Disclaimer: I do not own HunterxHunter, nor do I profit commercially from these writings.

ABC Series

X IS FOR XENOMORPHIC

XENOMORPHIC (adj.): in an unusual form; having a strange form

It happened the day after the twins' seventh birthday.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Six o'clock in the morning, and the occupants of the house were woken up by that inhumanely shrill shrieking coming from the twins' bedroom. The shriek echoed throughout the Backyard Forest, sending birds flying frantically from their nests, snakes and other animals falling from their sleeping spots up in the trees, and a juvenile raptor running around frantically in a circle a few times like a headless chicken before barrelling over two renegade unicorns (who had been startled awake by said shriek) toward the direction of her mistress' shriek.

Of course, being responsible parents with almost superhuman abilities, in less than five seconds Kuroro and Kurapika had spread their En around the house, shot out of their bed, and in the twins' bedroom armed with Benz knife and Nen chain respectively. Meta and Bia stumbled into the bedroom a few seconds after their parents, but still in (their) record time, too. In fact, Meta and Bia had been so alarmed that they had blindly grabbed the nearest objects and stormed their younger siblings' room armed respectively with…an alarm clock and a pen.

"Whazzat? Wha' happn'd? Who died?" Meta slurred rapidly as he scanned the room blearily, his body not fully awake but instinct in high gear.

"Nobody died, Meta." Kuroro said calmly as he put his Benz knife on nearby table and walked to the bed where Noah was curling on the bed pitifully while covering his ears and looking like he might have burst his eardrums. Kurapika, meanwhile, had immediately dismissed her Nen chain once she realised that it had been a false alarm and was rubbing her eyes sleepily.

{Well, it certainly sounded like Sarai has just tried to kill someone with her Banshee shriek.} Bia 'said' grouchily as she threw her pen to Sarai; who looked like she was in an early sugar high. She was excited enough that her eyes were bright scarlet.

The pen hit her square on the head.

"Ow! Meanie!"

{I will be meaner if you do not tell me the reason why you see it fit to release a shriek shrill enough to wake the dead from a whole cemetery.} Bia let her Nen flared. She was so NOT a morning person.

"I am inclined to agree." Kurapika murmured with equal grumpiness, before she straightened up and turned her head to the direction of the Backyard Forest in sync with Kuroro. "And I WILL be mean if you don't do something about your errant pet."

There was the loud sound of crashing glass and the keening voice of one distressed beast from downstairs. Soon the whole house was filled with the sound of clawed feet pitter-pattering around the first floor of the house in frantic beats, crashing into the furniture and making a loud nuisance out of itself.

"Bibi!" Sarai squeaked in horror as she shot out of the bed and flew downstairs. It took her a full minute to calm down the raptor.

{I think Bibi broke through the window. Again. For the fifth time.}

"Can't we just install some kind of special trap door for her? I'm sick of replacing the window!" Meta whined because usually HE was the one who had to do the carpentry job.

"Agreed…" Kurapika nodded tiredly. "So what is it that got Sarai so hyped-up at such an ungodly hour?"

"Well, come here and you'll see why." Kuroro said, voice tinged with a sliver of amazement.

Kurapika and Bia shuffled toward the bed sleepily while Meta immediately bounded over like a puppy. Kuroro had put Noah on his lap leaning on his chest because the boy was obviously still disoriented from the accidental audio attack by Sarai. He was blinking rapidly and wincing as his ears were still ringing. Kuroro then swept up Noah's messy bangs with his hand and revealed the thing that had sent Sarai off her kilter.

"WOW! That's so COOL!" Meta immediately exclaimed and rushed to his sibling's side for better look.

Kurapika had her jaw slack while Bia was blinking her eyes dumbly.

On Noah's forehead was the diamond mark identical to Kuroro's one, and on the exact same spot on the forehead.

"What the—"

"IT WASN'T THERE YESTERDAY!" A yell came from the doorway as Sarai barrelled into the room with an equally noisy Bibi hot on her heels. Bibi's height had already reached Sarai's shoulders.

"Sarai, no yelling so early in the morning." Kurapika groaned with a wince. "And Bibi, shut up."

Bibi was promptly cowed into silence by Kurapika's glare and tone. The only person that she listened to aside from Sarai was Kurapika, and that was because of sheer intimidation.

"I swear it wasn't there yesterday! Then when I woke up this morning, it was there!" Sarai said excitedly, eyes still bright scarlet. Thankfully, the decibel of her voice had gone into much tolerable level.

"Duh." Meta rolled his eyes, but Sarai ignored him for once.

"That is so weird! How come it's there? Why? Will I get one too? Is there one on my forehead?" Sarai promptly swept up her own bangs with both her hand to reveal her forehead.

"Nah. Your forehead is squeaky clean, aside from that shiny sheen of oil all over it. Ew, gross." Meta snickered.

