"The heart's hushed secret in the soft dark eye."

-Letitia Elizabeth Landon-

CHAPTER 17: REUNION WITH DR. ELLIS

"So… you are Kurapika's boss?" Leorio asked incredulously. He had been gaping at the brown haired girl sitting across from him for a few minutes now. And the thing was that his "fated soul mate" turned out to be his friend's employer.

For a fleeting moment, Leorio had a silly idea of asking his blond friend for a position at the Nostrades. Damn, that lucky bastard Kurapika, Leorio scowled. The thought of sticking to a beautiful and charming boss 24/7 was quite appealing to him. Turned out bodyguarding was quite a fun job in some aspects. (A/N: No, it's not, Leo! LOL!)

"Uhm…precisely, I'm his boss' cousin. But yeah, since I'm also a Nostrade, he's my bodyguard, too." Clandestia smiled wryly. She was quite surprised herself that the trio she met that day turned out to be Kurapika's close friends. The earth is really round in shape, she thought.

In fact, when Clandestia first met Kurapika, at some point, she did grudgingly ponder if the guy actually had any friends at all with that snappish temper and arrogant personality. Of course, she wouldn't dare say that out loud to him. Although they had a rocky start, she soon found out that the blond young man was actually a sensitive soul.

"You all know each other?" Kurapika raised an eyebrow. This was quite an unexpected coincidence. He took a few glances between the four gathering around him. Judging their attitudes, they seemed just barely acquainted.

"Well, we did literally run into each other by chance." Killua nonchalantly shrugged.

"That's right. We met Professor Ellis at Yorknew's market on the first day we arrived!" Gon exclaimed merrily as he explained to the young Kurta.

"Skip the formalities, Gon. Just call me Tia, please." Clandestia smiled wryly. Despite being a real professor/ doctor, she still feel awkward being regarded with such formality even after years working as one. And she knew that she was being silly but it made her feel terribly old. After all, she was still a teenager just like them.

"Very well. Since there is no need for introduction. I'll skip to the point." Kurapika said as he turned to his bodyguard colleague and his young boss.

As his eyes stopped at the music hunter, he felt a little thankful to Clandestia for accidentally giving him such a good idea. Melody would be the best foolproof shield they could ever have for their plan.

"Ok, first, Melody, I need your help in spying on the Phantom Troupe's secret hideout." Kurapika explained. "You'll aid Killua since he knows their base while maintaining a safe distance from them."

Melody nodded at her blond colleague. The short music hunter was quite surprised that he would ask her for help. Now that she considered the target was the Phantom Troupe again, she roughly got a grasp of the situation. This was no longer a hunt involving the mafia's bounty. It was matter of life or death for Kurapika.

"How far can you detect their voices?" The blond Kurta asked, earning him a few curious looks from his gang of friends.

"500 meters." Melody smiled, holding her little fingers up for emphasis. "I'll be able to single out their voices if I heard them before-hand."

"Not only can you hear from that distance, you can single them out?" Killua asked, a little excited.

"Yes, that is if I familiarize myself with their voices before they move into the crowd." Melody smiled at the young ex-assassin. "Not limited to voices, their footsteps also apply."

Amazing! Killua applauded internally. He could totally rely on Melody's hearing to tail the Spiders from a completely safe distance without having to use In. The safer the better! Kurapika did acquire a really capable acquaintance. Now he was more curious about what that Ellis girl can do. Out of everyone, he couldn't really get a hang of her for that plain and wimpy looks of hers.

Not leaving time for anyone to ponder, Kurapika turned to the young professor sitting beside him. There was a rare gleam of trust in his eyes that surprised Killua, Leorio and even Gon.

"Clandestia, you'll search my friend's memories for someone called Pakunoda." Kurapika said.

"So you are a mind-reader, too?" Gon jolted up in his seat, eyes twinkling with interest. Mind-reading was a rare ability and he came across two in just a few days.

Clandestia tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the last part of Gon's question.

