Between the constant shifting of transportation methods and the occasional crossing of time zones, the group was trapped experiencing mild effects of jet lag. By the time they had transferred from boat to plane, and then finally from plane to airship, the four were officially prepared to settle in for a much deserved rest upon arrival.
"One thing doesn't make sense," Killua announced in secret to Misaki once Haku was sufficiently distracted by one of Gon's Whale Island stories. "If none of us have any idea what L.I.G.H.T. stands for, and all we can figure out about them is that they're secretive and have access to knowledge about the eruption that most people don't, how would it be possible for Haku to find their headquarters so easily? Would they really have information like that completely unprotected and so easy for just anyone to find?"
"I've considered that, too," she assured him, peering momentarily toward the rear of the airship where Haku was now laughing along with the young boy at his side. "He might not be lying, but you're right to question exactly how truthful he's really being."
Killua sighed.
"…But then if what I said is true, how can we be sure that's even where he's really leading us?"
"We can't," Misaki replied in a nonchalant tone. "We'll just have to keep up our guard and assume that any step we take from here could be our last."
The boy's brows knitted and he cringed slightly at the statement, spoken with such a chilling calm and unmarred with real concern for the words. His entire posture had manipulated itself in to arching away from the purple haired girl now, shrunken in and obviously tainted with worry. She seemed to take notice of this, and the very corners of her lips slightly upturned at this reaction. With a sluggish extension of the arm, she captured a roll of his spine at the nape of his neck in between the pads of her first two fingers and thumb and massaged around it methodically. In spite of himself, Killua had not at all attempted to thwart her advance and even found his muscles relaxing generously at the curious application of touch.
"Don't welcome so much stress in to your body," she told him calmly. "It's a waste of your talents to let fear overtake your instincts. Stay sharp and you'll do just fine."
Without warning, the calculated kneading ceased.
"Oh, I nearly forgot," Misaki mumbled quietly as she reached deep in to a carefully concealed, inner pouch of the sling on her back and retrieved two cellular phones. Passing them to Killua, she explained, "Your phones' battery compartments were completely water logged, so I'd put them in a bowl of dry rice back at Haku's place. They should be working fine now."
Upon catching sight of his phone clutched in the girl's fingers, Killua's blue eyes widened as he immediately slammed his own palm firmly against his side pants pocket. Sure enough, the device was absent.
"How did you get that?" he hissed, feeling admittedly vulnerable.
Misaki shrugged and gently took the back of his hand in her soft palm and drew it away from him, simultaneously rotating the hand which held the phones over top of his until she had effectively sandwiched his flesh within hers. She retracted her hands slowly, tickling his skin with her fingertips. Instinctively, Killua then wrenched his arm back against his chest as he withdrew a defensive, sideways step, securely gripping the gadgets in his fingers with a scowl etched in to his facial features.
"It's a trick I learned when I was just a girl," Misaki explained with a wink as she strolled casually away from him to rejoin the other two.
Killua glanced from the cellular phones in his hands up to the plum haired girl and then back again. He smirked wryly at her before following suit and returning to his seat amongst the group.
"Kareko Village…" Gon read aloud from the wooden sign staked in to the permafrosted ground. "Haku-san, this is where L.I.G.H.T. headquarters is?"
"I'm quite certain," Haku responded.
Killua and Misaki exchanged muted glances behind him, arms folded before their chests. The two had made a point of remaining relatively silent during the nine mile hike at Haku's heels, merely observing and gathering information when at all possible. Unfortunately, neither had particularly discovered anything of importance.
Every now and then Misaki's thoughts drifted from her present situation back to that of her mission. Her eyes fixated on Gon's back, and she forced her itching muscles to remain stationary despite her incredible urge to complete the contract while the group walked along the virtually deserted path between societies. It should have been so simple, but for whatever reason her mind was insistent that she bide her time and analyze the boy at least for a bit longer. Not one to dismiss the validity of her instincts, she willingly obeyed.
"We shouldn't just walk right in, should we?" Gon asked slowly.
When Haku's reaction was little more than to awkwardly transfer positions and rock anxiously from toe to toe on the frosted grass, Misaki finally replied in a low whisper, "No. Instead we'll go back to the last town and plan our next move."
