I rubbed at my eyes without fully waking up. Why was my face wet? I slowly opened my eyes and looked to see something glisten on my fingertips. Tears?

"You are awake?"

"Illu?" Was I still dreaming? Illumi couldn't be in my bedroom. Unless he decided to take up a new career in peeping…

"Here." I sat up and leaned against the headboard as Zoldyck boy handed me a ceramic mug with what looked to be…

"Coffee?" I sniffed the cup again to make sure. "You didn't add anything to it did you?"

He didn't reply so I assumed 'no' and took a drink, glancing around the room. Okay, not my bedroom. I was back in that god awful, freakin' ass huge bed again. I nearly groaned at the thought, but the coffee was sooo good it came out as a moan. How did he manage to do this perfectly? It had just the right amount of sugar.

"Mhmm… You are a demi-god Illu." My head fell back and I just sat there staring at the ceiling, holding the mug in between my legs. I was really tired still, but there was no way I could go back to sleep. I know I had dreamed about something, but the last wisps of it were already too faded for me to catch.

I watched as Haruka stretched her arms above her head and yawned. How was she so at ease in my presence? Four hours ago she seemed terrified of me, and now it was like no trace of that encounter remained.

Was this really the same girl?

She handed me the now empty mug – how had she drank it all already? – and threw the covers back to reveal her legs. Sitting on the edge of the bed, looking for her boots I presumed, she said,

"Thanks for the coffee, but I gotten run, again. What time is it?" She turned her head to look out the windows, saw it was glaringly bright, and flinched. "Shit, it's that late already? Damn, Mimi will be having a huffy right about now. I am never late… Okay, I'm actually late a lot but… this is just late."

Her verbal tirade had me turning my brain in circles. It was almost as if Haruka was voicing her thoughts out loud without realizing it. I smiled, watching her pace the room looking for her sweater. She was wearing a pretty low cut top that not only drew attention to her chest, but it was tight fitting enough to show her curves…

Why was I thinking about that?

I stood up and offered her her sweater.

I smiled as I zipped my favourite blue hoodie up to my chin. Zoldyck boy was so sweet for handing it to me, but his expression was stoic. Like he had been thinking something really unpleasant. Did my sweater smell? I sniffed at it inconspicuously, and yeah, it needed a wash.

I nearly gagged as I got a strong whiff of Eau de Mike.

"Do I get to walk out the front door this time, or is jumping out the window how your family likes to make an exit?" I asked as he was once again blocking the doorway. If it had been anyone else I might have thought it was coincidental.

"Follow me."

"Aye, aye Captain!" I saluted him as he, and I swear this is true, rolled his eyes. I smiled as I followed him out the door, almost like an eager puppy trailing behind her master.

Did I just call myself a dog?

"Haruka-onee-chan!" A silver haired bundle jumped onto my back, squeezing the breath from my lungs. Kid was strong.

"Kitten!"

"I ain't no cat!" He tried to chomp on my shoulder, where it connected to my neck, but I threw him off. I had no worries about hurting him. If he was anything like his brother, he could probably kick my ass.

"You're just an adorable lit~tle kit~ten, Killu-chan." I laughed as he tried to launch himself back onto my back. I raced down the hallway, forgetting all about the eldest Zoldyck boy.

"Take that back onee-chan!" Killua called as I managed to stay one step ahead of him in our race.

"Hahaha, not until you catch me," I turned my head to show him my tongue, "Killu-chan!"

He skidded to a stop with a horrified look on his face, belatedly shouting,

"STOOOOOOP!" as I slammed head first into a brick wall.

"Well this is a surprise." A voice said as I felt something clasp my shoulders. They were all that was keeping me from collapsing on Jell-O legs as my head spun. Man, those were some hard stomach muscles.

"Dad!" Killua shouted. My gaze refocused a couple seconds after that, and I was left to look directly into a very broad chest. It belonged to the long silver haired man I had seen the first time Zoldyck boy had taken me here. This was their dad… That meant he was stronger than the both of them, combined… If I had just ticked him off… I was dead meat.

Had my middle name really been changed to Royally-Screwed?

"Is it too late to say hi?" I asked, quickly taking a step back. He let me go as soon as my legs were steady.

"Haha, not at all, not at all. Where's Illumi? Wasn't he with you two as well?"

"Oh," I looked behind me, "he was back there."

"Are you looking for me Father?" Zoldyck boy appeared behind muscle man. How had he done that?

"Kikyo had told me you brought the girl back; I wanted to see for myself." I chuckled, amused that this one girl had actually run into me. And that she had been with Kil instead of Illumi.

"Why?" I looked over to Illumi, shock reflecting on my face. Had my eldest just questioned my actions?

"I don't think we were introduced properly last time," the girl interrupted, sticking out her hand for me to shake, "I'm Haruka, nice to meet you."

"Silva Zoldyck." I shook her hand, and noticed a slight tremble. She was hiding her fear remarkably well, I had not even noticed it until now.

"Hey onee-chan is your head okay?" Kil approached her side and looked up with his large eyes. Another surprise for me, Kil was fond of this girl too? I began to think of what might have led to two of my sons being so enthralled with her.

Maybe it was simply her personality. She had intrigued me, as well as Father and Kikyo, the first time we had met. This girl was simply different from many others in the world.

I bent down at my knees to crouch in front of Killua. He was adorable when he eyes were big like that. I ruffled his hair and smiled, hiding the fact that my head was still slightly throbbing from the impact. I mean seriously, I had thought I had run into a brick wall not a person.

"I'm fine Killu-chan. Having a thicker than normal skull comes in handy on occasion."

"Ne~ Then let's continue the race…" He grasped my hand and I obediently followed. For an assassins kid, he was nearly identical to the other kids I was around. Guess no matter what, kids are hardwired to want to play.

"Illumi." I looked over to my son once Haruka and Kil had disappeared down the hallway.

"Yes Father?"

"There's an assignment for you."