"There is someone from the Troupe that we are after named Pakunoda." Killua filled her in on their story. "She read Gon and my memories once."

"She poses a great threat to me." Kurapika added gravely. "So we need to quickly get rid of her."

"Ah, I see." Clandestia nodded. "If that's the case, yes, I can help analyze her skills."

The slender young woman briefly shifted her eyes to Gon as she finally explained what she could offer. "First, like Gon said, I do read minds." She said.

"But precisely, I'm a psychic. So I was born with some other features." She put an index finger over her lips, implying that what she was about to tell them should remain a secret.

"I can use telepathy as well as create illusions inside one's mind, too." The teenage professor added. In fact, it was majorly what she's capable of but not all. There is something else that she doesn't wish to disclose. Her violet eyes unconsciously seeked out to a certain blond bodyguard. That's right, Kurapika was the only one that happened to know one more of her other abilities. As their eyes met, he returned her gaze with an understanding look. But it was so quick that she almost missed it.

The others were in deep thought. Leorio was the most affected one. Clandestia turned out to be more dangerous than they thought. On top of that, such ability was so well hidden under that fragile look of hers. She had seemed like any ordinary girl and not a fighting material. If everything about her was a carefully crafted facade, it would be quite frightening. Then again, that sincerity in her eyes told him otherwise.

Feeling the tension in the atmosphere, Clandestia quickly added with a reassuring smile: "Don't worry! I can't casually read what you are thinking at will! There are conditions to be fulfilled!"

"What conditions?" Killua inquired curiously.

"First, I have to touch you." Clandestia held up her fingers for emphasis. "Second, we need to make eye contact."

Killua and Gon exchanged a grim look. That was a bit similar to Pakunoda.

"Every psychic has different conditions." She explained. "Our minds are living mechanisms with protective barriers. So there shouldn't be anyone who can read your thoughts proactively without restrictions."

"Pakunoda did touch us. But other than that I don't know." Gon said, propping his chin on one of his palms and recalling the incident with the Spider.

"Well, we'll find out about that." Clandestia smiled amiably. "So who wants to be my partner?"

She gave the two boys sitting across from her a friendly wink. Gon's eyes were twinkling with pure interest while Killua's expression was totally cautious.

Her gaze lingered on the silver-haired boy. The first time they met, what caught her interest about Killua was his cat-like sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through anyone's facade. He carried a domineeringly confident air around him like he was some kind of a superior race of humans. At the same time, he had that wild, sneaky, and cunning vibe in him. All those traits converging in a boy awfully young like him is truly an exceptional case, if not questionable!

In her profession, Clandestia always has a certain curiosity over sly kids like Killua. Just like how the trouble makers in her classes intrigued her to a challenge.

"Killua, will you help?" Her lips curled up into a mischievous grin.

Killua promptly passed a side glance at Gon. After a brief moment of hesitation, he turned to the young professor with his usual nonchalant and smug look.

"Ok, cool." The ex-assassin shrugged. It's better to keep Gon away from this, he thought. And how bad could it be? He could deal with the likes of this Ellis girl.

Clandestia was clearly taken aback. Considering Killua's skepticism towards her, she originally expected that he would refuse. In fact, she was only testing her hypothesis with his reaction. But not wanting to waste any more of everyone's time, she promptly beckoned to the silver-haired boy to move closer.

"Alright, please come here. We shall begin then." The slender brunette held out both of her hands and offered them to Killua as her expression gradually turned solemn.

The silvered hair ex-assassin plopped down onto a seat next to the young professor. He looked at the hands that were holding out to him. After a brief hesitation, he placed both of his palms on top of her dainty ones. He winced a little from the sudden contact. The girl's hands were smaller than he thought. Even though she seemed to be around Kurapika's age, her figure was rather petite. And for a Zoldyck descendant like himself, he is quite tall and has an exceptionally better build compared to other kids his age, thanks to all those merciless training his family had put him through from birth. As expected, his palms completely covered her delicate hands.

