CHAPTER 19
A/N: A really fast update… I was itching to write it down!
After the announcement, Hayuri and Killua had parted ways to put on their official trainees uniform, which were to be used on important occasions. They met at the entrance five minutes before the appointed time and entered to find a spot to stand at. As they waited, there was an anxious silence filling the hall, since probably everyone suspected that something big was about to happen. Finally, five minutes later, three older men entered the room and the few muttering people quieted down. The first one was dressed in gold sewed robes, wore a lot of jewelry and looked to be way over 70. The second one looked around 60 and was dressed with a blue robe and strange white hat. The third one was the youngest - around 50 - and was clearly part of the royal guard.
"Good afternoon, everyone." The second man announced with a stern voice. "It may be the case that you don't recognize us, since many of you are still trainees. Therefore I will now announce the titles of the present." He moved aside and motioned with a reverence to the oldest man. "I present to your excellency the 22nd king of Eastern Padokia and the supreme ruler of our holy nation, your highness Alexander Jekzinghout." As he said that, everyone in the room bowed exaggeratedly along. They straightened back up and the man continued speaking. "On my side, I present to your grace the general of the royal guard, Joan Peter Pasten." Everyone did a shorter bow and stood up straight again. "And I myself am the king's right hand and prime councilor, Lester Humberton." Everyone in the room did another short bow and went up again. "I will now allow your grace Joan Peter Pasten to speak."
"Royal guards and trainees. I can only expect that you understand the graveness of our current situation. As you can see, your Excellency the king has ruled for a long period of time in favor of our people and gods will. We believe that the current challenge is the start of a new era and, therefore we have decided to choose and crown the successor of the throne in one week." He stopped for a couple seconds to let the fact down on everyone. "Of course, in face of this upcoming event and the current situation the country is in, we are in great need of security. We can later on discuss the proper security tactics that we will need to implement. However, to do such a thing, we require more personal. To accomplish this, we have decided graduate you trainees one month earlier than planned. This means that the ceremony will be held tomorrow. This will leave us with a period of 6 days to tighten our security and ensure the continuation of this monarchy. So, for what's left of today and tomorrow until the ceremony, one royal guard will serve as a navigator for four trainees. You will be filled in with the information that you should've learned in this next weeks. You trainees will be approached as soon as this meeting ends."
As the man retreated back a couple steps and both Killua and Hayuri thought the same thing. My mission will end soon.
"I thank you, Peter." The king spoke with a deep voice filled with authority and stepped forwards. "This is an important task that I am personally appointing on you. These rebels want to destroy the peace in our country, our way of live and our culture. No matter which of my sons is chosen as my successor, I expect all of you to protect him and our properties at all costs."
"Yes, your highness!" Everyone spoke as they bowed down deeply. They stayed in that position until the three men had left the hall and, only then, they straightened up again. Hayuri felt sickened at bowing down to such a man, who only cared about his own wealth and starved his nation to death.
She was about to say something to Killua, but she was approached by a royal guard and was told to follow him. She looked back at Killua and waved. The guard gathered three more trainees and led them to an empty room. The four of them sat down and the man crossed his fingers in front of his face.
"Well, I don't know how I'm going to do this, but you'd better have good memory; you'll have to learn a whole week of lessons in one and a half day."
And so, a full day of intensive learning began. They even had to keep learning through lunch and dinner. After 11 pm, they had finally finished the first part of their tutoring and Hayuri headed to her room. When she got there, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Tomorrow night. 8 pm." She said. A couple seconds later, Hayuri hung up.
The next day was probably going to be the day in which her mission would be fulfilled. She would have to leave the palace, probably permanently. At that thought, Hayuri stopped in her tracks. She turned around sharply and headed towards Killua's room.
When she got there, she knocked on his door and waited a couple seconds. Killua opened the door with a raised eyebrow and moved aside to let her in.
"Hey." He said as he walked to a chair and sat down. "You know, it's not proper for a lady to visit a man's quarters at midnight."
"Then again, I'm not a lady."
"You're not." Killua smirked. "How was your day?"
"My brain is fried." She deadpanned and Killua laughed. "And yours?"
"It was a lot, but I'm used to it from my tutoring back home."
"No wonder." She rolled her eyes. "I was thinking though. The king really is not only a terrible leader, but also a terrible father."
"Yeah. I noticed that too. He realized that the situation has become dangerous for him and he's probably decided to bail. Whichever one of his sons is elected will have to face all the political and social problems that he left behind."
"Damn, that bastar-."
"Don't talk like that." Killua interrupted her. "You don't know who might be listening."
"I know." She said and looked at the ground for a couple seconds. "You know, I didn't come here just to talk about politics or such."
"No?" He raised his eyebrows and she turned to face him with a serious face. "What's going on?"
"Tomorrow night, I might have to leave this place. Maybe permanently."
"What?" Killua's eyes widened and he leaned closer to her while sitting. "Why?"
"There's something I have to do for the contract hunters I've been working for."
