyone's attention.
He moved his hand, in order to took it off from it. However, Colt placed a hand over his arm, silently pleading him to not do so.
"Please, don't touch it," he looked at it. "I will... I will remove it."
He put his hands inside her belly and removed something. All people there gasped at the sight of what was in his hands.
There was a tiny baby, as big as a fingernail. It looked that fragile that it looked like that it could broke if you looked at it for long time.
And then, its loud cry echoed in all the room.
"It's a girl," Kurapika told the stunned ant, with a tiny smile.
Colt's tears rolled down his cheeks. "I shall protect this child..." he declared. "I swear it! This time, I won't fail..."
Morel, on the other hand, pointed at him with his pipe, tears threatening to escape from his eyes. Colt looked at the Hunter, waiting for him to talk.
"Colt, can you promise me that you and that child will never eat humans?" he asked. "If you can't make me that promise, you should get out my sight immediately. But if you're willing to give your word..." he pointed at himself. "No one will ever lay a finger on you, not as long as I'm around. You have my promise!"
The ant just looked at him for a long time, while Knuckle chuckled a little.
"It isn't a big deal," he sobbed a bit, still grinning. "I inherited my soft nature from my master."
Kurapika hid his eyes behind his bangs, and stood up abruptly. He turned around.
"I should be going," he declared. He wanted to walk, when Shoot placed his hand over his shoulder.
"Take it easy," he told him. "You had used a lot of Nen."
"I wasted it," he corrected, angrily. "I couldn't save her."
"But-"
"I was just useless!" he snapped. "And thanks to me, someone who trusted me lost his family!"
Knov, on the other hand, sighed. Calmly as always, he made his way to his student, who stubbornly refused to make eye-contact.
"Kurapika, you are not like this," he said. "You're acting like a child."
"And what do you want me to do?" he replied, a little rudely. "I can not just pretend I'm happy over a fact like this. Colt lost his mother, and I couldn't help him. I was no use."
"Don't you see?" he smirked. "You saved a life. It wasn't the Queen's, but it lived either way."
He looked at the way Knov was looking and blinked. His master was looking at Colt's hand, which was wrapping the little newborn.
"You still don't get it? I can tell she got damaged greatly as well when the King was born. Even you can tell you were healing something, right?" Kurapika's eyes widened. "Well, you were healing the King's twin. If it wasn't for your powers, she would be dead now."
He just stared at the newborn girl, amazed for a bit. When he finally realized what was happening, a gentle but genuine smile made its appearance on his lips.
And it disappeared when someone ruffled his hair, annoying him a lot. He looked at Knuckle, who was grinning at him.
"Cheer up, will you?" he told him. "We too have a promise to fulfill, the one we made Gon, right?"
"Yes," he nodded with a smirk. "Let's start looking for Kite then."
Hitomi sighed in annoyment, before glaring daggers at the people staring at them. Staring wasn't polite after all. But, why were doing so? Oh, yeah, because they didn't expect three thirteen year old-children to lift such a heavy weight like nothing.
Big deal...
"Gon, you're amazing!" Killua commented.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, listening to you talk to Palm, you seemed used to this stuff," Hitomi added.
"Really?"
Killua looked at the floor, still with a question in mind. He was a little unsure if he should voice it, or not.
"I was wondering..." he finally spoke. "Have you been on a date before?"
"What are you talking about?" Hitomi chuckled. "There's no way he would-"
"Sure, I have."
That hit Killua, hard. Hitomi blinked in surprise at him, before glancing at the other boy by the corner of her eye. She snickered at the sight.
"Killua's man pride looks destroyed now," she thought. "But, seriously, what Gon said sure shocked me too."
"Well, most of them were with Mito-san," he clarified.
"Oh, that makes sense..." Killua then realized what he had say. "Wait, who else was there?"
"Oh, some of the fishing boats that stopped at Whale Island were full of women, some whom only liked younger men... So I took them around the village and had them teach me things."
They just kept looking at him, with a shocked expression.
"Teach him things? What did-?" she thought. "Wait, I think I don't wanna know."
"T-That means..." Killua's eyebrow twitched, in shock. "He's a grown up!"
"Women like that were called fanatics," he smiled brightly. "Haven't you guys ever been on a date?"
