She had sensed him behind her long before Illumi had bothered to advance toward her. The flow of tears had finally ceased, and she was grateful that at the very least he would not have the satisfaction of seeing the full effect that his actions had upon her. How many years had it been now since they had met?

'Twelve,' she realized, forcing the overwhelming pressure between her ribs down in to her abdomen.

You're Illumi's puppet…

If one had suggested this to her only a single day prior, she would have scoffed at the severe miscalculation of the words. No, she simply reaped mutual, physical benefit from him, she might have reminded herself with unwavering persistence. Yet… never was it so clear to Misaki that her usefulness to him was nil beyond her ability to bend to his will as it was at that very moment on this particular day.

It was frightening, this uncensored clarity, but still not nearly as mortifying as the small, insistent part of her that still yearned for him. She knew his game now, at least she was fairly certain she did, and even so there was a disgusting need for her to cling to him.

Yes, that's what it was; disgusting. She loathed herself simply recognizing it, and understanding with a horrific determination that despite his trust in her going no further than he could perhaps throw her… she still desired him somehow… and the more contempt she felt for herself, the more she thirsted to gain his approval.

'You are vile, Misaki,' her mind hissed at her. 'Look what you've done… and still you want to please the one who has managed to see you as less human than even your clients. There's apathy for you, you stupid girl; now drown in it!'

His footfalls were silent, though still she felt him draw nearer.

"Repulsive," she whispered weakly as her peripheral vision caught sight of his wholly clothed figure at her side.

Just the notion that he'd been steady and collected enough to redress himself before endeavoring to follow after her or Killua or both… was almost enough to quell the pitiful lurch in her gut.

His head tilted at the sound of her mumbled words, but no sound came in response.

With a cold, hateful tone she lifted her eyes to his, revealing all the loathing she could possibly muster in his direction as she growled, "You are a repulsive human being."

His reaction (or lack thereof) twisted raging circles in her chest. Even during confrontation, his expression was unfazed, his posture erect, and his muscles relatively relaxed. She could not shake him… and the thought, while it weakened her mindset considerably, was used temporarily to channel further spite and threatening in to her glare.

"When can I expect the contract to be completed?" he asked, devoid of feeling and as though he had not just taken careless, unlimited advantage of her.

Misaki clenched her jaw until a sharp pain erupted behind her molars. She drew one step nearer to him, never breaking eye contact, and, forgetting her honor and her pride altogether, shamelessly spat in to his face.

Too nonchalant for her liking, Illumi simply ran his palm over his flesh, collecting the bulk of saliva in it, and examined in for a bored moment.

Looking back to her he repeated robotically, "When can I expect the contract-…?"

In disbelief of his audacity to simply ignore her even in the face of adversity, the girl charged forth, purposely slamming her shoulder in to his as she passed him as if she had planned to strut through him. It was enough to halt his speech and jolt his body at an angle which permitted her to move forthright.

"If you follow me, I'll kill you," she threatened in a casual voice that did not at all match any one of the multiple, conflicting ways that she currently felt.

Whether he recognized that she would possibly return to him regardless or honestly believed the legitimacy of her warning was uncertain. In truth, she could not care. He held his position and that was all that mattered.

It was time to blur the lines of reality once again. Craving an escape, she sought out to take solace from a long neglected friend in the form of Vermouth. Tonight, Misaki decidedly needed to feel familiarity before she could even begin to unravel her web of lies and half truths and sort out the fragile pieces.

After some aimless wandering, Killua found himself once more standing at Haku's empty front door frame. He had fluttered about in the darkness on broken wings for an indeterminate amount of time, but as usual he felt the incredible urge to return to Gon like a moth drawn to the light.

Still he admittedly could not stay here, at Haku's residence. Illumi was here… or at least had been… and whether or not he happened to be physically present at the moment was unimportant. This place was tainted now, and it would consume him if he remained.

He hesitated for only a few brief seconds before trudging in to the living room, where Gon and Haku were now awake and amidst conversing upon the pale grey couch. The bespectacled man noticed him first, resting his glance on the silver haired boy for no more than a moment before lowering his eyes to the ground uncomfortably.

"Gon, we're leaving," Killua said hollowly.

The tanned boy's expression revealed his surprise. Killua surmised that he had not discovered Illumi.

"Why?" he asked, stunned.

"Ask Haku," he urged darkly.

"Haku-san?"

The man shook his head, but did not lift his gaze from the floor.

'Of course. If Misaki is Illumi's puppet, then Haku must be Misaki's,' the paler boy insisted inwardly.

"Let's go."

"What's going on?" Gon questioned, turning his head back and forth from Killua to Haku.

"It was never real," the silver haired boy murmured.

"What wasn't?"

"Anything."

"I don't think I know what you mean…?"

"Haku is lying to us."

Now Haku did look up, his eyes pleading and his lips partially agape.

"That's absurd!"

"All you've ever done is lie," the blue eyed boy accused darkly. "There is no reason to believe you now."

Haku shook his head defiantly.

"I know I've made mistakes in the past, but I've changed! I want to change!"

"It's too late for you to fix this."

"Killua!" Gon called out in reprimanding disbelief. "Haku-san is our friend. He's helped us a lot and it's because of him that we've been able to come up with a plan for the eruption."

"You… you said to me that you wanted me to join with you," the man whispered, his tone wounded and soft. "If that's untrue, then…" He took a deep breath before his voice strengthened considerably. "…That makes you the liar!"

Haku-san told me that it's not good for you to get so close to Misaki…

Killua tightened his fists at his side. No, he couldn't give in to the unjust urge that was pressuring him to believe that Haku was uninvolved in this plot against him…

"The world is not ending," the former assassin decided aloud between his clenched teeth. "It was all a ploy."

Haku's eyes widened.

"Of course it's true! I couldn't possibly stage such a thing!"

"L.I.G.H.T. isn't real, is it?"

"But Killua," Gon interjected, "they cleared a whole island of bodies…"

Perhaps he had a point, but even still he refused to acknowledge it. In his spiral of grief and self pity, he truly did not want to believe Haku. It was much simpler to sever their ties to him… to Misaki… and analyze their position from there on.

"Please," Haku begged gently, abandoning his frustrations. "We have less than three months to finish executing our plan. After that I'll disappear from your lives forever if you wish. Our survival, and everyone else's, depends on it."

"Killua…?"

The pale boy fell silent, his arms dropping uselessly at his sides. While it appeared he was considering the man's proposal, in reality no thoughts came to him and instead he formed fractions of impressions. He stood this way, trapped inside himself and searching for an exit, until his hand brushed across his pants pocket. The material was stretched out and engorged, and he had all but forgotten about the bag of candy inside of it and he reached in to retrieve it.

His hollowed stare studied the bag in front of him quietly, as though it could reveal to him something that he did not already know. A few feet beyond, Haku and Gon were still anxiously awaiting his response.

She was thinking about you when you weren't even around and bought you a gift!

Killua gripped the bag tightly in his palm, his expression unchanging all the while. In a single, swift motion he tossed the bag distastefully in to the waste basket in the corner. He left his arm outstretched for a second or two following, frozen in position. Then he turned his back to Haku.

"Gon, let's go."