The pale, adolescent boy, complete with his arms folded across his chest in an effortless air of aloofness, was leaned with a partially arched back against the curve of the dimly lit wall. Around him L.I.G.H.T. members continued to ignore his presence and likewise those of Gon and Haku, and hammered away at their keyboards without a single entity bothering to so much as glance down at even their own busy fingers even once. His blue eyes were downcast and thoughtful, occasionally straying to the door which Misaki had exited through with the promise that she would return momentarily following his (fairly vague) explanation of Kukuru Mountain being the home residence of his family.
Perhaps she had already composed a plot to escape, and was putting her thoughts in to premeditated actions. At least this was what he wanted to believe, even while a part of him whispered, none-too-gracefully, that the girl was as secretive and distant as she was helpful and close. There was something unsaid between them, and unfortunately he knew that it was beyond simply the… energized tension of sorts… that had been developing as of late.
Feeling more anxious than his appearance would dare to let on, his gaze wandered to his friend, who was cupping his tanned chin in curled fingers and lost in whatever he was currently musing. He was shocked and almost appalled with himself in remembrance of his earlier debate with the spiky haired boy, trying desperately to argue that in order to have any chance at all of uncovering the secret behind L.I.G.H.T. it was necessary to pretend for the time being to be interested in joining. Still, Gon had fought whole-heartedly that he was fixed in his position to decline Taiki's offer while still on the plane.
It was then that Killua had admitted what he still was only half certain of this very moment, surprising both himself and Gon. His cheeks heated even now, his collection of words echoing in his mind and his comrade's wide eyes and gaping lips lingering just out of reach from his vision:
"You're right!" he'd snapped as though it were still a confrontation rather than an admission. "I do like Misaki, okay? Just say you'll join L.I.G.H.T. and I'll even tell her that! That's what you want, isn't it?"
He wouldn't tell her, he'd decided immediately after, even if Gon accepted his comment; and of course he had. It was foolish to entertain these ridiculous notions of attraction, which he could not himself think of the word for. Why had she insisted on reading him a book about the passionate and taboo relationship between an adult and a girl that was his own age? Had she intended to seduce him with the idea, to possess his mind with the possibility that she might engage in such an act with him?
The problem was that she had succeeded in planting the possibility in his head, whether intentional or not. At the same instant that his rationality served to remind him of the dire nature of the mission now before them, about L.I.G.H.T. and the eruptions and ultimately the impending apocalypse, he continued to feel bonded to something about her that he could not particularly pinpoint. Was this mindless young lust, like the kind that was foreshadowed in the novel to eventually lead to disaster, or something more? Should he even care if it was?
The door creaked open and Misaki stepped inside again, her eyes glazed over amidst her own musings and her expression uncomfortably grim with the occasional twitch of the lip. He made certain to avoid her stare, so focused on the act of dropping his chin lower in order to conceal the blush that was spreading further out from his cheeks that he was unaware of the awkward stiffness in his posture.
"Couldn't we just destroy the volcano that is causing all the problems?" Gon suddenly asked Haku, and Killua was inwardly grateful for the distraction.
Pushing the bridge of his glasses back up his nose with a lone finger, Haku answered, "It's not so simple, Gon-kun. Destroying the formation of the volcano won't stop the reactions that cause the eruptions and subsequent earthquakes. Those reactions can't be stopped so simply."
"You've fought many enemies in the past; I'm sure," Misaki piped in, her voice low and somber, "but nothing like this. It's not as easy as defeating an opponent in a battle. This is nature we're fighting, and even its weaknesses won't be so obvious or else the issue would have been long resolved by now."
"What we need to do," Haku explained in a whisper while tapping the right arm of his spectacles, "is research. Then we can concoct a viable plan and practice it on a lesser threat in order to survey the results and go from there."
"We can't do that here," Killua interjected in a huskier tone than usual, and he cleared his throat mildly before continuing. "We need to come up with a way to escape."
"Then we can go back to the Volcanic Islands!" Gon chimed in, and Haku and Killua simultaneously dived forth to cover his mouth while eyeing the room for any sign of apparent eavesdropping from the L.I.G.H.T. members at the computers.
"We'd best be off, then," Misaki insisted, turning back toward the door.
"You have a plan?" Killua asked.
"Sometimes, Kil', you just have to 'do' and not think so much," she replied, leaving the three in considerable discomfort.
Nevertheless, they followed her through the exit and in to the hallway maze.
Turning to Haku, she asked, "You've been planting them in order to escape, I assume?"
Nodding, Haku responded, "Of course I have. Follow me." Then he claimed the lead position, activating his En to locate the cloaked nen devices he had preemptively laid along the perimeter of the hallway when the four had been following Miu earlier.
Bothered by Misaki's suggestion of simply acting without thinking- something he had been once lectured about by the plum haired girl and therefore assumed she did not promote- Killua reached out and touched a shaky hand to the crook of her elbow. Although the thick coat covered her flesh, there was a somewhat pleasant roll of acid and butterflies that turned over and over in his stomach at the contact.