"Well, there weren't a lot of boys of my age in my clan... and let alone good looking ones," Hitomi sighed. "And after then, I have been always around Kurapika and... you know. He can look girly, but he still is that cliché overprotective older brother, so..."
The boys just blinked at her, sweatdropping. Wanting to change the topic, Gon turned around to face Killua.
"How about you?" he asked.
"No, of course not," he answered, letting his weight in the floor. "I spent all my time training as an assassin. And ever since I quit, I've been with you both."
Gon seemed to think about it for a while.
"Are you serious?" Hitomi asked, with wide eyes. "I mean, you look and act sometimes like a idiotic playboy, a Ken or something like that. I thought that at least a couple of silly fangirls could drool at you."
"Was it a praise or not?" Killua sighed.
"It wasn't," she replied, with a straight expression. "Like seriously, you never liked someone? Once I had a little crush as a kid to another one, when I was like ten years old. What about you two?"
"No really," Gon shrugged.
"Neither did I," Killua looked away. "I'm not into girls..."
Hitomi gasped.
"You aren't into-! OH, GOD! I never realized you were into boys!" she almost shouted, gaining the people's stares. "No wonder you are always that close to Gon..."
Gon blinked while Killua blushed under the people's gaze.
"I'M NOT!" he yelled.
"You are asexual then?" she tilted her head, grinning.
"Geez, you are so annoying!" he turned to Gon, who was in deep thought. "Gon, say something to her!"
An idea crossed his mind.
"Oh yeah," Gon realized. "Why don't you two go out together? It would be fun!"
That was... So out of topic and...
"What was that supposed to mean?!" both kids shouted at him, angrily, and red faced.
The boy just smiled nervously and Hitomi started to scold him, embarrassed. Killua, on the other hand, released a long sigh and his eyes saddened all of sudden.
"I've been with them for a lot time now... And I don't want that to change..."
Killua looked at the floor, not wanting to look at his friends for more time.
"Somewhere down the line, you'll leave Gon and Hitomi behind to die," Biscuit told him.
His eyes narrowed, as his eyebrows knitted together. "Damn, I'm about ready to give in..." he cursed in his head. "And this was my own decision."
The phone ringing snapped Killua of his thoughts. Gon picked up, just to heard the news from Knuckle. He said that they had found Kite, but he was in a state of manipulation or something like that. But the boy was sure that they were going to get him back.
After telling him that they were going to return after three days, he hanged up.
"Yes!" he jumped on the air, cheering.
"Didn't I tell you?" Hitomi grinned. "Kite is alive."
And the duo high fived, still being observed by Killua from behind.
"That's great. All that's left is to protect you both for the remaining time."
"Mind if I ask you how the hell did you convince me to doing this?" Hitomi released a long, annoyed, sigh.
The two were sitting in a bench, looking at Gon. He was waiting for Palm.
"Don't ask," he just replied, hiding in his newspaper. "We can't take our eyes of Gon, he is defenseless."
"And, what do I have to do with this?"
"Who knows," he lied.
Hitomi released another long sigh, before taking a book out of her bag. She started to read it, without noticing Killua's concerned gaze on her.
"I had brought her here because I can't take my eyes out of her either," he frowned. "She is as defenseless as Gon."
He then looked at the book and noticed something that surprised him a little.
"You are into shojo manga?" Hitomi flinched at it. "I'd never imagined."
"Shut up," she said, annoyed. "I've no more books to read, so..."
"Well, that explains a lot..."
Hitomi was about to complain about it, when they noticed something that left them dumbstruck in their spot. A cute girl with long brown hair approached Gon, who stared at her for a while before gaping in surprise.
"I didn't recognize you!" Gon exclaimed.
"Who are you?!" Killua couldn't believe it.
"Oh, god..." that was Hitomi's only reaction.
The couple started to talk for a bit more, and Hitomi then realized a gloomy aura coming from Killua, and sighed... And here she thought she had enough with Palm's one...
Either way, she noticed his hat and then the huge amount of people looking at him. She released a long sigh, before taking it off.
"What are you doing?" he asked her.
"It's awful. I wonder what were you thinking when you put it on," she then ruffled his soft hair. "Also, white hair fits you better."
