Disclaimer: I wish I owned Hunter but it already belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi :( Sadly, I just own my idiotic OC, Hitomi... yay...
Chapter 38: Rescue Team x Alluka Zoldyck x Senritsu's Discovery
"How's everybody doing? Thank you for choosing the Lamentation Tour!" Hitomi facepalmed, she had forgotten her... "I'll be your guide for the duration of the trip. My name is Coco Loo, please call me Coco-chan! I'm glad to be at your service!"
"I'm not glad about you being at my service," the boy mentally frowned.
Killua then raised an eyebrow at his friend, finding strange that she was repeatedly hitting her head against the seat in front of her.
"You also know her?" he asked, his voice saying that he didn't like Coco either.
"Sadly, yeah. You know, we met her when we came the first time," she looked at her. "But, seriously, her speech didn't change in these two years? Also, two whole years is the time enough to realize that they really should fire her..."
Two years... Killua's eyes opened slightly.
"Don't tell me..." she shook her head while sighing. "You lost the track of time as well."
"Shut up..." he looked away, focusing his gaze on the window.
Hitomi narrowed her eyes at him for a while, before shaking her head once again. She looked up at Coco, who was staring at them, frozen, before taking a couple of steps back.
Wow, it looked like she remembered them. Also, it looked like she knew Killua from before... Maybe, because he had taken that bus to go home several times in the past.
"Yo," Hitomi waved at her. "Long time not see, Grandma."
"What did you call me?" she was pissed off, despite she kept her smile.
And Killua just shook his head at the glaring constest they were having. They both looked away when the bus went on move.
They traveled a little, in silence. That Killua found strange was that mostly Hitomi, the girl known for his talkativeness and blunt mouth - also annoying to death - was unusually quiet, probably in deep thought about something he didn't know of.
"It's strange..." Killua mumbled. "Why are you that quiet?"
"No reason at all," she lied. In fact, she was really worried.
"Really?" he said. "Last time I saw you like this was because of Kurapika..."
Hitomi flinched, making the boy narrow his eyes at her, before opening them.
"Wait... Don't tell me he is the reason you are worried, too..." he said, shocked. The girl looked at the window and slowly nodded. "As far as I knew, he was fine."
"Well... things got a little... messed up," she smiled, awkwardly. "You see..."
Killua's eyes went wider and wider gradually as listened at her, his worry and anger increasing too. He was that focused in Gon that he never noticed that Kurapika was in danger as well. His fists clenched and he bit his lip when she ended her speech.
Deciding that the last thing they needed - and that he wanted - was her feeling depressed, he forced himself to smile while looking at her.
"Don't worry, he won't die," he assured her. "We'll save them... Both of them. I assure you."
Hitomi couldn't bring herself to believe him, but nodded anyway.
"Alright, everyone. If you'll look out the windows to your left, this is Kukuroo Mountain, home to the infamous Zoldyck Family."
They both looked outside, as the mountain was making its appearance in the window. Hitomi instantly remembered Gon's excitement after seeing it last trip and Kurapika smiling a little at the sight. She also smiled faintly to herself.
They were so gonna save them...
"It's actually an extinct volcano surrounded by a beautiful, old growth forest. It rises to an elevation of 3772. Legends has it that the Zoldyck family mansion is located on the summit but no one has ever seen it."
"Well, we did," Killua mumbled to her, smirking.
"You sure saw it more than me, I suppose," Hitomi replied, smirking as well.
However, without them knowing, the man behind them gave them a long, suspicious look.
"The Zoldyck Family consists of the great grandfather, one set of grandparents, the parents and five children. And they are all assassins!"
The fifth was Alluka - Hitomi remembered. How come she didn't notice that fact until now? Coco even said it last time and she didn't notice. Well, she was focused in other matters...
Last time, she went there to rescue Killua. Now, she was going there to save Gon and her brother.
"Does that mean that next time will be when I am the one on danger?" she thought, randomly. "Let's hope there's no next time then..."
The bus stopped and the teenagers stepped out before the other tourists. Hitomi turned around and grinned at Coco.
"Thanks for the ride, Grandma Coco," she joked.
"Call me Coco-chan, little cutie," Hitomi got annoyed at her reply.
"Okay, Grandma Coco-chan."
That was when Coco finally lost it. Killua gave the young woman a long, bored look before shrugging and walking towards the door along Hitomi.
"Wait, you're not going to stay here, rig-?" the annoying woman was about to tell her when a scoff coming from Killua's mouth shut her off.
"Don't play dumb, idiot. You saw me staying here a lot of times since I was a kid, am I wrong?" he then pointed at his friend. "And I bet you had seen her too before," Killua placed his hands on his waist. "Or is that you are beginning to lose your memory, hag?"
"Why? Just why?" Coco bit her lip while smiling. "I mean, these two are the most problematic brats I had ever meet... Why do they have to know each other and arrive in the same day?!"
"Stop talking rubbish!"
When Hitomi turned around to see two grown-up men - probably Hunters - she felt the urge to smack her face against the Testing Gate.
"Please, not again!" she whined. "If they are going to try to bomb the gate down, steal the keys from Zebro and be eaten by the doggy... I think I'm going to throw myself in front of Mike as well..."
Killua raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry," one of them smirked. "We aren't that stupid," they both took guns out of their pockets. "We're professional Hunters."
At the sight of the weapons, the tourists and Coco ran inside the bus while crying in fright, leaving the place in a flash. Killua didn't even react, keeping his hands on his pockets, while Hitomi's muscles tensed a little out of instinct. She slided into a fighting pose, leaving her Nen out like her friend did.
"Yeah, of course you are, fools," Killua thought. "If you were real Hunters, you would reacted when Hitomi and I released our aura, no matter how good at hiding it you are... I bet you don't even know what Nen is."
"What do you want?" Hitomi asked, forcing herself to hide a smirk.
"Sorry, little miss, we don't have anything to do with you," one of them pointed at Killua, while the other one kept aiming at her. "We have with your little boyfriend over there."