"What?! I don't have it?!" Sarai wailed in disappointment.

Kuroro and Kurapika exchanged a look, before Kurapika purposefully strode towards Sarai and promptly steered her towards the bathroom.

"Maybe it's somewhere else on your body. Meta has his on his palm." She said placatingly to the girl, who immediately brightened with hope.

"Really?!"

"Don't count on it, twerp!" Meta said gleefully. A muffled 'shut up!' from behind the bathroom's closed door was the response.

"Meta, stop bullying your little sister." Kuroro said admonishingly.

"She makes it so fun." The boy grinned.

Bia gave him an evil wait-until-karma-bites-you-in-the-ass look while Kuroro merely sighed.

A full two minutes later, mother and daughter emerged from the bathroom with the former looking slightly befuddled and the latter looking really close to tears. Kuroro raised an eyebrow when he saw this and directed a questioning eye at Kurapika. She shook her head and sent a pitying glance to Sarai. The girl suddenly looked up and sent a tearful glare to Meta. Her face was red and her hair dishevelled and generally looking very pitiful, but damn that was the nastiest glare she had ever made.

"I don't have one! There! Happy?!" She yelled at him, voice quivering with anger and shame.

Kurapika and Kuroro had anticipated the outburst, but they hadn't expected her to sound so ashamed. They had no idea what she was ashamed about. Meta, meanwhile, was very floored by the sheer resentment in Sarai's voice.

Sarai's emotions had been really strong that it threw Meta off. Meta couldn't help but to feel like a total ass. Being an empath, Meta had felt Sarai's earlier excitement strongly but he had brushed it off purposefully because he was more focused on making fun of her. He had felt that this was an important thing for the girl but he had squashed that intuition ruthlessly. Now, Sarai's bitterness assaulted him in full force; stronger than her earlier excitement, and he knew that this was entirely his fault. If he hadn't goaded her so much, she wouldn't be feeling as miserable right now. Bia's livid glare wasn't helping his guilt either.

"Sarai, I'm so sorry…" Meta whimpered pleadingly as he made a move towards Sarai.

He hadn't even taken a decent step when Bia outran him and hid Sarai from his view. Bia gently took Sarai by the hand and guided her out of the room to Bia's own bedroom. Before closing the door, Bia turned around to shot Meta the step-into-my-room-and-you'll-be-deader-than-dead look that made him gulp nervously.

Kuroro and Kurapika shot each other a look, before Kuroro carried a distraught Noah in his arms and went out of the bedroom to his and Kurapika's bedroom. Kurapika went to kneel before a very very dejected Meta; who allowed himself to be furiously attacked by one very apoplectic juvenile raptor. Bibi didn't have to be an empath to sense that her mistress had been made distressed by this boy and she'd be thrice-damned if she didn't defend her mistress from this insensitive brat!

"Have we learned our lesson now?" Kurapika asked him gently.

She could see the boy beating himself inside out. She didn't need to add admonishing tone in her voice and Bibi was doing a splendid job dishing out the physical punishment. In fact, the raptor was in the process of attempting to chew his leg off. Kurapika let the raptor because she knew Bibi's baby teeth wouldn't accomplish the deed.

"I won't bully her anymore…" Now Meta was the one who sounded close to tears.

Kurapika sighed.

"Just don't cross the line, Meta. You're an empath, you should have known better."

Meta hung his head lower in shame as the proverbial cloud of doom-and-gloom cloaked him.

"What will you do now?"

"I'll apologise to her…" Meta whispered as he shuffled his toe, "and I'll make it up to her somehow…"

"Good boy." Kurapika leaned over to give Meta a comforting hug. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back soothingly.

Kurapika only commanded Bibi to stop harassing Meta when she started attacking his butt.

"How are you feeling?" That was the first thing that Kuroro asked his youngest son when he sat the boy down on the bed in his room.

Noah didn't answer straight away. Instead, he turned his head to stare to the general direction of Bia's bedroom, where he knew Sarai was.

"Will she be okay?" He asked with soft voice. His voice had always been soft and gentle.

"She will be. Bia is with her." Kuroro answered confidently.

Bia's physical body had grown faster than normal children because it was trying to catch up on the years lost when she was put in suspended animation in Bensalem. Lucian had speculated that her growth rate would decelerate to normal as it reached her supposed natural age. Right now Bia's body was equivalent to that of a 15-year-old, making her physically older than Meta now when she used to look younger than him. However, Bia's minds grew even faster than her physical body. She was way more mature than her age.

Besides, for whatever reasons, Bia was becoming more protective of Sarai lately.

"Hmm…" Noah reluctantly tore his gaze away and turned to look into his father's eyes. "Why is Bia different?"

If Kuroro was surprised, he didn't show it.

"What do you mean?"