"Now, please look into my eyes." The slender young woman gently instructed. Her voice instinctively radiated a magnetic vibe.

"And I'm not gonna lie: It won't be pleasant. But I'll try to be quick!" Clandestia reassured the younger boy with a soft smile, out of the habit she's developed from treating her patients in the past.

As they sat down holding hands, the silver-haired ex-assassin gazed into the girl's deep purple eyes as instructed.

The moment his sapphire-blue orbs met her amethyst ones, something strange happened.

Time temporarily came to a halt for him.

During the 12 years of being an assassin, Killua encountered countless powerful people.

There were a few so strong that their aura alone deeply intimidated him. First, his brother Illumi. Second, Hisoka. Third, the Phantom Troupe.

And now… this seemingly feeble girl! But what he felt was not intimidation. It was more like being possessed.

There was something similar to a divine force that froze his physical body and penetrated his soul. It undid an invisible lock in his mind. And that was where everything went out of control. He felt the deepest layers of his soul being separated and fully exposed to those mysterious purple orbs staring deep into him like endless voids.

Clandestia tried fighting back the urge to excessively suck in Killua's memories since she did not wish to touch the areas that were more personal to him and irrelevant to Kurapika's request. But her power was reacting more than she predicted and she couldn't restrain it any longer.

She didn't expect this strong interaction between them. Unlike his playful demeanor and sharp tongue, this boy had surprisingly profound emotions that built up for years. The experiences that he had would surpass anyone's imagination about a kid of his age. It was horrifying beyond words! Poisons and torturous training from birth. His first killings. The pain. The twisted view of the world. The mind-breaking guilt and disgust. His family. The endless cycle of despair. His precious friends… Everything flowed into Clandestia's mind like torrents from a broken dike.

At last, Clandestia managed to regain an ounce of resistance. She took the chance to shut her eyes, and successfully put a stop to it. As if on cue, they both fell back into their seats.

Clandestia exhaled. Not wanting to worry the others, she quickly regained her composure and looked around. All eyes were still on them. Or rather on the silver-haired boy next to her.

Killua was slightly sweating and his face lost the usual composed look. His blue cat-like eyes dilated in utter confusion.

"Killua… Killua?" He heard Clandestia's voice calling him.

As he looked at her again, he saw worries and guilt clouding her expression. Strangely, her purple eyes were back to their originally serene state. The young ex-assassin instantly came back to his senses as he took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. It must have been unpleasant!" She exclaimed.

Killua was reluctant to give any response. Unpleasant was the understatement of the year, little Miss Sorry! It's far worse than that! He scowled, recalling what he experienced in the last few seconds. The power of this Ellis girl was even scarier than Pakunoda! He grimaced at the thought.

"So what did you get?" Finally, Leorio was the first to ask.

"Well, I can be sure of a few things." Clandestia said.

"First, that woman needs to touch you. Second, she evokes your memories by asking questions related to what she wishes to know." She explained.

"Hmm, so that's how." Gon agreed. "Will it work if we just made up some false thoughts inside our minds?"

"Unfortunately, no!" The young professor sighed. "What she searches for is the deeper layers of your memories. By asking questions, she evoked those layers to resurface in your mind."

"It means no use tricking her." Kurapika shook his head.

"Precisely yes. But there is a way to limit her extortion." Clandestia said, earning a few inquiring glances from the rest of them.

"There is a limitation to her abilities." She added. "-First, she can't read everything in your memories at once. She can only read memories that are triggered by her questions."

"So if you're able to distract yourself from hearing her interrogation-" The young professor elaborated. "-You can avoid or at least delay her extortion of information."

"Still... it's almost impossible to do so when you're in a chase and you're agitated." She sighed.

"It's not impossible." Kurapika said. "If you can't prevent her, try your best to delay her."

Everyone was deep in thought, busy trying to process the information. Suddenly Killua rose from his seat and stood in front of Clandestia.

"You?-" He asked, his sapphire blue eyes darkened as they fell on the young professor. "-What about you?"