"Oh, yeah?" she tilted her head at one side. "But, what would happen if I-?" she calmly took a step closer to them.
BANG!
"Oh, that?" she grinned and the man tensed in shock, since she had just avoided his shot. He fired at her way again and Hitomi just swinged in the other way. "Come on, I could've avoided it in my sleep. That's the best you have?"
"Shut up!"
"Just wondering," the girl said while Killua sighed in annoyment... she was talking too much... "What do you have to do with that Snow White over there?"
He laughed evilly.
"Don't play dumb, little miss, you know exactly what he is, don't you?" he said, looking at the boy. "We made investigations, heard your conversation and finally discovered that he is no one less than Killua Zoldyck, the heir of the famous Zoldyck family. There's a bounty over anyone from that family's head."
"No way! Are you kidding? I thought Killua Zoldyck was the heir of the of the Brown Family!" she retorted sarcastically. "But seriously guys, you think you can kill such an 'infamous assassin' with that gun? It basically the same than using a water gun... Even water maybe could work better because his cat's traits..."
"I told you to shut up, brat!"
BANG!
Killua released a long sigh at the men, who were freaking out. The boy had just caught the bullet in mid air like nothing, just to leave it in the floor again.
"Idiots," he told them, boringly.
"Is it my turn?" Hitomi asked.
She started walking, when a bullet was fired at her. She disappeared from the Hunter's sight and reappeared right behind him, knocking him out of cold with a swing of her hand.
"Stop there!" the other man aimed directly at her, clutching his weapon with both hands. "I'll shoot you down!"
"Geez... You don't get it, do you, old man?" Killua sighed. "I thought it was kinda obvious that bullets don't work on us."
"Come on!" Hitomi shouted. "Kill me if you want!... Or if you can..."
He was about to fire at her, when something else happened. With a slight hit with her knee, the girl managed to make the man lose his grip on the weapon and take it in her hands. She grinned while aiming at him.
The man paled like a ghost.
"Let's see... Three..." the man closed his eyes tightly. "Two... One..." she appeared behind him and kicked him in the back. "Bang!"
And the man fell unconscious in the floor. Hitomi rested her hand on her hip while throwing the gun away, being careful that it didn't fire at its own.
"Why did you play with them that long?" Killua asked, irritated.
"Who told you I was playing?" he glared at her. "Right, right, you're right. I'm getting serious now. For real."
The boy didn't believe her, exactly as any person in their right mind would do. He however shook it off and kept walking.
That was when Gon's back popped up in his mind.
"Why? Why didn't you ask our help, Gon? Why did you have to deal all of this alone?" he bit his lip, as Kurapika flashed in his head as well, walking away next to the boy. "Why didn't you say anything, Kurapika? Why didn't you tell us you were about to die?"
"Master Killua?" a certain gatekeeper went out his cabin. Killua didn't even react while Hitomi instantly looked at him. "Oh, but if it is Hitomi-chan too!"
"Zebro," she was surprised at the sight of him.
The boy just kept quiet, hiding his eyes behind his white bangs. Hitomi could feel his gloomy aura from where she was standing and gazed at the floor, getting what he was that upset for.
Zebro just kept watching at the pair, not bringing himself to speak a word to them. They both - mostly Killua - looked really distressed.
Killua stood in front of the gate and placed both hands on it. Hitomi was somewhat concerned, after realizing that he had just opened five gates at once, with frightening ease.
Hitomi was feeling a little exhausted already, she sure had forgotten how enormous was the Zoldyck's garden alone. Killua was walking fast through it, almost like sprinting around, and that didn't help her at all. He sure wasn't in a hurry...
Well, he couldn't help it. He wanted her so see and be seen the less he could around his house. She was going to get involved a lot already, so why to let her inside assassination business that much?
It sounded stupid for him, but he didn't care. Some part of himself wanted to keep her as out of this as possible.
He then told his female companion to wait a second and knocked a huge door. After doing that, he opened it and they found themselves in front of Killua's father, Silva. He was sitting in a couch next to a huge dog that - Hitomi supposed - was his little, cute pet.
Well, he was bigger than Mike. That explained pretty everything she thought about the creature...
"Kill, you're back," Silva said and Killua's expression remained the same. "You've grown up a lot from the last time we saw," he then noticed the girl. "And you even brought a friend, I see. Is she the so called Hitomi?"
Said girl raised an eyebrow. Did he know her? No, she didn't remember seeing him before, and she was sure that he didn't either. Maybe... Did Killua talk about her?
Oh, it flattered her way a lot.
Killua, on the other hand, left his father's question unanswered. With a serious expression, he took a step ahead, leaving Hitomi standing a little behind him.
"Let me see Alluka," he spoke. "I need her power."
"Killua..." Silva trailed off.
"I don't have time, Dad!" he cut him off before he could've said something at all. "I'll go even if you stop me, so come with me," he spun around a little, pointing at the other door.
"It's useless," the Zoldyck father spoke. "No one can control Alluka."
Hitomi raised an eyebrow at his answer. She couldn't get why did he mean with control her own daughter. What was wrong with her?
"That's wrong!" Killua snapped, pissed off by some reason. "You're wrong! Brother is wrong! Alluka is a member of the family! She isn't a machine! As her brother, I'm asking for her help!"
Even the girl didn't dare to speak. The tension was thicker than she had ever through. She even wondered that if she waved her knife around now, it would be cut...
But she realized that it wasn't a really intelligent action.
"For help?" Silva repeated. "That child is not human. You shouldn't consider that thing to be a member of the family."
Hitomi stepped back out of fright, unwillingly as the enormous dog stood up and growled at them. Bloodlust could be felt from where she was standing, coming from Killua, of course. She could also see a murderous, dangerous aura rush out of his body, as he clenched his fists in pure anger.
"What did you say?" he spoke, quietly.
To summarize everything, he was a little pissed off.
"That thing is something that came from somewhere else," the older man continued.
"What the hell do you mean with that?" Hitomi couldn't refrain herself from asking. "I mean, she came from your wife's belly, didn't she? And you still don't consider her your daughter? What the hell is wrong with this family?"
