I opened the microwave door and pulled out the reheated soup. Not exactly appealing taste wise but it was something warm. This September weather had taken such a turn today.
I had awoken to the thinnest coating of frost on my window, bundled on the layers and rummaged through the cabinets to find this last can of soup. I had been nursing it all day, not looking forward to when I had to go out for more.
I blew on the ceramic mug, inhaling some of the steam. I was standing in my modern kitchen in the thickest pajama bottoms I had and wearing my pink hoodie I had bought freshman year of high school. My hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun and I was wearing my glasses.
I didn't wear them often because they made me look bookish, contacts were my preferred eyewear accessory. Until the headaches start, then I had to wear my glasses for a day or two.
Maybe I should book another optometrist appointment? Nah, I'll do that later.
I trudged my way to the study, mug in hand, when I heard the doorbell ring. I checked my wristwatch. Who could be here at like eight p.m?
And whoever it is, I thought while cringing, needs to lay off the button. They had wrung that dang bell twenty times or more already!
"I'm coming!" I shouted the instant they let up. Wrenching the front door open I was faced with Hisoka.
He was leaning casually against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, and he was wearing a suit. No tie, just a classic cut jacket and dress pants with a red shirt. What was throwing me for a loop was Illumi who stood next to him, also in a suit with a blue shirt, and hands in his pockets. His hair was long and down but he suddenly looked, well, masculine.
"Hey Tamika-chan." Hisoka pushed off the frame and peered into my face. I simply blinked. When it became apparent to him that I wasn't going to say anything he continued, still cheerful, "Illu-chan and I stopped by to give you the report since you never gave us your email or number."
Blink.
Blinkblink.
"What?" I questioned stupidly. He handed me a reasonably small stack of papers. The title on the top page simply read:
BONES FOUND ON ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS
"It's the report from the project. We finished it early." I saw Illumi shrug. Then I finally clued in.
"Shit! I completely forgot about that." Light bulb went on in my head.
M…
Millu…
Milluki…
Zoldyck…
Illumi…
"See ya." Hisoka raised his hand in a peace symbol gesture as they began walking away.
"Hey Illumi?" I called, seizing a chance I had almost ignored. Damn my cowardly nature. Cyberspace is so much easier to handle. "What's your last name?"
I leaned against the now locked door. That had been pointless. Illumi had just ignored me, never even looking back. Hisoka had given more reaction; leaned back to give me a wink and raise a finger to his lips.
Secret? Illumi's last name was a secret? Do I take that to mean yes he was a Zoldyck or did he belong to another family? Was there another family with a son named Illumi? And a son named Millu – or some variation?
I returned to my study and my now cold soup. Half the group seemed to be online but I didn't feel like talking to anybody. I tossed the stack of papers down and cracked my knuckles. Thanks to the unexpected visit I remembered the unfinished design still on my system.
Too much had been going on lately, school projects had kind of taken a back seat.
Tonight would be dedicated to all those forgotten projects.
Yeah, I am not that dedicated. I will finish off the skeleton model and go from there.
Flipping through the report, purely out of curiosity, I saw the last page was blank. Perplexed, I unclipped it from the rest and turned it over. The back contained a hand written note that appeared to be both of their phone numbers.
I shook my head, but a small smile was forming. If I had to guess, from the very little I knew about handwriting analysis, I think it had been Hisoka who wrote the note. It was messy, yet legible, which indicated an unorganized mind. Illumi didn't strike me as 'unorganized'.
Nor did he seem inclined to hand out his phone number because of a school project. This was totally Hisoka's doing.
Beyond all reasoning I pulled my mobile from my pocket and entered their numbers. It would be simple to delete them afterwards, this was just in case…
In case of what? There was no reason for me to call them. The model was finished, printed, and safely in a manila file folder – precisely where this report was going this instant. The completed project would be handed in a week early and then I would never have a reason to talk to them again.
I tapped a few keys on my computer.
"Hey Uma, you still on?"
""Unfortunately."
"What's wrong?"
"Been on the clock for two shifts, it's throwing off my whole sleep cycle."
"Rough."
"Uh-huh. What about you girl? What's up in your area of the world?"
"Crazy shit." I responded as I clicked open another program. If they had phone numbers, they had to be registered somewhere. That meant a last name would be on record. The remaining question was where.
"Kamakiri told me you may know Mr. Mystery's name."
"Yup." My eyes rolled across my screen.
"Care to share?"
"Yup."
"Gonna tell me?" Uma's voice came through the mic after a reasonably small pause.
"Yup." I popped the p sound. I reached into my top left drawer and pulled out a stick of gum.
"Hey Kit?"
"Yup."
"Are you a trash eating slug who sleeps with cockroaches?"
"Yup."
"You're not listening."
"Yup." I watched with my hope slipping away as the trace program took longer and longer to find Illumi's number.