"I... I really don't want you to leave." Killua said and gulped down. After a couple seconds he sighed. "But I also won't try to convince you to stay, since I know how it feels to have a duty."
Killua finished speaking and turned his face away from her. The thought of never seeing her again was more than he could take. He felt his hands tremble and his mouth dry up. Suddenly, there was a warm hand holding his own and he looked up at Hayuri.
"I don't want to either. You're important to me, more than you know. I will do what I have to and you will do what you have to and then we'll meet again." She tightened her hold on his hands and her eyes shone with determination. "We've known each other for, what, nine months? Somehow, after this time, you've become the closest thing I have to a family. I'll be damned before I lose contact with you."
"I feel the same. I have a family, but I've never really been close to them. All they've even done is put responsibilities on my shoulders." He smiled. "You're the first person I've ever felt comfortable around. I'll definitely see you again."
Hayuri stood up, leaned over and hugged him tight. After a couple seconds she stood back up and smiled at him.
"I'm glad you're not the same prick I met on the hunter exam."
"I've told ya already. I'm the same person. It's just that you ended up getting attached to a prick like me and forgot that I am."
"That's true." She smirked. "But maybe it's just that you've gotten soft. I destroyed that wall that you walk around with."
"Yeah... that too." He stopped and creased an eyebrow. "Why do I feel like we already had this conversation?"
"Ah.. maybe we already did." She shrugged. "So, I'll see you tomorrow night, right?"
"Yeah. See you."
Killua watched as she walked away and closed the door behind her. He had wanted to ask her to stay for a while longer, maybe to stay the night and talk until they couldn't keep their eyes open anymore. However, when he opened his mouth to speak, the words had died on his throat.
- Time skip -
The next day, after pushing a great amount of information into her brain, Hayuri was now familiar with the palace blueprints, standard security tactics, escape routes, codes, and so on. Finally, countless hours of intensive learning, and with only a couple hours of sleep on her, she was allowed to go back to her room and dress up.
Hayuri showered and washed her hair thoroughly. As she did, she remembered that this day was probably the day her mission would be completed. On any formal event in which people were called forward, full names would always be used. They had told her that they only knew the targets last name, so everyone was waiting for this moment. She would help out and recompense once more - and grandly - to the hunters she owed so much to.
She was glad, on one side but, at the same time, was feeling apprehensive. She definitely did not want to part ways with Killua. She would definitely keep her promise and find a way of keeping contact afterwards. When she finished showering, she dried up and got dressed. The ceremony would be a formal event, in which everyone was supposed to wear standard attire according to their rank. Female royal guards had to wear a red sleeveless dress that went down to their knees. It was straight and simple and didn't include any kind of fluffy accessories or puffy parts. The shoes they were to wear were flat, and had straps going up her leg to the knee. It was clearly thought to be useful for combat, but it was pretty nonetheless. For once, Hayuri decided to put on some mascara and eyeliner, which made her green eyes shine brighter. She did her hair in a simple and tight, but beautiful hairdo that would allow her movement if need be. She tied a binding on each upper thigh; one would hold a dagger and the other would hold nen suppressing handcuffs.
When she was done, she walked down to the event hall, where the ceremony would be held. She entered and found herself in a huge room with tall windows that looked out to a garden and filled with enormous chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The place was stacked with a deliciously smelling buffet of a vast variety of canapés and there were beautiful decorations placed everywhere. On one side, there were around 10 tables set for dinner and, on the other side, there was an open space facing a higher platform. Hayuri entered and walked through the crowed as she scanned the place. She soon spotted Killua, who was standing nonchalantly and waving off a woman that had approached him. She didn't blame her; he looking damn hot. The male formal attire consisted of a black formal shirt and red formal shorts that went past their knees. He wore black combat boots, which looked much formal than regular ones. There was also a red wrist band on his right arm. In contrast to other people, Killua had done absolutely nothing to his hair. It gave him a much more boyish and disarranged appearance. Hayuri was brought out of her musings when Killua turned and locked eyes with her. He immediately waved her way and she smiled, walking his way. As she did, she noticed that he was observing her intently. When she'd walked the fifteen steps between then stopped.
"Hey."
"Hey." He said as he looked her up and down once more. "You look beautiful."
Hayuri was taken aback by his honesty and felt her cheeks grow hotter. Apparently, Killua hadn't meant to say that, because he immediately jerked up and cleared his throat.
"I mean, you look ok." He said as he faintly blushed as well. "I didn't think you'd be able to do such thing. Maybe now someone migh-"
"Killua." Hayuri interrupted him to avoid any more awkwardness. "You look good too. Now, let's get something to eat."
As Hayuri turned to walk away, Killua inwardly sighed and cursed himself for his lack of self-control. What was up with him? Couldn't he get a grip on what he said? Thank goodness he hadn't asked her for a kiss or to spend the ni-
"Killua!" Hayuri startled him. "I've been calling your name for a while. Jeez, what's up with you?"
