A/N: Hello, readers! This where I start diverging from the original more. Things will move further away from the original story as the story goes on. I enjoy knowing there are people reading and enjoying my work. Please enjoy.
I walked up to the giant gate as the guide lady continued to talk about the Zoldyck family. I stared up at the many leveled gate door and was approached by the guard.
"Miss?" the elderly addressed me. I turned to look at him and realized that he could give me the information I needed.
"Yes, have three boys come through here?" I questioned. It was sunset, and I was ready to get things moving.
"Ah, yes. They opened the gate this morning." He replied. I nodded and went to open the gate, only to be stopped by the guard's question. "What is your name?"
"Akiko. My name is Akiko." I answered to the guards surprise.
"Akiko-sama!" He uttered quietly, before scrambling back to the booth.
I stared after the old man, then shrugged and pushed on the gate, to open the sixth level of the gate. I paused for a moment as I wondered if it was significant in any way, before shrugging again and walking in. I continued to follow the path Gon seemed most likely to use at a quick pace, finding them at a stone wall, crouched over a young woman. They didn't notice me at first.
"That looks pretty bad." I commented and they jumped in surprise.
"Big sis! You made it!" Gon crowed with pleasure. He then blushed when he noticed my cloak was missing altogether. "Ne, sis... Your cloak..."
"It's in my special bag." I chuckled while patting the seemingly empty bag. They looked down at it in confusion. I chuckled, then got back to the matter at hand. "Having trouble getting to Killua?"
"A little. His mom says that he says he can't see us. But I think she's lying." Kurapika answered before the others could.
"Most definitely. Only problem is, which way do we go to get Killua?" I frowned.
"I... will take you to the butler's mansion and you might be able to talk to Killua from there. If Zeno answers the phone..." The young lady winced as she spoke and sat up.
"Hold on. We don't want you to get in trouble!" Gon tried to reason.
"They already know what I'm doing, so I might as well." She answered as she stood, dusting herself off.
"Alright. Lead the way, then." I gestured ahead of us. She nodded, and turned to show us the way.
We arrived at the front of the mansion, my eyes searching everywhere for danger. The other butlers were lined outside in greeting. "Welcome, friends of Killua-sama." The man in the middle spoke as he rose from his bow. We were invited in. "Killua-sama will be here soon. Please wait here while waiting for him to arrive." He turned and stared at me for a moment before entering the house.
"Okay." Gon agreed. We quickly moved to a sitting room to wait for my little Killua. While the others sat, I stayed standing.
"While we wait, why do't we play a game?" The head butler offered. The others agreed. The first few were easy, so I started to look around myself. That was when my phone rang. Everyone stopped moving as I froze for a moment.
"I forgot I had one of these things." I muttered as I stuck my entire arm in my bag, reaching for the phone. After I pulled it out and turned to the nearest person. "Is there somewhere I could take this in relative privacy?" I asked.
"Right this way, madam." He showed me to a room not far from the room they were in and pulled the door almost closed.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Akiko! Everybody is saying you showed up, bonded and without your lover! Seriously? And you didn't even come to see me?" My friend practically shrieked.
"Sorry. I had pressing matters to attend to. And he was on a job. I'll make it up to you next time I drop by." I tried to placate my good friend.
"So you DID bond?! Really? What's he like?" She started asking a dozen questions.
"I don't have the time or the patience to answer that." I massaged the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, as my head started to ache. "I'll call you later hun. I've got important business to attend to still. I have to go, okay?"
"Fine. But you owe me, girl!" She claimed cheerfully before the dial tone could be heard.
"Yeah. Bye." I muttered to the disconnected line. I walked out to see more people in the room, grouped together. People I realized must be all of the Zoldycks. Well... all except for Killua and Illumi. I turned to Gon to see him talking to a familiar head of white fluff. I smiled faintly. A warmth grew in my chest and I felt so hap-... Never mind, it was just Illumi entering the room. I sighed as I glared at the pin user. I was vaguely aware of the family watching our interaction, but decided to ignore all of them.