Silva glared at her, intensely. The girl bit her lip, realizing that she had to shut up her mouth for good, even though she wasn't agree with all of this at all.
She had anything to do with the Zoldyck family, after all.
And as a matter of fact, she didn't want to die just because of her mouth.
That was when the dog growled at them. Hitomi turned around, getting ready to either run away or fight against the canine. Killua, however, didn't even look at him.
"Sit," he commanded, coldly.
It looked like even the dog knew that it wasn't wise to mess with the boy. He calmed down and sat again, obediently.
Still feeling that scary aura, Hitomi placed a hand over the young man's shoulder, who gave her a long, surprised look. After a while, he smiled faintly and looked with a serious expression at the father, again.
"If someone tries to dispel the contract and restriction Gon set for himself, they'll be either repelled or killed, same goes to Kurapika. If Alluka hadn't changed, I'm the only one who can help her. And Alluka is the only one who can save them both," he then bit his thumb. Killua showed his bloody finger at his father for some reason the girl couldn't understand. "If I ignore my friends friend I have the ability to help, wouldn't I be betraying them?"
Father and son looked at each other for a long time, before the oldest closed his eyes. He stood up, much in the female's surprise.
"Come with me," after that, he looked at Hitomi directly. She flinched at his intense gaze. "Hitomi. You are on time to go back. I guess you are aware of what can happen to you, right?"
"Yeah, a long, long list that basically includes dying in several tragic ways," she commented, before smirking. "I'm up to that."
"Very good," he nodded. "Then, you both can come with me."
The pair followed Silva, stopping in front of a huge, metal door. He entered some kind of password, successfully opening it.
But when Hitomi say another one she raised an eyebrow.
"Okay..." she thought. "Just how dangerous can be some little girl?"
Another door opened while she just kept walking right beside Killua and his father, in their way to see that 'demonic' girl.
"Just promise me something, Hitomi," Killua told her, while traveling in the train.
"Yeah?"
"Please... Do whatever but telling her your name."
That shocked Hitomi, a lot. She just blinked at the boy, in confusion.
"My name? Why?"
"I can't tell you yet," he mumbled. "Just don't let her know it."
At that time, she didn't press further because she thought that the best was shutting her mouth and do as he said. He had his reasons after all.
"I want to make sure..." the boy continued. "You can take care of yourself, right?"
The girl just narrowed her eyes in wonder. She couldn't get what he was talking about.
"Because... If something happens, my top priority will be helping Alluka," Killua was serious. "You'll have to get out the trouble by your own."
"What are you talking about? I was already assuming that much," she smirked. "After all, I came here you help you, not being helped by you. I'm not a little girl, thank you very much."
Hitomi had no idea of how many locked doors they passed by until they arrived at the final one. Silva stopped and the younger ones did exactly the same.
"I'm sure you already know this," Silva spoke, "but no new requests have been made."
"Who made the last wish?" Killua asked.
"Milluki. He asked for the newest computer available at the time. He made the wish himself in Alluka's presence, so he couldn't lie."
"Computer?" Hitomi mentally facepalmed. "Using her 'illegitimate sister' to own a computer?"
"A computer shouldn't be that bad..." he spoke, softly.
That was when he gritted his teeth, guilt burning painfully in his chest and hair covering his icy blue eyes. He trembled slightly.
"Was it because Illumi was controlling me?" he wondered. "How could I leave my sister in this situation?"
Hitomi felt that depressing aura and couldn't help but feel a little upset as well.
"Kill, I want to go over this again," the father told his son. "When making a wish to Alluka, what are the rules?"
"It's not necessary," he replied, softly. "I know Alluka better than anyone."
"It's necessary. Have you forgotten how many people have died?"
Hitomi blinked at that statement and forced herself to shut up. It was kind of ironic coming from a full-trained patriarch of the most famous family of professional assassins...
"We have killed more people!" Killua shouted, angrily.
"Killua, if you can't stay calm, we're stopping now. Our promise matters to me because I care about you, as your father. Can you go over the rules for me?" he noticed him glancing briefly at Hitomi. "Don't worry, she can listen too. She is into this now."
Killua started to shake again, so out of instinct the girl grabbed his hand. It looked like it made some effect, because he magically ended up calming down a little. He looked a little at her and smiled softly, before looking at the door with a serious expression.
"Alluka makes requests just by knowing the name of the person," that explained pretty everything to Hitomi. "When three of these requests are fulfilled, she'll grant one wish. There probably isn't any limit to the wishes she can grant, my guess is that she can grant any wish."
"Any wish?" she asked, her eyes opening. "Wait, isn't there any extra fee or anything?"
"Yeah, there's something like that," he nodded at her. "The bigger the wish she grants, the bigger the next three requests will be. In other words, an equivalent exchange. And the sacrifice isn't made by the one whose wish was granted, it's the next person who fulfills the requests."
While he was explaining, the father started to open the door.
"If someone denies four of Alluka's requests in a row, that person and their most loved one, meaning a minimum of two people, will die," Hitomi frowned at the revelation. "The bigger the wish, the more people die when the requests aren't fulfilled."
And after that, the boy looked at Silva and he nodded, finally letting them inside the room. Hitomi gave her friend a comforting squeeze with her hand and he tightened his grasp on her as well, before letting go of each other.
Hitomi expected some monster inside a black, empty room or something as creepy as it inside the room. However, what she found, caught her off guard.
There was a room filled with colorful plushies and drawings. The walls were painted like she were actually outside, with blue sky and huge flowers.
In the middle of the room was a little girl. She was dressed mostly in pink and green. Her hair was black, decorated with a headband and a lot of pins which resembled faces in strands of it, and was covering her face since she was looking at the floor.
Killua started to walk forward, in silence, as the door closed. It really pained him seeing his sister locked in such a room.
Alluka heard someone coming and slowly looked up. She blinked her bright blue eyes, before grinning widely at the sight of the boy.
"Big brother!"
"Alluka," the boy called, smiling.
