A/N: Just for fun, I thought I'd post this today. See you in a week or so. Thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows. You guys are too kind. :)

The bewildered trio did not have a chance to respond to Hoshii before the girl hopped from her place upon the branch and came speeding down towards them. She landed nearly in the middle of the three, seemingly enduring no damage from the drop and even performing a small curtsy afterwards for good measure.

"Tah-dah!"

Killua narrowed his eyes. Her overly-friendly, nonchalant attitude caused him great concern. He could sense that she was dangerous, and her unclear intentions only caused him further unease.

'I'll protect Gon no matter what,' he reminded himself dutifully, making certain not to let a single movement of hers go unnoticed.

"Tell me now what exactly your purpose is here," Miu commanded, her brows orbiting inwards to create a formidable scowl from behind her defensive position.

Hoshii's light giggle caused the hairs on the back of Killua's neck to stand on end. There was something very wrong. Perhaps he couldn't precisely pinpoint the specific reasoning that he felt this way, but he was absolutely certain...

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. A girl's got to keep a little mystery, you know!"

"Cut the act. Answer or I'll kill you where you stand."

The younger girl exaggeratedly pulled her limbs inward to her core, dancing from toe to toe and contorting her expression into one of melodramatic fear.

"You're so scary, Miu-chan!"

Finding the confidence to subtly shift into a more offensive stance, Miu pointed her long finger firmly towards the black eyed girl.

"Last chance."

"Fine, fine," she agreed, correcting her posture and waving a dismissive hand. Smiling, she added, "Your eyes look so lovely when you're angry, Miu-chan!"

The unimpressed woman drew an ominous step nearer.

"The thing is," the pink haired girl explained, the wide grin glued onto her lips as she gestured towards the boys, "I came here to deal with my friends, but you're kind of in the way. Oops!."

"We don't even know you," Killua protested dully.

"Don't worry, chibi-chan! We'll get to spend lots of time learning about each other!"

"Killua," he snapped. "My name is Killua."

"Wow! See, we're getting to know each other already, Killu-tan!"

Before he had a chance to further object, Miu drew a couple of steps closer to the girl, reaching below her robes to retrieve the large cannon-like gun she had displayed previously in L.I.G.H.T. headquarters. She aimed it with ease at Hoshii, who apparently took no insult to the action.

"What a neat trick!" the she cried, clapping her hands together a few times while laughing. "Now I'll show you one!"

For a moment it seemed the girl vanished completely, heightening the instincts of the three. However, as quickly as Hoshii had disappeared from sight she subsequently reappeared behind Miu, holding a handful of her whispy hair in a dainty fist and burying her nose in it to breathe the scent fully. Instinctively Miu spun to face her adversary, although by this time the girl had released her grasp and was reaching casually behind the older woman's ear.

"What's this behind your ear?" she asked as she retreated back to her original position just as quickly as she had abandoned it to avoid the onslaught awaiting her.

Holding her right arm straight up in the air, a L.I.G.H.T. card with the membership number "020" drawn in metallic silver was revealed between her fingertips.

'Taiki's card,' Killua recognized.

"Tah-dah!"

Despite her stiff resolve, Killua noticed Miu falter, if only for a second. Hoshii, on the other hand, simply began fanning herself casually with the laminated square of paper.

"Oh, it's so beautifully tragic! It brings a tear to my eye!"

"Return that to Miu-san!" Gon piped up suddenly, drawing a step forward in the heat of the moment.

"You really think I should?"

"Yes! It's very important to her!"

Hoshii pinched one corner of the card between her teeth, angling her head downwards as she did so. Her eyes shimmered as she caught Miu's gaze. The latter raised her weapon once more in response.

"Uh oh... If you shoot and hit me, then you'll destroy this very important card, too! Then you'll have lost everything, Miu-chan!" She paused to giggle. "...But it wasn't a very important card when he was alive, was it? That's what makes it so romantic! You didn't know what you had until it was gone... and that's why you went around leaving your scent on other men, isn't it, Miu-chan?"

This time, there was a definite stutter in her resolve, and before either boy could properly let the implications of Hoshii's words sink in, the mousy-haired woman quickly interrupted their thoughts.

"Shut up!" she shrieked with much the same uncontrolled vigor as she had demonstrated immediately following her husband's death.

"Wow! They always said scent was the strongest memory trigger, but I never thought it would be like this!"

"Shut your fucking mouth or I'll shoot!"

"Oh, but Miu-chan, don't you see... that's what makes it so romantic! He couldn't satisfy you in life but in death he lives on in your heart!"

"I won't warn you again, bitch!"

Seizing the card between her index and middle fingers, Hoshii placed her open palm over her chest.

"Oh, but you had me fooled, you know! I never would have guessed that I was sharing someone with an ugly old lady like you! You had me fooled, indeed! Leave it to a clever girl like you to outwit me so well! Great job, Miu-chan! Think of it as me giving back to you, okay?"

Though her hands shook terribly, Miu managed to pull the trigger. In a fraction of a second, the spot on which Hoshii had been standing exploded with enough momentum to send the boys skidding back slightly. The emotionally damaged woman leaned the majority of her weight onto the weapon, trembling as her back jerked with silent tears. The boys watched in silence, unsure of how to approach the perplexing situation.

As it happened, they would never have to. A mucous-filled gasp escaped Miu, her head abruptly curving upward. Blood spurted from the left region of her chest, draining mercilessly into her robe. The very edge of Taiki's membership card sliced through the patch in her robe prior to the girl's wide-eyed collapse.

"Go on and join your husband, then," Hoshii, who was displayed once Miu had fallen from view, said. "I just love romantic endings!"

"You..."

The sound of Gon's angered voice instantly grabbed Killua's attention, and inwardly he wished that the boy would have kept quiet. This girl was insane... and it was possible that after Miu's slaughter the two of them would be next in line. She was strong, undoubtedly, but had left little to determine exactly what they were dealing with. Regardless, the paler boy knew that his friend would not take Miu's death lightly... but a mindset like that could possibly provoke Hoshii into attacking them. There was no telling what would happen if Gon actually challenged her openly.

"Gon, just-..." he attempted.

"You killed Miu-san... Why did you do that?"

Shaking her finger once more, the girl replied, "Like I said, a girl has to keep a little mystery!"

"That's not more important than someone's life. Miu-san was trying to better hers."

"Oh, wow! Your eyes are so serious! I knew you would be fun!"

Clenching his fists, Gon continued in a deadly calm, "You talk like it's funny. It's not funny. It's... not a game!"

Killua's mind raced as his the tanned boy's aura swiftly spiked. He could not allow him to do this. Gon could not fight this girl...

"Oh, wow! You're the real deal! I'm so excited!"

"Wait, Gon!"

"Still hesitant, Killu-tan?" Winking and giving a thumbs up, the girl explained, "A little birdie told me how to motivate you!"

Reaching into the back of her dress, the girl proudly displayed over her head a familiar, closed, blood-stained umbrella.

"Tah-dah!"

'Misaki's umbrella...' the two understood simultaneously.