"She's…" Noah chewed his lower lips as he looked for the right word, before finally he carefully said: "…she doesn't have yours or Mother's symbol."

Kuroro knew what he was talking about. Kuroro's symbol was the Scarlet Eyes, while his was the diamond-like mark. Meta and Noah had both Scarlet Eyes and the diamond mark. While it had been revealed that Sarai unfortunately didn't inherit the diamond mark, she still had the Scarlet Eyes. Bia had neither.

"We'll tell you next time. Not now." Kuroro simply said. He could tell Noah now that Bia was adopted, but Kurapika would tell a hissy fit when (not if, because she would) she found out. He would have to discuss this with her first.

Noah was an easy child to handle. He accepted the answer as it was and simply nodded his head compliantly.

"Now, you haven't answered my question. Did you feel it when the symbol appeared?" Kuroro asked him, his hand on Noah's knee.

"No."

"Do you feel different now?"

Noah shook his head.

Kuroro didn't show it, but he was uneasy. He didn't remember anything of when he got his mark on his forehead. When Ishtar first found him, she said he already had that mark. A mark didn't just magically manifest itself on his son's skin without any after-effect. Something must have happened that triggered the manifestation, and Kuroro Lucifer would find out.

The moment they reached the safety and privacy of Bia's bedroom, Sarai broke down and wailed into the older girl's arms. She was obviously very heartbroken. Bia picked the younger girl up easily and carried her over to the bed. She climbed onto the bed and sat while cradling Sarai reassuringly, rocking her body back and forth in a comforting lull while rubbing Sarai's back gently. Sarai poured her heart out as she clung to her older sister like a lifeline and unleashed her despair.

The hurt in Sarai's voice during her outburst broke Bia's heart. She knew that hurt intimately. She had carried that hurt in her own heart for years, ever since she realised that she didn't have the Scarlet Eyes like the rest of her siblings. The first time Noah and Sarai discovered their Scarlet Eyes, Mommy had been very delighted. Bia remembered hearing Mommy saying something about 'not expecting Noah to have Scarlet Eyes too' to Daddy. Daddy had looked similarly surprised too.

But Mommy and Daddy had never expected Scarlet Eyes from Bia… They never waited for it. They never anticipated it…

But then, Daddy didn't have Scarlet Eyes too.

{Mommy? How come Daddy doesn't have Scarlet Eyes?}

"Hm? Oh, that's because he's not from the clan, so he doesn't have the genetic trait."

{Oh…}

Bia didn't ask her mother whether she was from outside the clan too. She was afraid of the answer.

Bia buried her insecurities with the comforting thought that maybe, just maybe, she was more like Daddy than Mommy. Maybe she didn't get the Scarlet Eyes like how Mommy expected Noah not to have Scarlet Eyes—except Noah did get the Scarlet Eyes. Maybe some of the children were supposed to get the Scarlet Eyes and some weren't supposed to? Perhaps it was recessive gene? Maybe she followed Daddy's gene more than Mommy.

Meta once told her that the mark on his palm—the one identical to Daddy's—wasn't there when he was born. It had appeared when he was four-year-old. That made Bia hope. Maybe she would have Daddy's mark. Every day, without fail, Bia always checked her body for any sign of that mark appearing on her body. Every single day, in the morning when she woke up and at night before she went to bed. She would strip in front of the mirror and checked herself from head to toe.

But nothing. No mark anywhere. Her skin remained unblemished.

A flash of resentment sparked in Bia's heart. She envied Meta and Noah for inheriting both Mommy's and Daddy's symbol. Why did they have to have everything? She even envied Sarai. Resented her. Why was she making such a big fuss over not getting Daddy's mark? At least she had the Scarlet Eyes. She had Mommy's legacy.

Tears of anger, bitterness, indignation, resentment, spite and everything nasty dropped from Bia's burning eyes. She felt ugly. Worthless.

Why did she have nothing?

Lunch that day was an awkward affair for the children. Meta was wallowing in his guilt, too ashamed of himself to see anyone in the eyes. Sarai was throwing jealous glares at Meta and Noah. Bia was giving everyone cold shoulders; including Sarai though she seemed oblivious to it. Noah felt awkward and guilty, having the good sense to know that this was all started by the mark suddenly appearing on his forehead. Kurapika, meanwhile, looked like she was sporting the mother of all headaches.

"Tensiunea... Dumnezeul meu… (The tension… My God…)" Lucian whispered with dread when he stepped into the dining room.

Kuroro sighed.

"Veniți cu mine. Voi explica. (Come with me. I'll explain.)" He muttered as he turned to the staircase.

"Cu bucurie. (Gladly)" Lucian hastily followed Kuroro.

Once they were in Kuroro's office, Lucian released a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Okay, that was intense." He huffed. "But first! Why is Bibi chained outside like some rabid dog?"