Hitomi looked at the scene wide-eyed, as the kid stood up and threw herself over the boy, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was kind of surprising that he hug her back, since usually - the Kuruta girl supposed - he would punch anyone away if they did that. It was shocking to see him in the 'big brother role'.
"Sorry about leaving you down here for so long, Alluka," he said, closing his eyes softly, hugging her tighter. "I'm sorry."
"Lucky girl..." Hitomi through randomly before smacking herself. "Great. Now that I know I'm fourteen I'm starting to act like a standard hormonal teenager... Come on! She is his sister, isn't she?"
The girl then looked at the scene and smiled a little. To hell jealousy, they were so freaking sweet together.
"It's okay! I'm really happy!" Alluka shook her head, still don't letting go of him. "I've missed your scent..."
That was when she noticed something else and let go of her brother, looking at Hitomi with a curious gaze. The girl flinched at it, feeling a little uneasy.
"Who are you?" she asked, innocently.
"I... I'm... uh..." words died down in her throat, while pointing at herself.
"Oh, she's just a bodyguard," Killua replied and Hitomi's eyebrow twitched at his answer.
"Really?" the Zoldyck girl was still curious. "Hey, what's your name?"
Hitomi flinched again. She had to ask that for all the questions...
"Don't bother, it's not important," the boy shrugged before she could say anything. "She doesn't remember it, anyway..."
"What?" Alluka asked as the other girl mentally facepalmed. "Why?"
"Don't know. The path of the life, I suppose," she went on, quickly changing the topic. "Hey, do you mind if I sit in your bed meanwhile?"
"Sure..." she blinked.
Successfully getting rid of such an uncomfortable topic, Hitomi sat in Alluka's huge bed. She found it softer than she expected to and looked around. It looked like Silva gave the child everything someone could ask for, somewhat like spoiling. It was upsetting, though, knowing that it wasn't because of love but fear.
And she thought that Gon's father was too much...
She however managed to shake it off and focus on Killua and Alluka, who were sitting on the floor next to each other. The little girl then imitated a gun with her tiny fingers and aimed at him.
"Big brother, die," she requested, happily.
Hitomi jumped at these words.
"Wha-?" she was about to ask.
Killua smiled at his sister, ignoring her friend completely.
"Okay, sure."
"H-Hey! Wait a min-!" Hitomi panicked.
"Bang!" she called, brightly.
The older girl gasped at the headless boy falling in the floor with a thud, while Alluka continued laughing. She, however, blinked when she didn't find any trace of blood.
"Big brother!" she sung. "Wake up~!"
The boy raised from the floor, as a headless zombie-thing until he sat up again. The little child's eyes sparkled in excitement at her older brother's act.
"Boo!" he shouted, as his head popped up from the turtleneck of his shirt. As childish as it was, it managed to make Hitomi jump in her spot, her heart in her throat.
Alluka, however, clapped happily.
"You're so good!" she chirped.
"Damn too good..." Hitomi mumbled as she hit her face against Alluka's sheets.
Time passed by, as the girl watched the siblings playing shiritori. After a long while, Alluka asked Killua to pat her head and he accepted. Hitomi couldn't help but release a smile upon the sight of the little girl snuggling in her brother's chest, as he stroke her black hair tenderly.
Her smile then erased when she noticed Killua looking at her. She kept still for a while and blinked under his gaze, before getting it. Hitomi then nodded, standing up as the boy picked the child up bridal style. The pair then stood in front of the closed door.
"Father, open the door," Killua said to Silva, who was listening through the speakers.
"No," he replied. "Make the wish in that room. We cannot let you go outside."
Hitomi narrowed her eyes, glaring daggers at the camera. She stepped ahead the siblings, stretching the hand with the bracelet in front of her.
"Listen, Killer-san, you have two options. The first one is that you let us go in peace, with a happy end of the story for either you and me," her eyes shifted in scarlet. "The other one is that we leave by force, but it won't end really pretty... Especially for me, but-"
She was stopped when she noticed Killua placing a hand over her shoulder, probably to stop her and say that he was going to take care of that.
"Father, I am definitely your son. You said Alluka was something that came from somewhere else, right? I call the black-eyed Alluka 'Something', Nanika. We're leaving. I'll clean up my own mess," he then turned to Alluka, whose face was still unseen and buried in Killua's chest. "Nanika, if we haven't left the mountain in half an hour, kill my mother."
Everything was silent for a while. Hitomi looked at Killua for a while, before rolling her eyes.
"Yep, definitely his son," she mumbled. "Lovely father, lovely son."
Killua just shrugged at her.
"Huh? Hey, you damned brat!" another voice shouted.
"Your brother? Well, lovely brother you have!" she started to think. "If there are five brothers... Leaving Alluka, Kalluto - his voice is not feminine at all - and Illumi out... Who-? Wait, is he the Milky-guy?" sshe then joked. "Hey, does the milk come from cows or goats?"
"Well, he is definitely a cow so-" he thought.
"IT'S MILLUKI, YOU IDIOT!" Milluki yelled at her
"Yeah, yeah," she waved her hand around. "Who cares anyway?"
Killua chuckled a little at it, before turning to Nanika again. She was releasing a dark, terrifying aura that even Hitomi noticed.
"If we've left the mountain in half an hour," he continued. "I want you to kiss me on the cheek. Got it?"
Nanika then turned her head and looked at the camera, showing that her face had changed radically. Her face was all white, both her eyes and smiling mouth replaced by pitch black holes.
"... 'Kay," that was her only answer.
Hitomi just blinked at her. "Wow, lovely sister, too," she spoke.
Killua raised an eyebrow at his friend before smirking while shaking his head. It looked like nothing could surprise her now. Serious again, he turned to the camera.
"Father, open the door," he spoke.
"We have to hurry up," Hitomi spoke, arms folded behind her head, as they slowly made their way out the mountain. "Your mother can die, you know."
"Ah, don't worry," he smirked, his cat ears popping out his head. "There's no need to hurry~!"
Hitomi facepalmed.