Killua blinked, and so did she. When she realized how awkward that sounded, flushed in embarrassment and fixed her gaze on her book.
"Anyway," Killua then noticed the couple walking away. "We should go too."
The two - or the four, more likely - went to a lot of places. Hitomi was getting annoyed, since the thought that they were stalkers now didn't let her in peace.
As the night began to fall, they got carried to a forest, where the couple walked happily. Hidden, in the trees, they watched them.
And then, Hitomi noticed Killua tensing abruptly, making her worry a bit... Well, a lot.
"An ant, isn't it?" Hitomi asked.
"No, of course not," Killua lied. "Idi-"
"I may have lost my Nen, but I'm not useless nor idiot, Killua," the girl remarked, and he flinched at her voice.
Killua stared at her for a while, before sighing in surrender.
"Yeah, there is. Probably, a soldier ant," he nodded and Hitomi frowned. "It isn't that close, but it isn't that far either. It could be just the wind that brought it here, but..."
"But there's a chance that our paths cross, right?" Hitomi concluded. "Either way, we shouldn't tell Gon anything. He could go berserk because of Kite and get himself killed. Palm could too if we interrupted the date, and call the ant by her shrieks."
Killua glanced at her and then to the boy and sighed. "I'll have to take care of this myself!" he thought, in determination.
"Keep an eye on him, Hitomi," he told her. "See you later!"
"Hey!" she called. "You can't-!"
And then, he started to run. Hitomi looked at Gon, and then over her shoulder, where the boy was running. She clenched her fists, in worry and anger.
Hitomi then started to run next to him. He noticed her and angered.
"What are you doing here?!" he shouted at her, angrily.
"You'll get yourself killed like this, idiot!" she shouted back.
"What are you talking about?! You can't use Nen!"
"True, but I can fight and use my brain..." she then poked his head. "That thing that you sometimes you don't seem to have."
"Why you-!"
Then both kids noticed something and stopped quarrelling. There was something running behind them, and even Hitomi could feel his bloodlust.
After awhile, they stopped. Both of them turned around to face their enemy, who came out of the shadows.
"Oh, I thought I smelled humans..." Rammot, the ant, said. "I remember both of you. You're two of those kids from before."
They jumped in the spot, after recognizing the bird-rabbit-like ant. They then turned serious, sliding into a fighting stance.
"Where's the other kid?" Rammot asked. "Once you tell me his location, I'll give you an easy death."
"Like we were going to tell you, idiot," Hitomi replied, as her eyes turned scarlet out of anger.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you talk or not. I'll just walk around making lots of noise and swinging your severed heads," he said. "Then he'll come to me himself. Isn't that how humans are?"
Then Killua released his Nen, and Hitomi had no more choice than took a pair of daggers out of her pocket. Sure, she hadn't Nen, but she was going to fight anyway.
"No matter how much I could ask her, Hitomi won't run away," Killua frowned. "That's why I have to protect her as well... I'll do whatever it takes to protect them two!"
But, when he tried to move, the same voice echoed in his mind. "Run," and he froze. He tried to fight against it, but it was just fruitless.
Hitomi just looked at his terrified face and clenched her teeth in worry. She had never seen Killua like this. It was like he was desperately trying to fight something inside him.
"Yes! That's more like it!" Rammot shouted, happily. "That terrified expression... I love it!"
"Pay attention to your opponent!" Hitomi's voice could be heard.
From the back, the girl jumped and managed to stab him in the back. He managed to grab her and threw her towards Killua.
He caught her, but she immediately freed from him and stood in front of him. He looked at her, and then at the enemy.
"Just... why?" he thought, as she went to attack the ant again. "It was me who was supposed to protect her..."
His body didn't obey him and stayed like that, frozen. A feeling of panic, similar of when he fighted Illumi in the Exam, took over him.
"If you aren't certain you can win, run," it echoed like a mantra in his mind. "When you know nothing of your opponent... run away."
She watched Hitomi falling again, and trying to get up with huge effort.
"I have to protect them..." he tried to fight it, as the ant walked closer to her. "I have to... protect Gon... and Hitomi... No matter what!"