"Err... I might be a little on edge right now." He said and she raised an eyebrow at him, completely skeptical.
"Whatever. I was asking, do you want some ice-cream as well?"
At the mention of sweets, Killua's mind went blank and he immediately assaulted the buffet. Both walked around for a while, tasting every food available in there. Well, mostly Hayuri.
"Hey, calm down, will ya?" Killua tapped her shoulder as she was about to have some more caviar. "You know this is a royal event, right? We don't want some authority to come over and say something embarrassing to you. On the other hand, it would be hilarious if that tight dress were to be ripped open on your side." He added with a smirk as he pointed to the almost unnoticeable joint of the fabric.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to see that?" Hayuri smirked playfully and pushed him with her index.
"It would definitely ruin my appetite." He rolled his eyes. When he looked back at her he noticed that she had a little sauce on her lip. "Jeez, look at you. Just like a child."
Hayuri was about to ask what he was talking about, but was frozen on her spot when Killua moved his hand up and cupped her cheek. His thumb moved to her lower lip and softly rubbed it. Killua then moved his hand away and frigging licked that thumb. Hayuri was speechless. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT.
"There you go; there was sauce on your lip." He said looking back at her. Her eyes were wide and her face was flushed, her brown skin looking almost impossibly red. It was only then that Killua realized what he had done. He had rubbed her lower lip and fucking licked it afterwards. LICKED IT. Before his mind went overdrive and said something stupid, Killua decided to act as if it hadn't been anything important and turned around to grab some more food. As he stuffed his mouth, he fought the blush that was creeping on his cheeks.
Hayuri stared dumbfounded as Killua turned away from her, as if he hadn't just done such an intimate thing. Her heart was racing on her chest and she wondered if he was just acting dumb. How could he not even notice the meaning of that gesture? After a minute of watching Killua's back as he walked a couple meters away, there suddenly was a soft tapping on Hayuri's shoulder. When she turned, she was faced with a young man. He had fair skin, brown eyes and slightly red hair, and was a little taller than Killua. She recognized him; they had talked a couple times before, but she barely knew his name.
"Hey, Bart. How are you doing?" She greeted.
"I'm fine. Hey, Hayuri. Err... the thing is, I always see you around Killua. So... I was wondering... are the two of you together?"
"As in dating?" She raised an eyebrow and he nodded. "Then no, we are not. We're friends though. Why such a question?"
"Well, I was wondering... would you like to go out on a date sometime? Or if you don't have one right now..."
"Oh." Hayuri blinked. She most definitely didn't expect that. "Well... right now I'm keeping Killua company. Also, I'm currently focusing on my work, so I'm not really planning on dating right now."
"Oh, I see." He looked away for a second and then turned leave. "If you change your mind, let me know. See ya."
She watched him walk away and felt Killua walk closer to her.
"Wow, apparently you eventually got someone to notice you." He said. "He's not too bad looking either."
"Well, at least I have. Unlike someone else. You were always bragging on about your looks, maybe some humility will help you get some attention"
"Oh, but Hayuri." Killua smirked. "I've been asked out at least 15 times since we got here. Don't forget what you saw when you entered the hall. Also, for the record, I don't need attention."
"Whatever." Hayuri growled. Damn him. "How did you even know I was here?"
"I'm already used to your aura. I can definitely notice when you're in a crowd."
"Well, good for you mister perfect." She rolled her eyes. "You have a whole line of chicks waiting on you."
"Not just chicks." Killua grimaced and Hayuri explosively laughed.
"Ahahahahahaha!" She held her sides as she bent over in laughter. "Well, what can I say, you have a lot to choose from."
"Pfft. I would never go out with someone who only asks me out because of my looks." He frowned.
Hayuri was about to add answer him, when the music stopped and the head of the royal guard appeared on the stage. He had his hands behind his back, making him look more built up than he already was. He announced that the graduation would begin and everyone gathered around him. He started calling names on alphabetical order, starting with last names that begun with 'A'. Hayuri immediately focused her whole mind on the names that were announced. Soon, she was called up, so she straightened up and walked up the stairs.
"Castañeda, Hayuri. Might you serve the king and god with your life, and might your service be long and fulfilling." The general said and Hayuri stood straight as he set a pin on her dress, just under her right shoulder.
"This I vow!" Hayuri said and bowed slightly. She then walked down the steps and back to where Killua stood.
As she stood by Killua, she intently listened the names of the remaining trainees come up. Most of them looked really proud of their accomplishment and stood with pride, showing their pin off. When almost half of them had already gone up, the moment Hayuri had been waiting for came. However, she was completely shocked and she tensed up at what she heard.
"Dolzyck, Killua."
A/N: Cliffhanger! And NO I did not spell Zoldyck wrong. I mean, I did, but it was on purpose.
MadokaMagica1998: Thank you! I've been trying hard to make the plot interesting and do some character development, so I'm glad that you think so! Also, I too love Killua's soft side (I loved him more than I already did on chimera ant and zoldyck arc)