Ch. 7
Once Palm had calmed down from talking, and they had both finished their breakfasts, Illumi realized that he had forgotten to ask one question that should have held much more importance to him before. "So," he started casually, washing the dishes in the sink, "how long, exactly, was I asleep for?" Palm turned to him and responded, "about two days." The collected assassin furrowed his brow. That was much longer than he had anticipated. As quickly as assassinly possible, which mind you is pretty damn quick, Illumi finished cleaning up and began collecting his few belongings. "Thank you for the breakfast, but I really have to go," he said, rushing out the door. Before Palm even had time to react, the spindly man had left his cottage in the dust as he headed back to the Zoldyck mansion.
Well, that was certainly fast, Palm thought to herself as she entered the bedroom. He also never said I couldn't stay here a while longer… She gently laid down in the space next to where he had been sleeping. She herself had not slept much while Illumi was sleeping. There had been so much cleaning to do. The young woman slowly drifted off to sleep after the madness that had been the past two days. And as she did, she stretched out her arm, her hand landing where Illumi had been only hours ago.
Illumi approached the mansion, and as he did he noticed that Killua's pesky "friends" had left. They probably gave up, the assassin thought to himself as he pushed through more gates than they could ever dream of. He greeted the guard dog, Mike, at the door. He gave him a few pats, and began walking up the hill. But something was bothering him. With every step, he could feel a tension growing stronger. The eldest Zoldyck boy was certain he was going to walk into some kind of shitstorm when he entered the mansion.
As he walked in, he knew immediately that he was wanted in his father's room. He navigated down the cold, empty hallways. The servants all seemed particularly on edge. As he passed Milluki's room, the aforementioned demon popped his head out. "Finally back, Illumi." He stated with a smirk on his face. "Good luck," he said, half sarcastically, returning to his lair. Illumi stared pointedly at the door for a full minute after it had closed. Since when does Milluki think he has any power over me? He thought, annoyed. He continued his journey down the twisted halls until he reached his destination at last. He knocked, and from deep within, a manly voice beckoned, "Illumi".
He pushed open the door and found both his parents awaiting him. He sat before them, as was custom, and waited for them to speak. "Illumi," Silva began, "I assume that you are unaware of the current circumstances."
"That's correct." Illumi responded, his face as blank as ever. "While you were off... doing what, may I ask?" Silva asked. While the surface of Illumi remained calm, his mind was suddenly jammed. How could he not expect his father to ask him this question? Why hadn't he thought of an answer? Why was he even worrying about this? He was raised a liar.
All of this passed through his mind in less than a second. He gathered his bearings and quickly responded, "I have been taking care of personal matters elsewhere". Both of his parents studied him, looking for any break in his flawless mask. "Well," Silva continued, "while you were taking care of your 'personal business', your brother's friends managed to get inside the gates." Silva paused for emphasis. Illumi showed nothing. "And while they were in here-" "THEY TOOK MY BABY AWAY!" Kikyou interrupted frantically, leaning forward in her chair. "How could you not be here?!" She weeped.
Frankly, Illumi could not believe that this had happened. Killua had run away. Their beloved heir had run away from his family responsibilities, as though nobody had seen that coming…
"I just wish you were here when this happened, Illumi" Silva finished, staring at his eldest son. "Yes, father." Illumi responded. "I understand."
"Then you are dismissed." Silva stated, and Illumi promptly left. He closed the door behind him and walked to his room. Upon entry, he closed the door and went into his bathroom, closing the door again, and locking it. He began to fill his tub with ice cold water and subconsciously bit his lip and furrowed his brow. This was a habit he had had since childhood. It rarely appeared on his normally blank face.
My parents knew there was something fishy about my answer, Illumi thought as he removed his clothing and slipped into the frigid water. He had lied so solidly, so normally. But he had a feeling in his gut that his parents suspected something. Perhaps his extended absence had been the foundation of their suspicions. But there's nothing I can do about it now, he thought as he sunk lower into his bath.
But for some reason, the frigid water just didn't seem right. It just didn't make him feel the way it used to. He sat there, contemplating for a few hours until he got out, dissatisfied with the water. He put on his bathrobe and exited his bathroom, leaving the cold water to drain.