Killua ran to protect her, but since he was still wavering a bit, the attack wasn't that strong. A punch from Rammot made him fly and roll in the ground.
He looked at the ant, trembling in both fright and frustration. Hitomi frowned at the sight.
"Come on, Killua," she thought, standing up. "You have to fight it."
And he was kicked again, and again. Without being able to handle it anymore, Hitomi tried to attack the rabbit, but got sent to a tree, splitting blood. She tried to stand up, but just couldn't.
"Run," Killua flinched, as it repeated once again. "Hurry."
"No..." shook his head, but then it started to hurt, making him place a hand over it.
But, because of that, he got hit. Hitomi, on the other hand, tried desperately to stand up again, to help her friend.
Then, Gon and Hitomi's smiling faces flashed in the boy's mind. "I will..." he was hit again. "... protect you..."
Hitomi's eyes flew open, as tears started to roll down Killua's cheeks. "Because..." he said. "...we're friends."
The girl stood up and leaned in the tree, trying to keep her balance.
"You're my dear friends!" he cried softly.
Rammot ears dropped at the sight. "Stop that... Don't look at me like that..." he pleaded. "I-I can't stop myself... I'll kill you. I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
"No, you won't," Hitomi answered, as she stepped in front of him. "You'll have to kill me first."
"Hito-!" Killua was stopped by a wave of pain in his head.
Hitomi, on the other hand, just sighed. "You can't let it win," she looked at the ant, in determination.
"Run," it repeated.
"Shut up!" he yelled in his mind.
"Run... Run... Run..."
"I won't listen to you! Shut up!" he tried to move, but couldn't. "I don't want... to lose them!"
Rammot started to run, and Hitomi realized that, so stood still in front of the frozen Killua. She, however, turned around and looked at him. Violet eyes melt with icy blue ones.
"You need to wake up, Killua."
That eyes brought him back to reality. A wave of memories hit his mind in a flash, and he remembered all the times they had been the three together.
That was when he realized that he didn't want to lose them for real.
But, now, Hitomi was about to get killed. Because of him.
"Hitomi is... "
"Run."
"... a really..."
"Run... Run."
"... important..."
"Run... Run... Run..."
"A really important person to me!"
A heartbeat after, Hitomi realized that she wasn't in front of the enemy, but in Killua's arms. The boy left her in the floor, before looking at his bloody hand and chuckle softly.
"He fooled me good," he then showed a needle to Hitomi. "Illumi must have planted this inside my head."
Hitomi couldn't help, but chuckle as well.
"Well, then," she asked. "How do you feel?"
"I feel so much better now," he wiped the tears out of his face, before looking at the enemy with a grin. "I'm completely awake now. Or maybe I should say I'm liberated."
The girl grinned as well, amused at the situation. The tables had turned, and now was Rammot the one scared of the enemy.
"I have a message for the other ants," a murderous aura surrounded the young boy. "If you come anywhere near us, your lives are over."
"That's a bull-!"
Killua stepped and stood behind with the ant's head in his hand, similar of the time when he fighted Johness the Dissector a year or so ago.
"Very well," Killua spoke. "Then, don't bother."
And after that, he used his claws and crushed the skull. Hitomi sighed, before standing up, as Killua walked towards her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"At least more than you," she replied. "Well, let's go. We have to find Gon."
Like that, the two of them started to run towards the forest. Hitomi just looked at Killua for a bit, before gazing at the ground.
"By the way..." she sighed. "Thanks."
Killua looked at her for a while, flushing in embarrassment, before looking away.
"I wasn't helping you, idiot!" he yelled. "I was helping Gon."
"Oh, really?" she gave him an 'I-don't-believe-you' look. "Then, why didn't you let me die there, then?"
"That's because..." he trailed off. "Oh, just shut up!"
The girl looked at him, before laughing softly. He, on the other hand, just glared at her, in annoyment.
"You really are a tsundere, you know."
"Now I really think that we should get mangas out of your reach," he facepalmed.
They then reached the place where Gon and Palm had been and froze when they saw nobody there. Hitomi made her way closer to the scene and picked up Gon's bag, frowning.
"Their stuff is still here," Killua commented, as he examined Palm's handbag. "Were here other ants nearby?"