"What is the limitation to your ability?" He peered into her deep violet eyes again. He had a bad feeling about what he was about to learn.

Feeling the obvious caution in his attitude, Clandestia hesitated. It was not a question, it was more like an interrogation. Though she did not want to freak him out, she felt obliged to be honest.

"None." She confessed resignedly. "Once all the precedent conditions are fulfilled, there is no limitation to the memories that I get."

"It means… everything?" The young assassin asked. His face hardened.

"Depends on the case." Clandestia replied.

"Once the mind reading starts, I have various levels of control over my power." She added after a brief pause. "Like the law of Coulomb, the more profound someone's emotions and memories are, the stronger it attracts and intensifies my power."

"With ordinary people, I can perfectly control my power to summon only relevant info." She explained.

"But in special cases, when the sentiment is too much for me to handle-" She smiled grimly. "-All of the subject's memories will automatically flow into my mind regardless of my intention. Of course, I can't read everything in one go. So the longer the precedent conditions are maintained, the more information will be delivered to my mind."

A hint of melancholy flashed through Clandestia's eyes as she revealed the last part. She unconsciously looked down at her lap as images of her past experiences suddenly resurfaced in her mind. Servants, friends, and even family members. They would look at her with weary or angered eyes as they learned what she was. Some did not dare to look her in the eyes and just out-rightly strayed out of her life. Some even coaxed her into being a subject of their exploitation. She definitely felt like a monster back then and it did not get any better even until this day.

While the young professor was lost in her own trailing thoughts, she suddenly felt a tiny hand tugging on her slender arm. She glanced aside and was greeted by Melody's reassuring smile. That's right, this sweet woman can hear her heartbeats. There's no way to hide anything from her. She smiled back at her and finally mustered all her courage to lift her head up and face the rest of them.

To her utter bewilderment, none of them was giving the alienating looks that she had anticipated. As much as she could not believe it, they actually had the same expressions as Melody.

"You're cool, Tia!" Gon exclaimed cheerily. "-You can help people by understanding their feelings this way!"

Her purple eyes widened like saucers, completely taken aback by Gon's words. Somehow she felt a lump in her throat as a surge of sentiments washed over her.

"Agreed. If I had such skill, I could be a better doctor." Leorio winked at her with a playful but sincere gleam in his eyes.

"You've been a great help. Thanks!" Even Kurapika nodded at her in approval with a faint smile.

And finally, she met a certain pair of sapphire cat-like eyes.

"It wasn't that bad. Not like I have many dirty secrets or anything!" Killua suddenly uttered and awkwardly looked away.

She noticed a vague shade of pink on the boy's puffed-up cheeks. As she realized that it was his clumsy attempt to lighten the mood, she gently beamed at him with appreciation.

"Oi, what's wrong with your face, Killua?" Leorio mercilessly jeered at the silver-haired boy.

"Shut up, old man!" Killua retorted angrily as his face turned a deeper shade of pink.

Everyone instantly broke out laughing at Leorio and Killua's banters while Clandestia quietly let her violet eyes wander among them with growing fondness.

The teenage professor finally realized how narrow her little world was. She had spent all her childhood days quietly like a wallflower in the Nostrades and when it became so unbearable, she left for university. She has been deliberately hiding her secrets with a carefree exterior and trying to lead an ordinary life as a professor/ doctor all these years. She did not know any better than the notorious mafia world that she was born into or her academic life that was full of pretension.

But these people are so different from what she has known about the world. It's clear that people of their caliber possess inhuman strength and abilities which are still beyond her knowledge but ironically, they are even kinder than anyone she has ever met.

Clandestia smiled wistfully, thinking that maybe… just maybe, it would be alright to not hide what she is anymore.

A/N: Scarleteyedchainuser: Thanks for your valuable comments. It was a big help. Fortunately, I'm obsessed with mafia stuffs, too. And yes, you'll be seeing more of the mafia community in latter chapters, right after YN arc though =)