"You look somewhat happy about your own mother's death..." she sweatdropped.
"Killua!" Alluka scolded. "Don't be mean!"
Hitomi then gave Killua a questioning look. As far as she knew, Alluka always called him Big brother. But now he was calling him by his first name.
The boy noticed her confusion and understood.
"Oh, it's because is the one Nanika out," Hitomi raised an eyebrow at his answer. "You see, when she calls me Big brother, she's the real Alluka. The Alluka that calls me Killua is Nanika."
"Wow, it's really messed up... My brain is gonna explode... Seriously."
The Zoldyck boy just chuckled, before turning to his sister. Since they were now out the mountain, she grinned at gave the boy a sweet, quick kiss in the cheek.
Hitomi couldn't help but smile at it. She wondered if when she was with Kurapika they were that cute... Probably not.
"Anyway, I was wanting to ask you something," Killua asked Hitomi, who just looked at him in acknowledge. "How come you weren't shocked when you saw Nanika?"
"Hmm, I don't know..." she shrugged. "I had seen a lot of shocking stuff already and it kinda became usual, I think..."
"Stuff? Such as?"
"I don't know. To begin with, I come from a family whose eyes become red when pissed off..." she then counted. "Then... I've seen 127 eyeless bodies... a psycho clown killing everyone with a freaking deck of cards... someone - who I won't name - stealing a man's heart in a literal way... a guy with needles struck in his head turning into another person after taking them away... a guy whose stomach exploded inside-out... a cute girl with 57 years old... a flying arm - I saw that twice actually... a male fairy with multicolor wings... one of my best friends transforming from a fourteen-year old cute boy to a creepy muscular man with long hair, which had some kind of beanstalk-complex... Want me to go on? Because I have a handful more examples to give you."
"No, I think I got it," his eyebrow twitched as Alluka blinked at her. "Thank you very much..."
Hitomi grinned.
"Well, my time for questioning... Is there any other reason for bringing Alluka with us more than your older brother's instinct to set her free?"
"Actually, yeah," he replied. "Nanika is skilled at breaking, but not as skilled at fixing. When she's fixing, Nanika must touch the target. So she must touch Gon and Kurapika."
"Oh, makes sense," Hitomi then noticed something. "Hey, just a minute!"
Killua raised an eyebrow while Alluka blinked at the girl who ran ahead and stood in front of the Testing Gate. The boy then understood it and shook his head at Hitomi's childish grin.
"I'll test it! It's called the Testing Gate for a reason, right?"
Hitomi placed her hands on it, taking a deep breath, before pushing with all her strenght. They all got surprised - incluiding herself - that she managed to open up the third gate. Once outside, she released the door and waved her hands around, in excitement.
"It's not a big deal. I still won," Killua told her, smirking. "I was able to open up the fifth gate."
"Sorry for not being trained since I born, Genius-san," she rolled her eyes. "Before being a Hunter, that was your mark, or so Zebro told us. Mine was one at that time," she turned around, smiling cutely. "It looked like I improved a little, didn't I?"
Seeing her smile, he blushed a little. He turned his head around, as he walked past her quickly. Alluka noticed her brother's strange behaviour and blinked at the scene.
"Well, yeah," he chuckled. "Just let's go."
"Killua?" Morel replied from the other line of the phone. "Where are you two now? Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're on our way back," Killua replied casually. "How'd it go with Gon?"
Alluka blinked and looked curiously while Zebro and Hitomi just kept silent.
"No luck," he replied. "When we told him about Kite, there was no response on the monitors. A lot of people have dropped by to talk to him. But there's been no reaction."
"Okay," he glanced a little at his friend. "How about Kurapika?"
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"He says he is alright, but that's totally out of reality. Even Knuckle could tell no matter how much he tried to hide it," he confessed. "He still looks deathly pale and his Nen hadn't returned. He's not getting better at all either."
"Right, I understand," the boy spoke. "I doubt we can heal them with normal measures."
"Wait! Don't be hasty, Killua. As you said, Gon used a contract and restriction to temporarily wield an immense amount of Nen, right? Kurapika broke his own and his condition was death, it's a miracle he isn't dead right now! Then it's best if we let a Nen exorcist take care of it. We can wait until we've exhausted all our options to resort to riskier measures."
Killua just smirked at it, making all of the others wonder about what they were talking about.
"Oh, sorry. That didn't come out right," he rested his elbow in the desk. "I'm not talking about a crazy gamble. In fact, I can guarantee they will be healed. Let us take care of this," he narrowed his eyes, in confidence. "This method isn't as risky as using a Nen exorcist. But the problem is how we can get there. This time, that will be the biggest challenge."
"Wh-What do you-?"
Killua opened his eyes when Morel's voice died down, startling Hitomi. Worried, she made her way towards him and placed her ear close to the phone, to hear as well.
"Forgive me, Killua-sama," a voice spoke.
"Is that you, Gotoh?" Killua recognized him.
Yeah, Hitomi remembered him too... and she wasn't that glad about it.
"I can't let you continue that conversation, on the grounds of secrecy."
"I didn't tell him anything secret!" the boy shouted at the phone.
"Not true. You said you could guarantee they would be healed. That was a reference to Alluka-sama's power," the butler replied. "At the moment, you are still just within Zoldyck property, but outside the boundaries, you are already at alert level 4, so please be careful."
"So he was waiting for me to give Morel a hint?" he then smirked as Hitomi blinked, "You're too easy on me, Gotoh."
"I do not understand what you mean."
"Level 4..." Killua's eyes narrowed. "Looks like I pissed off my father."
Unable to get anything out of the conversation, Hitomi turned to Zebro. He looked at her intense gaze and blinked.
"Hey, old man," she called. "Do you happen to know what in the whole Earth is that 'level 4' thing... Because now I'm starting to think that Killua is some kind of Pokemon with an attack called Thunderbolt and had just leveled up..."
The gatekeeper, however, gasped after hearing the words 'level 4' for some reason.