"Can you sense any?" Hitomi asked, he shook his head. "Then, it's worse..."
"What do you mean?"
Hitomi narrowed her eyes, and looked at the boy.
"Palm."
Both Hitomi and Killua got shocked at the sight. Gon was surrounded by candles, writing something - which Hitomi had no intention to know about - while kneeling in the floor. Palm was standing in front of him, with the knife in her hand as always.
"What are you doing?!" Killua shouted, as soon as he got into the room.
"Eh? Can't you tell? I'm punishing him," Palm was angry. "Punishing him for toying with my feelings!"
"What the hell?" Hitomi shouted as well. "You're the one who's being unreasonable!"
"Leave us alone! This is none of your business!"
"Right back at you, stupid," Killua argued as Gon sweatdropped. "Why don't you make yourself scarce?"
Then Palm noticed something and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you two injured?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, we were training..." Killua looked away, a little too rudely for his own sake. "Got a problem with it?"
"I'll injure you some more!"
She then waved her knife around, but the other two just stepped behind her.
"Don't bother," Killua said. "I could dodge your knife in my sleep."
"Same here," Hitomi grinned.
"I was so sure they were dead..." Palm mumbled.
She then turned angrily at them, scaring the hell out of both kids. Hitomi quickly kicked the door and started to run along Killua, who was carrying Gon under his arm.
"Catch us if you can, stupid!" Killua shouted over his shoulder, as Palm chased them.
"Just shut up and run faster, idiot!" Hitomi shouted angrily at the boy.
Happily, after a while, they ended up losing her.
"Stop, Killua, Hitomi..." Gon scolded, looking not affected about the situation at all. "You're just making her angrier."
"Huh? If we ditch her, we'll never see her again," Killua told him, still running. "We just have to call Knuckle or Kurapika and agree to meet somewhere else."
"I'm going back," he declared.
"Want die that young?!" Hitomi was shocked. "If you let your guard down, thinking she's not much of a fighter, she'll stab you in the back! And literally!"
"She wouldn't do that," Gon laughed at her comment.
"Huh? But-!" Killua just couldn't hide his shock. "Didn't you see her take that knife to us? Damn, you're too much!"
"Meh... Again?" Killua complained, looking at the blue robot that he had got from the chocolate. "That's the third one."
"You're lucky..." Hitomi glared at her red one. "In my case, this is the fifth."
Then, Gon took of his, and revealed a gold one. Killua's eyes sparkled with excitement, as he got a closer look of it.
"Oh! A secret one!"
"Huh?" he said, cluelessly. "Really?"
"Yeah, you can auction it on the net for a lot of money!"
Gon blinked at it, before handing it to Killua. "Then you can have it," he grinned.
"Not interested," Killua lost his excitement.
He then took the chocolate out of it and ate it, happily. Hitomi looked at him and laughed at the sight.
"In other words, you only care about the chocolate," she teased. "You, glutton."
"But, even though you said you prefered citrics, you don't mind eating as well. You eat everything," he mocked back. "Piggy."
"I prefer that than being such an old man, Whitey."
"But what about being that dumb-blonde, Dummy?"
"Brat."
"Hag."
"Geezer."
"Otaku."
"Ah?" Hitomi was confused. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"
"Of course, idiot."
They glared at each other, with gritted teeth for a while. After a couple of minutes, they looked at each other at the eye and chuckled, before returning to the chocolate. Gon, on the other hand, blinked at them.
"Did something happen between you two?" he asked.
The kids looked at each other, blinking as well.
"Not really," Hitomi replied.
Then, the white haired boy stood up. He stayed in front of his friends, with a huge grin plastered in his face.
"Let's hit the gym," he proposed.
"Okay!" the other two nodded.
End of the chapter!
SoulXHunter: Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter :)
Elisablackcat: I think you can count this as double the trouble... I think. Thanks for reviewing and I wish you had fun with this :D
havanatitiana: Thank you for leaving a review :) Hope you liked it!
taran taran: To answer your question, Kurapika just want to protect her sister... Sorry if it's kinda confusing. Thank you for the review and I wish you had fun in this chapter :)
Silent Readers: Thanks for reading! Let's hope you enjoyed it :)
See you all later!