I didn't bother with Hisoka's. I held no interest in discovering his last name. With the way my luck was going right now, I would probably discover that Hisoka also didn't own a last name. Which in a world with so many people was a shocking phenomenon.
"Do you also have a secret crush on Inu?"
"Yu- No! What? Why would you ask something like that Uma?!" The thought of crushing on a guy who I had never met in person was idiotic and ridiculous. Though… to be honest I was jealous of his skills.
Uma laughed as my mind reeled. Why did they all take enjoyment from my air headedness?
My computer beeped, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Yes!" I jumped out of my seat, I was ecstatic! Something had finally gone right!
I skimmed the document which had popped up. It appeared to be the standard cell phone contract you sign each time you buy a new phone. And at the very bottom was the signature of a Mr. Illumi Zol-
"Fuck!" I collapsed to my knees, head smacking the desk, "OW!" and buried my head beneath my arms.
Uma had gone quiet.
"Kit? Did you have a nervous breakdown? 'Cause if you did I don't know the number for your local mental hospital so your usual suite can't be booked." I groaned at the lame crack.
"Not funny. And even that place wouldn't have the security needed to keep me alive." I mumbled, face still plastered against the wood. Maybe if I stayed like this long enough I would merge with the desk and then Illumi would never be able to find me.
"What happened?" Concern laced her voice, which softened in reaction to my own depressed tone.
"Monick."
"Repeat that? And maybe speak English this time around please."
I lifted my head so my voice wouldn't be muffled again.
"Zoldyck.
"Gonna need more."
"Illumi Zoldyck is in my class. He's my freaking partner for a project! And I think his brother is Mr. Mystery!" I slammed my head back down, wondering if maybe I was overreacting.
Uma let out a low whistle.
"You are screwed to the Earth's core."
Maybe I wasn't overreacting. I mean, what had I done to them?
I was in Illumi's class.
I dug up info for his brother.
I now knew Illumi's last name.
I hacked into his brother's computer.
Zoldycks killed anyone who wasn't of use to them.
Then what about Hisoka? Couldn't think about that right now, there were bigger fish to fry.
"I'm going to let you go Uma, get some sleep."
"Okay. Talk to me tomorrow or I'm going to assume the worst."
"Good night." I said with a little more force than I intended. I signed off before anything more could be said though.
Need to talk. Zoldycks.
-Kitsune
What do you want?
-M
You Milluki Z?
-Kitsune
And if I am?
-M
Why did you seek me out? You got skills.
-Kitsune
So do you.
-M
Why?
-Kitsune
I was bored. Thought a little competition would be nice entertainment.
-M
Why /me/?
-Kitsune
Your bio was intriguing.
-M
Could he be referring to my website bio? Each of us created one which listed our specialized skills. It also listed our code name and contact info. We didn't always work in teams, most of our pay came from individual contracts. And so my work with Milluki showed, it wasn't always legal.
What happens now?
-Kistune
The contract continues.
-M
Guess I didn't have a choice. Though it was a relief to hear that he had no plans of firing me.
"Cool." Hisoka said as I showed them the model. I thought it was well detailed and my pride swelled with the knowledge that they approved.
Of course Illumi's approval only came in the form of a faint nod, no change in expression.
Everything in my life seemed to have realigned. Milluki was still paying me for information. The group was chatting and joking, and sometimes getting into trouble with Inu.
The last couple of days had been refreshing. Normal. I had spent some time amping up my security too, especially on personal files. And the one thing I had come across was the info document I had created on the Zoldycks.
If I had found that sooner, I think life would have returned to what it was now, well, sooner.
"Nothing wrong with it, is there?" I questioned, frantically looking it over for the hundredth time.
"No, no, it's fine Tamika-chan." He patted my head, reminding me that he stood half a foot taller. Illumi was about his height, so it felt similar to having a couple of older brothers. Hisoka was the joke because he had broader shoulders, and Illumi was the academic genius because he was quiet.
"Stop that!" I reached up to shoo off his hand, he simply grinned as Illumi looked on.
"Alright everybody!" Professor Husain walked into the room and thumped his briefcase on his desk as he began to teach. The three of us took our seats to 'learn'.
I more or less spent the class reworking some codes that had not worked how I had wanted them too. I looked over at Hisoka and Illumi once in a while, and they hadn't changed either. Hisoka still played with Illumi's hair, much to his irritation.
It made me laugh. This would be a fun term. It was, after all, only the end of the first month of my first year of college.
As I was packing my things away, my hip bumped the desk, sending my pens to scatter across the floor. I sighed and bent to pick them up.
My favourite pink pen was held out to me and I looked up to see Illumi holding it. As I reached up to take it I smiled. And unlike the first time this had happened, I calmly said,
"Thank you."
"Let's go Illu-chan!" Hisoka called from the doorway. "Hey Tamika-chan, want a lift home?"
"Okay!" I slung my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my laptop bag as I ran to catch up to the other two.