"That was fun, wasn't it Killua?" asked Gon, beaming as he stepped onto the airship. "The eggs were sooo big, and they were sooo tasty too!"
"I guess you could call that fun," replied Killua. "They were pretty tasty."
You didn't even let me eat any of yours meanie, pouted Kiri. I had to let Gon feed me some.
"That was for telling me the wrong idea about sushi," said Killua.
"Huh? Who are you talking to Killua?" said Gon. They had now entered the main room of the airship and some contestants were stretching out onto the floor for a nap.
"No one," said Killua quickly. "Hey Gon, wanna go check out the ship?"
"You bet!" said Gon, racing on ahead out of the room.
I'm gonna pass on that, I think I deserve a nap after all that.
"Your catness coming out again? Speaking of which, you have been in that form for quite a long time. Shouldn't you turn back for a break?"
Kiri was about that answer with 'But I was out of the form during the first phase..' when she caught herself mid-thought, remembering that Killua wasn't supposed to know about it.
I'll be fine. I've been in this form for longer before.
Killua picked Kiri off his shoulder and set her on the floor.
Try not to get into too much mischief, Killua-chan, said the older sister. Killua stuck his tongue out briefly before running out of the room to catch up with Gon.
Right...Now what spot should I pick.
Kiri gave the spacious room a quick scan with her eyes. There were only a handful of people out of the forty-two contestants who had made themselves comfortable. Amongst them she spotted Leorio and Kurapika sitting against the wall, chatting.
As discreetly as possible, she crept over and settled a few meters away. Curling up, she began her catnap.
Kiri wasn't sure how many hours has passed before she opened her eyes again. Her vision blurry and still half-asleep, she made out a figure covered in a blanket near her, snoozing away.
Killua? You back already? Kiri went over and snuggled under the blanket, enjoying the warmth. After a few seconds Kiri realised something was wrong. The scent smelt different, but not before Kurapika realised first.
"...Kiri?" said Kurapika, a little surprised. Before Kiri could move, she found herself lifted under her forelegs. She hissed with as much venom as she could.
Let go of me, she said, struggling to get out of his grip, forgetting that he couldn't understand her.
"I have some questions I want to ask you, if you turn back to your original form, we could have a chat."
Cursing, Kiri could see no choice. Without turning back to her form, he would not let go of her. Being lifted by Kurapika wasn't an unpleasant experience though, she found. He has a comforting grip.
When she turned back to her form, she found herself sitting between his legs. Looking to her right, Leorio wasn't in his spot anymore. There were only around five other people in the room, Hisoka and her older brother was no where in sight. As she was about to make her quick escape, Kurapika tightened his hands on her shoulders.
"You can't leave this room without being noticed, if I can help it," said the Kurta. "Stay. I want to ask you some things too. About your ability."
Kiri sighed. She had no idea how she always managed to be caught by this Kurta. "Okay, what do you want to ask?"
For a second, she thought she saw a sparkle in Kurapika's eyes.
"What is this ability? How is it possible that you can turn into a cat?"
"I have DNA of cat inserted in me, which makes me technically, part cat. I forget which breed it was though, or if it was combination of several."
"But technology hasn't advanced to the point where humans can be combined with animals," said Kurapika. "Are you telling me you're not human?"
"My turn to ask questions now," said Kiri, grinning. She realised she hasn't moved from the position of being between his legs, but that wasn't bothering her much.
Unlike a normal teenager, Kiri wasn't aware of relationships concerning romance. Being brought up by assassins and surrounded by males, that was to be expected. However, she did catch her naughty younger white haired brother watching some inappropriate late night shows on several occasions.
Kiri had a brief flashback to when she was fourteen and stumbled onto Killua in his room, with the lights off and the TV on.
"Killua...What are you watching?"
"Adult channel."
"What are those people doing? Why are their clothes off? Are they wrestling?"
"No, they're having fun."
Kiri didn't see how on earth they could be having fun in that position, so without asking further questions, she left her brother to his entertainment.