"Well, you see... There are alert levels when a member of the Zoldyck family is outside. When one's outside alert level is 4, restrictions are placed upon what the target can do and say," he explained to her. "To enforce that, multiple butlers and family members are assigned to monitor the target."
"That's ridiculous..." she mumbled, before shaking it off. "But... What happens if he broke a restriction?"
"He'd be captured right away and returned home... and I guess they would kill you as well," he explained. "The alert level then would increase to level 5, in which at the moment a single step is taken outside Zoldyck property, the target is captured."
Hitomi rolled her eyes... And she thought that the Elder was annoyingly strict with the rules back at her childhood...
"What's the reason?" Killua asked.
"The reasons are unauthorized removal of a classified object, bringing an outsider inside the house, rebelling against your parents and use of threatening actions."
"Alluka is an object?!"
"There are three restrictions. Please, keep in mind that the first and the last one also apply Hitomi-sama," Gotoh ignored him. "First, to protect family secrets the target may not speak to or exchange items with any outsiders without enforce this, the target is forbidden to carry any communicacion devices."
"We've already had everything taken away."
"Second, to protect family secrets, the target must stay within one meter of Alluka-sama all times."
"Yeah, yeah. I don't plan on letting her out of my sight."
"Wait a minute. Don't you think that rule a little too far?" Hitomi jumped in the conversation. "Humans can see a maximum of 5 km... So why only a freaking meter? Think about it! Alluka is a girl and Killua isn't! Don't you think that she need a little more of privacity-?"
Killua's killer glare was enough shut her up.
"And as I were saying..." Gotoh continued. "Third, to protect the family secrets, you are forbidden from letting any outsiders learn anything about Alluka's power."
The boy just released a long sigh of annoyment. "I understand perfectly," he spoke. "So basically..."
Somehow, the three ended up standing next to Kanaria and Gotoh. Hitomi raised an eyebrow at the boy, noticing that he was smirking victoriously while holding his sister's hand.
"This is what I have to do. This way, I don't have to ask permission every time I do something," Killua declared. "While we're traveling, I'll let you handle all the arrangements!"
"I understand why I am here," Gotoh glanced at Kanaria by the corner of his eye. "But why is Kanaria here?"
A finger pointed at him, but he didn't seem moved at it at all.
"Moron! Alluka is a girl. I can't trust a lump like you to take care of her!" then, this thumb pointed at his female friend, who was standing right next to Alluka. "The closest thing to a girl is that tomboy over there... That's not a lot of help..."
"Ah, is that so?" a vein popped up in Hitomi's head. "Sorry for not being as girly as you, Miss Killua..."
It didn't look like he heard her, though. That only helped in making Hitomi even angrier, annoyment boiling in her blood.
"There is nothing to worry about," they all turned to the sudden voice. "We shall also accompany you. Silva-sama did not believe that two butlers would be enough."
Hitomi looked at the pair and noticed how Killua tensed at the sight. Walking towards them was a pretty but serious girl - who reminded the Kuruta of Illumi, in a way - and a tall, scary-looking old woman with glasses.
"Tsubone!" Killua was surprised. He took a step back as she stood in front of him. "Dad is really pissed..."
The girl just looked at the drop of sweat rolling down the ex-assassin's cheek, thoughtlessly taking his hand, to give him a little of comfort at least...
And to comfort herself as well... She couldn't remember the last time she was that scared of life...
"It's fine," Killua smiled, nervously. "I won't do anything stupid at alert level 4."
"Listen to me, Killua-chan," the woman spoke. "I'm not as lenient as your father and Gotoh. A single violation means that I'll take you home and kill your friend. Nothing will change that. If you resist, I'll knock you out. Keep that in mind. Are we clear?"
"Yes! Yes!" he nodded, really tense.
Hitomi blinked a little, before turning to Kanaria.
"Did she call him-?"
"Yes," she replied, a little tense as well. "To be honest, Tsubone-sensei is the only person in the entire household who calls him 'Killua-chan'."
"Eh?" she smirked at Tsubone. "Looks like she has some reputation here..."
That was when Alluka stood in front of her brother, stretching her arms protectively at her sides with a frown in her face.
"No bullying Big brother!"
Tsubone's face changed, now she was smiling at the little girl warmly, like a grandmother would do with her granddaughter... What a change of character...
"I'm sorry. Alluka-chama is so kind I won't do it again."
"I just realized something..." Killua mumbled to his friend. "I have trouble dealing with old ladies..."
"Just now?" Hitomi taunted. "You are pointing the obvious, though..."
For the eleventh time of the day, he glared at her. Meanwhile, Tsubone kneeled down next to Alluka.
"Do you love your big brother?" she asked.
"I love him lots!" Alluka exclaimed, raising her hand happily.
"Then you should do as he says."
"Okay!"
Hitomi couldn't help but chuckle at the cute scene, but winning the old woman's attention. She tensed, blushing a little at the sudden attention.
"Oh, my, so it's you?" the blonde girl blinked at her words. Tsubone turned to Killua. "You finally got a girlfriend? You are lucky, Killua-chan, she is really pretty."
A beat later, the pair of faces were on fire. They looked wide-eyed at the old butler and tensed a little.
"We're not together!" they shouted at the same time.
"Is that so?" she said, in a sing-song voice. "Then, why are you both still holding hands? You too are really cute."
Killua and Hitomi looked at each other, and then at their wrapped hands. They snapped them away, before glaring at each other.
"What were you doing, pervert?!" she shouted at him.
"Me?! You were the one who did it!" he shouted back.
"It was... It was... It wasn't me!" she couldn't find the words to answer.
"It was!"
"It wasn't!"
"It was!
"Right! Let's just pretend that it was me..." she went on, seriously. "Then, why didn't you let go of it?"
He was taken away. Alluka looked at both of them who were arguing, like it was a tennis match.
"Because... Because..." he started to think of an excuse. "Because I didn't notice when you did it!"
"Until now?"
"Yeah..."
She grinned. She was winning this.
"Then, how can you prove it wasn't you?" Killua frowned at her words. "You could have been the one who did that, without even realizing it."