The consensus seemed to be favoring of the idea, and the four turned away from the dim lighting of Kareko Village and headed back toward the previous town of Redknife.
'I can't believe this is all they had left!'
Killua seethed at his reflection in the lighted bathroom mirror of his hotel suite, which displayed all too shamelessly the image of a very blonde, very feminine version of the ex assassin.
At the time of their return to Redknife, Misaki had suggested that each of them assume a disguise prior to entering Kareko Village. This would essentially prevent detection from any who might have access to an elite wealth of information, which she insisted would have likely been necessary in order for L.I.G.H.T. to execute such elaborate operations surrounding Tanzanite's eruption. Not willing to take the chance that perhaps the members of the organization might already be aware of their presences from back on the island during the "clean up", the vote was ultimately unanimous to follow through with this cautionary procedure.
Misaki explained that the most efficient manner in which to carry out this plan would be to splurge on half-decent costumes and wigs, and had graced both boys with a generous handful of Jenny with which to purchase a decent costume kit with.
Much to Killua's dismay, the only costume and wig duo sets that remained in his size and price range at the store were designed for females. The pink and cream cherry blossom dress had not been once removed from its hanger, left completely untouched as it hung in a painful, polyester reminder of his grave misfortune. He clutched a fistful of the elbow-length, blonde waves and pouted pitifully at himself.
"Killua, do you think you could help me tuck in my hai-," Gon called out as his footsteps advanced toward the bathroom. "Wow, is that a girl's wig?"
"It was all that they had left," he explained sourly, fighting the urge to simply wrench the synthetic collection of hairs from his head and toss them in to the garbage.
"Wow, that's really too bad," Gon said, attempting fruitlessly through his giggling to sound sympathetic.
"Are you laughing at me?" Killua asked incredulously.
"No! I mean, not on purpose," the tanned boy replied.
"That's it!"
Within moments, the room was filled with a collection of loud bantering and hysteric laughter, the two boys all the while wrestling around on the bathroom floor. Just as suddenly as this had begun, a new presence entered the room.
"Break it up!" Misaki's voice commanded as she emphatically clapped her hands together twice in a 'chop, chop' rhythm.
The boys fell away from one another on to the tiled floor, Killua's wig now at a dramatically slanted angle that nearly revealed his actual hair on the right side. Misaki, who was currently frowning at the pair, was now dressed in a manufactured silk, solid turquoise kimono with black embellishments on the sleeves solely. Her wig was silvery, pin-straight, and long, reaching her waist before abruptly cutting off. Her face was framed by a small chunk of strands on either side which curved inward and only slightly surpassed the line of her jaw.
"Oh, is that a ladies' wig?" Misaki inquired as her eyes fell on the blonde contraption, a decent amount of surprise present in her voice.
Killua felt his face heat up at the question, which was far more humiliating somehow when asked by Misaki than it had been by Gon. He snatched the wig from his head and sloppily forced it down on to Gon's head, grasping the short, brunette mass of hair that the boy had dropped during the scuffle instead.
"It's Gon's!" Killua argued quickly in response.
"What?" Gon asked. "But you're the one that…"
"…Bought the boys' costume set," the blue eyed boy finished for him in a lame attempt to redirect the blame.
"Oh," Misaki said, her tone fairly enthusiastic compared to normal. "That was actually a great idea, Gon."
"It was?" both boys answered in unison.
"Of course," she replied. "No one would expect to find you disguised as a girl. That was a bit of a risqué move, but definitely a smart one."
Killua glared at the mass of blonde waves which covered his friend's eyes (as it was not at all applied correctly), uncertain as to why the girl's praise for his comrade irritated him so.
"Anyway, no more wasting precious energy tonight," she ordered gently, yawning lightly from behind her knuckles afterward. "We've done a lot of travelling this week, and we need to be at our best tomorrow. Get some sleep."
Killua's blood boiled as the girl added under her breath with a thoughtfully swaying index finger, "…Very clever idea, indeed," before exiting the suite.
A/N: Thanks again for reading and for the reviews. Much appreciated!