There are some weird entertainment nowadays...She remembered thinking.
"I overheard that conversation you had with Leorio, what do you plan to do with revenge?" As soon as she asked that question, Kiri realised she was intruding on a delicate subject. Kurapika's face hardened.
"They took from my clan. So I will take from them. Their lives."
"Why don't you hire assassins? That would save time and effort."
"The phantom troupe are dangerous criminals, no one will be able to stand up against them easily. And if it's not me who carries out the revenge, then there will be no meaning."
"No meaning? I don't understand that. But you're still killing them aren't you?" Kiri leaned close to his face so they were only inches apart, unaware that the more curious she got, the shorter the distance between them became. Suddenly aware of the proximity, a light blush appeared on Kurapika's face. He moved so she sat next to him against the wall.
"Well yes but, how can I explain this. When someone does something that you don't think is right, you will want to bring justice down on them with your own hands. That's my idea of revenge."
"What good will revenge do? In our family business, we get all kinds of people asking for all kinds of assassinations. Some are just minor disputes, but we get the odd revenge ones too."
Kurapika's eyes softened a little as he looked at her. "You haven't lost anyone important have you?"
Kiri suddenly remembered that horrible feeling she experienced earlier when she tried to imagine a life without Killua. She shook her head to be rid of it.
"I don't think anyone I know will die that easily or anytime soon. All the people I know are my family, and they're a pretty tough bunch."
"The pain just stays here. Even after a long time when you've tried to convince yourself that you've moved on, you'll still be expecting that person to walk through your doors like normal," Kurapika smiled sadly, and Kiri felt a twinge in her chest. "When that time comes, you'll understand."
When Kiri was struggling to think of a reply, the door creaked open. Kiri looked over to see a flash of white and then in an instant, Killua had Kurapika against the wall, his nails sharpened and against the older boy's throat.
"You know our secret," said Killua, with menace in his eyes.
Kurapika looked back into Killua's eyes calmly.
"Killua…" said Kiri.
"He knows. I can't let him live." Killua's hands pricked Kurapika's throat. A bead of blood trickled down.
"It's okay, he won't tell anyone," said Kiri. She wasn't sure that he wouldn't tell anyone, but she just had a hunch
"How can we guarantee that? If this gets out, it would cause a lot of trouble."
"Well it's not like I won't be able to follow people anymore, it just won't be as convenient."
"Exactly. Which is why we need to keep people quiet."
"That's why I'm telling you, it's okay. We can trust Kurapika. Gon and Leorio too. Also if you kill Kurapika, it'll be too suspicious. What will happen to Gon if he finds out? Now that you've made a new friend too." A list of possible reasons to not kill Kurapika ran through her head.
"...Friend?" Killua lowered his hand and glared at Kurapika. "I'll let you live. But if you speak one wo-"
"I'll die? Okay I get it," said Kurapika. He looked a little tense, but otherwise, unfazed by the situation. Killua stepped back. "You have my word. I don't have any reason to reveal your secret anyways, having the Zoldycks to be my enemy isn't exactly top priority."
"I'm guessing you don't want to die young."
"Why did you come back so early?" Kiri cut in. "Where's Gon?"
"That old man Netero challenged us to a game. I didn't want to get too into it so I left early," her brother replied. "And it's not early, an announcement was made that we will be arriving soon."
"I must've slept for a long time then…" she glanced at Kurapika quickly, who noticed and gave her a small smile.
"I'm gonna go shower and then hit the hay for a while before we land, c'mon Kiri," said Killua.
Kiri didn't want to leave the blonde boy so quickly, just as their conversation was getting interesting but she knew that would upset her brother. He could get protective sometimes. She gave a final look at the boy then turned back to her cat form and jumped on Killua's shoulder.
Amazingly, while their whole incident was going on, the other five people in the room remained sound asleep. They didn't even move.
Upon leaving the room, Kiri braced herself for what was to come. She knew that she would not hear the end of this.
Oh dear, she thought.