"It could've been you as well."
"Yeah, but no one will ever know. It's my word against yours, but I still won this match."
Killua opened his mouth, but no word came. He looked away as Hitomi held her fingers in a 'V' shape, meaning that she had won that one.
"Tsubone!" all of sudden, Alluka held her hands to the woman. "Give me the nail of your pinky."
The two females were the only one who remained without changing their expression. Hitomi and Killua stopped they quarrel. As well as the other butlers, they looked at the scene in pure shock.
"She made a request to Tsubone!" Killua cursed. "This is the worst time for it!"
"A fingernail? What does Nanika want to do with it?!" Hitomi wondered. "Okay, now I'm starting to think that she is indeed a little creepy..."
"Yes, absolutely," Tsubone replied without a second thought.
Hitomi looked in disgust as the woman took her nail off with her own hand and handed it to the girl. She still couldn't get how come Alluka - or Nanika, she didn't know - was that happy to have a bloody nail in her hands. Cute gift indeed.
"Killua-sama, I will go into hiding for the time being," she stood up to leave. "This means that Alluka-sama will not make requests of anyone else. Unless I change my mind. Do you get what I mean? Of course, I will remain near you at all times."
In a blink of eye, Tsubone had magically disappeared. Hitomi took a step ahead, but she then noticed the old woman was already gone. Killua, at the same time, bit his lip in frustration.
"Big brother," Alluka tugged her brother's sleeve. "Are you angry?"
He looked at her, before smiling warmly. He shook his head and then placed a hand over her own.
"It's okay. There's nothing for you to worry about," he assured her and she grinned. "I will save you!"
Hitomi grinned at the sight. She felt about interrupting it, but they had to go now.
"Well then, we have to go," she grinned. "Let's go, Alluka, Killua-chan."
"Okay!"
"... Killua-chan?..."
Ring, ring, ring...
Hitomi looked over Gotoh who had just picked up Killua's cell phone. Right after that, she looked through the window to do whatever but pay attention to the conversation. She was kind of curious, but she had to resist the tentation.
"... In that case, you should state your name first," she heard Gotoh saying. "Goodbye."
Killua glanced at the butler as he cut the line off.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"It was-"
Ring, ring, ring...
"Hello?" he picked up.
"MY NAME IS LEORIO!" even Hitomi could heard from where she was sitting, next to Amane and Alluka. "Can you put Killua or Hitomi on the phone?!"
On the other side of the phone, poor Senritsu had to cover her ears because of the loud voice. Kurapika shook his head while Morel told him to shut up.
Meanwhile, the three stayed in silence. Gotoh held the phone meters away from his ear, trying to not get a ear injury. Wise guy he was...
Hitomi, though, couldn't believe it... How come Alluka looked like she wasn't able to heard anything at all?
"Wow, that brings back memories!" Killua thought, looking blankly at the butler.
"It has been quite some time, Leorio-sama," Gotoh said.
Hitomi chuckled.
"It was about time for someone to call him 'Leorio-sama'..." she mumbled. "Well, good thing we didn't start a fight like last time..."
"What fight?" Killua was confused.
"... Ah, right. You weren't in the ship with us..." she scratched the back of her head. "You see... Long, boring story."
Alluka just blinked, not understanding a word of it.
"Oh! I remember!" they heard Leorio clearly. "It's the coin guy!"
"Killua-sama and his friend are currently on they way there, accompanied by us... Yes, to help Gon-sama and Kurapika-sama. However, there are strict conditions that must be met."
"Hey, there!" Leorio was angry. "Conditions to save their friends? Are you dreaming? If you need help waking up, I'll speak more loudly!"
Kurapika blinked. "Friends?"
Senritsu didn't say anything about it. That was right, he wasn't aware that they wanted to heal him too. She then frowned, still worried. It looked like she was the only one to notice something more that was wrong about him...
But she wasn't going to tell him. It could only worsen his condition.
"Keep your mouth shut," Gotoh spoke.
"What did you say?!"
"Killua-sama and his friend are risking their lives," Leorio tensed at the statement. "They're heading to you, against Killua-sama's family's wishes. You should know that the Zoldyck family is very special. We are the ones who set the conditions. So shut up and listen, fool."
Hitomi's head snapped at him, since it was the first time she heard Gotoh insulting someone. Killua looked at him, smirking a little, as the butler let his head drop.
"Please excuse me," he said.
"Don't worry," Hitomi smirked. "The old guy deserved it..."
"YOU BRAT! You deserve a good kick as well!" she heard Leorio shout. "I'm aware of you running away from the hospital before they let you go!"
"Who told you tha-?" Kurapika's face then popped up in her head. "... Forget it... But my hands are healed and I feel fine. Not a big deal..."
Killua's head snapped at her, glaring at her. He was worried, that's right, but angry with her as well. Hitomi on the other hand, placed her hands behind her head.
"Too late," she grinned.
The male Zoldyck then turned to his butler.
"Let me talk to him. It'll be faster that way," Gotoh looked at him. "Don't worry, I won't say anything I'm not supposed to. One violation means that she's dead and I'll sent home, right?"
Like that, Gotoh had no more option than give him the phone.
"Yo, it's been a while," he said.
"Killua!" Leorio shouted. "When you get here, let me talk to that guy! Are you two okay?!"
"Yeah, but I can't say anything specific. I need you to trust me. Do as Gotoh says."
Leorio released a long sigh.
"Yeah, got it. Put him back on," he gave up right to feel a tap on his shoulder. He looked at his right to see that it was Morel, grinning.
"I'll ask about the conditions," the man said. "Let me talk."
"Uh... Morel-san, was it?" Leorio said, annoyed. "This is my phone, and I'm talking to my buddy, so why should I let you talk?"
"An excellent question," he continued. "The answer is to give me the phone."
"No way," Leorio snapped his hand away. "Get lost."
"Very well. Then, I have a favor to ask," Morel held his hands up on defense. "My guess is that you'll say, 'That isn't possible'. In which case, you should hand over the phone. Because I can make it possible."