With a face that was forced in to a serious expression, he said to her once she looked in to his eyes in response, "If it's like before…"
"…You'll never forgive me," she finished for him tonelessly with a lazy half-nod and the slightest of smiles. "Yes, I remember, Kil'."
She lightly patted his fingers with the pads of her own as if to assure and comfort him and it was only then that he realized that he had not yet removed his hand from her arm. Quickly retracting his limbs in slight embarrassment, he stared at his tingling knuckles as though there was something on them now that only he could see. He remembered, despite borrowing this untimely moment to do such, the feeling of his body pressed against Misaki's when she'd coiled him firmly in her arm atop Tanzanite in preparation for their parachute-like descent. The scent of her skin seeped in to his memory, and the awkwardness of his body's reaction to the friction created by the sensation of her against him. Perhaps it was something like the awakening of the younger character's sensual feelings about her elder lover in the book...
He hastily shoved his hand back in to his pocket when he caught Gon watching him with a warm smile, almost as if to encourage him to explore his ridiculous thoughts further. Using his shoulders, he raised the sides of the coat collar and shrunk his neck down toward his collarbone to conceal the majority of his face from his beaming friend.
'Of all the times to be thinking of something so gross and dumb, why do I have to do it now?' he scolded himself in frustration, swallowing the lump in his throat as best as possible as he narrowed his eyes.
Despite having learned that L.I.G.H.T. was composed of one hundred members, the four passed freely through the many spirals and turns of the hallway without even once encountering another person. This immediately captured Killua's suspicion, and he kept his eyes darting and alert and his Ten prepared for any sudden defensive maneuvers he might need to execute with little warning.
'They would never just let us walk right out of here,' he mused sternly, 'but even if we did get out, how would we leave this continent without a plane or a boat?'
These thoughts were interrupted as they approached the entrance door, where a hooded man, presumably the elder called "Number One", and Miu stood waiting. The cloaked man held one wrist inside his opposite palm, and the one-handed girl had her arms folded over her chest and a wicked grin spread across her lips.
"Going somewhere?" she asked maliciously.
"In fact, we are," Misaki replied as though she hadn't noticed the ironic cruelty with which Miu spoke.
"We're not joining you," Gon jumped in adamantly, staring in to the patch of darkness where Number One's face would be rather than Miu's.
Killua, in spite of his friend having behaved so brazenly on many past occasions, was taken slightly aback even still. Just as the boy's name was forming on his lips, Gon spoke again, this time to Miu.
"I'm sorry if we were the reason Taiki-san was killed. The way you can just kill someone that is part of your group is one of the main reasons I can't join." He turned to the elder and said, "Taiki-san did what you said. He believed in us and wanted to bring us to you because he believed in everyone here, too. What you did… is unforgiveable!"
Miu's face had wrinkled painfully at the first mention of Taiki, though by the end of the speech she had managed to contort her expression until it once again portrayed that calculated coldness she had shown prior.
"Taiki knew what this was," she spat. "We all know the rules, and he broke them; it was his own fault."
Gon stepped forward and stared the opposing girl straight in the eye.
"He was your husband," he persisted firmly. "You should care more that he's gone!"
"Shut up!" Miu cried out exasperatedly, tears spilling seemingly out of no where from the corner of her eyes. "Idiot! You don't know shit about Taiki or me or my fucking problems! You don't know fucking shit!"
"Number Six," the elder said in a tone of strict authority, causing the girl to shudder and lower her eyes to the floor, sniffling quietly every now and then with her shoulders shaking with each muted sob.
After a moment of silence, the man stepped forth and tilted his head downward as though to presumably stare in to Gon's determined eyes. The silent gaze was held for several long minutes before the man spoke again.
"Number Six?"
In a hushed whisper, she said, "Yes, sir?"
"Give these people the key to aircraft C."
Killua let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in disbelief, and Miu jolted in shock.
"N-Number One?" she stammered.
"Number Six," he repeated, "the key to aircraft C. Hand it to one of these people."
With shaking hands, Miu reached in to her robe pocket and pulled out an oversized ring of dozens upon dozens of labeled keys. She sorted through them for a long while, back-tracking over the same ones every so often, before slipping a single, golden key from the ring. She tossed it carelessly in to the group, and Gon missed it but managed to retrieve it from the floor next to him.
"Thank you," he said to the elder, bowing low.
The man made no visible reaction, and Gon's eyes still told the story of his distaste for him despite his politeness upon receiving the key.
Turning once more to Miu, he said softly, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I can tell now that you're upset about Taiki. I was wrong about that."
He bowed low to her as well before making a motion with his hand to wave the remaining three along. They followed in silence, and Killua couldn't help but smile even through his impression that it was likely just a trap, as he was always amazed at Gon's ability to sway others with his sincerity.
It was of course one of the many things he admired about the boy, who had saved him from the darkness more times than he could ever properly thank him for, even without really knowing.
A/N: Thanks again to those who have reviewed, favorited, and are following :)
Also, in response to BunnyRules' review, I just wanted to clarify that I have now italicized the flashbacks in both the previous chapter and the ones in "Chapter Eighteen: Intro To Symbiosis". Yes, they are flashbacks and Misaki's current age has not yet been stated. I hope this clears up any confusion.