"Killua-chan!" I took a step toward the twelve year old, but froze as I caught sight of his face. I froze as my mind processed what I was seeing. I wasn't able to hold back the fury and blood lust that washed over the room and almost suffocated some of the younger people in the room. My head turned slightly and tilted back to look at the family. "Who is responsible for thisssss?" My voice only added to the oppressive atmosphere. I was unaware of my eyes glowing or my hair starting to float. My eyes zeroed in on the fat one looking rather frightened and sweaty. My body turned, causing my head to tilt slightly as I took a step toward the stupid Zoldyck.
"Big sis, don't." Killua intervened from behind. I paused at his request, tilting my head back to eye him from the side. "He isn't worth it. Besides... I volunteered to atone." I turned back to the boy. I completely ignored everyone else as I made a slow path to him. I still didn't seem calm, so Illumi moved to stop me by grabbing my arm. I jerked away and glared at him. I turned my eyes back to Killua and attacked him with a hug. Any sign of threat instantly vanished.
"You shouldn't do that Killua. I almost killed your brother." I chastised him gently. "Don't you want to keep him? In case he's useful later?" I pet his soft hair. "So. We have who we came for. Let's go?" I turned to the green clad boy. Gon nodded with a grin. We were making our way out when Illumi grabbed me by the wrist.
A jolt ran up my arm and throughout the rest of my body. I froze. My eyes found their way to my captured wrist. "Please don't go yet." Illumi almost sounded like he was begging. I followed his hand up his arm to his shoulder, to his neck, to his face.
"What do you want, Illumi?" I almost growled.
"Your agreement to marry me." He answered in a matter-of-fact manner.
"EHHHHHH?" The four boys in my group shouted in unison.
"Nope." I answered quickly, without emotion. With a blank expression, I broke his hold on my wrist and turned to usher the boys out of the manor. "Bye, now."
"What must I do to earn your approval?" I asked, in a matching tone as he followed me out, followed by his family.
"Nothing. It'll never happen. I'll never accept you." I answered. I tried to hurry them, because I could feel the need to turn around and plaster myself to him.
"Please hear me out." Illumi called to my retreating form. Killua stopped moving, causing me to sigh and turn to face the long haired young man.
"What." I said flatly.
"Give me time to prove myself worthy to you." Illumi proposed. "At the end, you can tell me to leave you alone for good. But only after the time has come to an end."
"How long would I have to deal with you?" I nearly groaned.
"A year." He said.
"No deal." Immediate shut down. "I can barely stand being around you for as long as I have today. A year is far too long."
"Then six months?" He tried to compromise. I hesitated as I thought about it. I looked down at Killua, who met my eyes and nodded.
"Fine. But in that time, if you so much as look at Killua wrong, I'll end it right then and there, and you can look elsewhere for a possible wife." I set up rules on the spot. "And if you try to control either of us, this deal is forfeit. I will NOT be making this easy on you."
"Of course not." He nodded.
"We will wait at the gate for you, so that you can grab anything you need. When we get to the gate, if you aren't there within three hours, we will leave you behind." I continued. He nodded. I noticed the family was smirking behind him. I narrowed my eyes at them. I turned around to depart, then thought better of it. I turned back to them. "And after the six months, I will give you permission to DATE me. I will not marry you right off the bat. And that's even if you make it past the six months." With that, I ushered the boys down the path.
Two hours, thirty minutes. I thought as I checked how long we had been waiting. The boys looked worn down and were sitting against the wall. I smiled at the boys, feeling warmth build up in my chest. Dammit, Illumi!
"I'm ready to go when you are." He announced. I looked at the boys to see them dusting themselves off.
They nodded to me in a silent gesture to begin the trip to get airship tickets. I began walking alongside them without a word. Illumi trailed after us, and I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. Great... Just another complication.