Leorio gave the man a long look, before sighing in surrender. On the other side of the phone, Hitomi crossed her arms in front of her chest, narrowing her eyes in wonder.
She thought about all the conditions to let Alluka touch Gon... She knew that if they made her touch Kurapika as well it would be another long trouble she didn't want Killua and his sister to deal with...
Hitomi suddenly was hit by an idea. It wouldn't work with Gon... but it was possible that worked with Kurapika. After all, there was no limit about the wishes you could ask to Nanika, right?
It was worth of trying.
"I've an idea. We don't have to have Alluka to touch Kurapika as well. We can save that problem," she smirked. They all looked at her, in confusion and Killua frowned. "Don't worry, Killua, just trust me."
Just by looking at her eyes, Killua knew that he had just to let it go. Gotoh stared at her for a few minutes as well, before talking to Leorio again. They spoke about the conditions.
"We have Kurapika-sama's part already covered. So, let's start with the conditions to heal Gon," he spoke. "When we arrive, there must be no one inside the building except Gon-sama."
"Not even doctors?" Leorio questioned.
"Correct."
"Or any other patients?"
"Correct."
"THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Kurapika had to cover his ears to avoid getting totally deaf. The headache he had been dealing with all the day only worsened at his loudness. By the corner of his eye noticed Senritsu grimacing in pain while covering her ears... He somehow felt sorry for her.
"This is a national hospital!" he continued yelling.
"Don't you think that's enough reason to be a little less loud," Kurapika mumbled, but was ignored.
"Do you have any idea how many people are in here?!"
Morel stretched his hand at him, and the other second he was the one discussing about the conditions. After finishing, he asked the young doctor to make another call. Maybe, he was calling Knov.
Meanwhile, Kurapika felt a stinging pain in his heart. He tried to pass unnoticed, but a yelp managed to get out his lips, it was so faint but loud enough to the Musical Hunter to hear. She turned around just to see the boy clutching his chest in silence.
"Kurapika?" the woman called in worry. His eyes flew opened in surprise after hearing his name. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah," he smiled, still in pain. He withdrew his hand from his chest. "It's just... I'm just tired, that's all."
Senritsu then frowned. Her hunch, which had transformed into suspicion, had just turned into certainty. Something worse than they thought was happening to Kurapika, and it would soon provoke his death.
At the same time, Morel gave the phone back to Leorio.
"Morel, I'll let you handle all contact with Killua," he spoke.
"Yeah, I've got it," the older Hunter replied.
After all, he started to walk away.
"What are you going to do, Leorio?" Kurapika asked.
"There is a person I need a word with," that was his only answer.
Leorio closed the word behind himself and Senritsu clenched her fists. Morel and Kurapika suddenly turned to her as she stood up dramatically.
"What are you doing?" the blond boy asked.
She couldn't bear it anymore. Just looking at her friend's blue orbs, the circles under them getting larger and larger, her worry increased. It pained her way a lot.
"It's just I remembered something," she told them, bursting out the room. "It's just a minute!"
Kurapika and Morel then blinked at each other, confusing at her actions. Senritsu, on the other hand, ran desperately through the halls, until she spotted her target.
"Leorio!" he turned around after hearing his name.
The man was confused, as he looked at her panting. He didn't remember last time he saw her that desperate over something he didn't know.
"Senritsu, what-?" he couldn't end his question.
"Something is bad with Kurapika!" she cut him off.
He looked at the floor.
"Yeah, I kno-"
"No, you don't know!" he was surprised at her outburst.
Senritsu then calmed down. The worry in Leorio increased as well, as he looked at her eyes. It gave him a terrible feeling.
"It's just..." she searched for the correct words to say it.
"What's wrong?"
Senritsu swallowed hard.
"I can't hear Kurapika's heart at all."
Leorio gaped in shock. He tried to speak, but his throat was strangled and his mouth felt dry all of sudden.
Without them knowing, another person was sitting in the next corner. After hearing the shocking news, his castle of cards crumbled and fell in the floor. His blue eyes narrowed, trying to hear the rest of the conversation.
"That's bad..." he started to build his castle again. "If things keep going like this, I'm going to... run out of toys..."
And then, the castle of cards fell again.
End of the chapter! Sorry I was that late!
First of all, I wanted to tell you that I have a Deviantart account now! If you go there (I wrote it in my profile) you will find my first try of drawing Hitomi... Just saying, if she was real she would have killed me right now... She looked decent in my head but... Let's just say that art is not my strong point at all -_-'...
Let's move to friendlier matters... Reviews!
Guest (first one): Well... Here is you update! Thanks for the review and I hope you liked it :)
JokeLover123: I think Kurapika's personallity would be like this if he forgot about revenge, that's why he is less emo like you said (I hope he doesn't act that OOC...) Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
Have: Yeah, I have heard about that theory too in a lot of places, and in my opinion is the most accurrate one... Well, anyway, she is going to be called a girl whichever is the reason he did that XD Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this update :D
Kri: It's a miracle that Hitomi is still alive... Just telling you, major fluff will come next chapter ( I don't know how it would end up being but... Oh well) XD Anyway, thank you for leaving me a review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
SoulXHunter: Actually, you can say that they are aware of that, but they are focused in Gon and Kurapika more (just like Killua in the anime). Fluff it's coming next chapter so let's hope it doesn't turn that lame XD Well, thanks for the review! I wish you liked it :D
Guest (second one): Well, just hearing that soundtrack makes me cry. You know, I'm a fan of the 1999 OST, but that one is just awesome and beautiful! Anyway, I'm glad you liked that I added Kurapika there. I mean, I thought it wouldn't be the best choice to break the canon like that, but I always wanted him to be shown more often and I couldn't help myself XD Thank you for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Elisablackcat: Alluka is here :D Thanks for leaving a review and I hope you liked this update!
Mr. Kohen: Thanks for both reviewing and wishing me luck! Lucklily, I did well :D I'm happy you liked last update and I hope you like this one!
Silent Readers: Thank you for the visit! Have fun :D
See you all later!