"Because she's been trying to sneak a chance to snack on Meta's leg."

"What?! Why?! I know she's past the teething stage because I was here when she was in her teething stage." Lucian shuddered as he absentmindedly rubbed his butt. He didn't know why that crazy raptor kept trying to snack on his butt. Was his butt looking glorious as a meal?

Kuroro sighed again as he began telling Lucian the incident in the morning. By the end of the tale, Lucian looked just as puzzled as Kuroro was feeling.

"I honestly don't know what is happening." He said at length. "All the Solomonarii I know have marks unique to themselves, yes. The descendants, I'm not so sure. I only know very few of Solomonarii descendants. For some reasons that I don't know—so don't start asking—Solomonarii don't really procreate. Now I don't go around trying to sniff out Solomonarii descendants. I didn't even know YOU are one until my sire told me."

Kuroro nodded. He still remembered Lucian looking genuinely uneasy when he broke the news to Kuroro.

"The very few that I know do have the marks, but maybe exactly because they have the mark that they got spotted. I guess there are descendants out there who don't have the mark, and therefore they fly under the radar. I don't know." Lucian shrugged. "I must ask the Solomonarii at my sire's place."

Lucian thought he was being subtle, but subtle wasn't exactly his forte. Kuroro saw that very slight grimacing when he mentioned seeking information from the Solomonarii.

"They are unpleasant lot?" He asked curiously.

"Who? The Solomonarii? Well…" Again, the grimace. "Unpleasant in the evil way, not really… More like the ones at my sire's place love bullying me. Don't know about the others around the world, though."

"I see." Kuroro couldn't really hold back the smirk. He understood how entertaining it was to bully Lucian. "I appreciate you going through hell and back for me."

"Well, it's about damn time you appreciate my efforts!" Lucian beamed proudly.

"Even dogs have to be praised after they do their tricks." Kuroro said with teasing grin.

"Why, you!"

"Why don't I have Scarlet Eyes?"

Bia trusted Heen explicitly. Heen had been nothing but extremely good to her. He always went out of his way for her, teaching her all he knew about his Nen that was curiously very similar to hers. He got things for her. He never forgot her birthday. Among the Spiders, he was the one who visited her family the most. Mommy actually had a good relation with him, unlike with most of the Spiders. She interacted with Heen as casual as how she interacted with Shalnark.

When Bia saw how mortified Heen looked when she asked that question—like he wished she would never ask that question—Bia's heart sank. It terrified her. She felt like she had asked the forbidden question. Like she had crossed some sort of line.

{I'm sorry…} She quickly said while retreating.

"Bia…" Heen had that special lilt in his voice when he said her name, like he had an accent just for her. She liked it. It made her feel special. "Come here."

Heen had his arms spread open in an embracing gesture. Bia quickly went into those arms and allowed herself to be enveloped in a gentle hug. And yet, the embrace felt…sad.

"Minha pobre irmã (my poor little sister)… Minha querida irmãzinha (my dear little sister)…" Heen murmured softly under his breath as he rocked back and forth, a comforting hand on her back.

It reminded Bia of the time when she was trying to comfort a very anguished Sarai, but this felt more like Heen was comforting himself as much as he was comforting her.

Bia didn't know what language that Heen had just muttered like a chant, but somehow, deep inside, she felt like she should know that language. It was nesting there, at the deepest recess of her mind, but the more she tried to reach it the more it slipped from her grasp. Bia didn't ignore this instinct, so she did the only thing she could. She memorised those words. When she reached home, she 'borrowed' Mommy's computer and used certain software to translate those words.

That night, she cried herself to sleep.

Author's Note: Meta is being a mean older brother and karma does bite him in the ass, Noah feels awkward and guilty for being the reason of falling-out between siblings, Sarai is lamenting her loss of not getting Kuroro's mark, Bibi is being adorably protective of mistress, and Bia has to find out in a painful way that she's adopted.

There is nothing harmful in Noah acquiring that mark. It's just a genetic thing, much like how Meta got his. Sarai is just unlucky that she doesn't get the mark. The gene simply passes her.

I think it's always painful whenever you feel different from the rest of your siblings. That doubt in your heart whether you're really your parents' child is awful. It's understandable that Bia will get jealous and resentful. I know someone is treated differently from his siblings by his parents that he confessed that he suspects he's actually adopted. His parents are really horrible to him.

Heen speaks Portuguese. I decided he'll be the equivalent of a Portuguese the HunterxHunter universe in this fic, which makes Ellie and Bia Portuguese too. If it's wrong, sue Google Translate. I speak no Portuguese.

X is so damn bloody hard. Damn. Next up is Y. Keep the suggestions coming in, people. I need them. Peace.

And I think Meta and Bia arming themselves with alarm clock and pen is cute.