Killua growled as he came upon another tree, managing to avoid it.
'It's bad enough the old man is making me walk up and down this place. Why the hell did he have to make me wear a blindfold too?!' Killua thought to himself. Sweat pouring down his skin making it glow in the moonlight.
Two days ago, Goku had increased the training regiment tenfold.
Literally.
Goku gave Killua a turtle shell which was ten times more heavy than the one he had received initially.
And along with that, he had also been given a blindfold in order to work on his senses.
Every day, He would wake up and do early morning training, which consisted of helping The old man with the farm. Having Killua dig his fingers into the ground to either pick up the vegetables or to create more space to grow said vegetables in.
All the while only having the turtle shell.
After that routine, then came sweet glorious breakfast. But after that…
The mountain hiking.
Three times down and up.
With the shell AND blindfold.
Killua huffed to himself as he trudged his way up the mountain. He breathed in and out slowly to calm himself.
As he began to calm down he started noticing the differences.
'As much as I hate to admit it, This training is pretty useful. Not only am I increasing my stamina and physical strength, but I can also feel my senses becoming more keen and clear.
My aura…
I think it may have increased in width.
Over the last two days, I've been able to sense more of my surroundings than before.
Overall, I'd say it's really effective training.
…Even if it IS a pain in the ass…'
Killua breathed in the fresh air around him, taking it in and allowing himself to relax.
'This is nice. I'm starting to see why people would choose to live this far out."
Killua, while still exhausted, felt a refreshing light breeze rush by his face, giving him a cool comforting sensation.
The wind carried over the smell of trees, flowers, and other life present in the lush green area. The smell, along with the aura he felt from the forest, was very calming.
Soothing.
Welcoming.
Killua enjoyed the natural feeling he got when he was in the forest. He found himself comparing it to the time when he and Gon had gone to whale island after fighting their way through heaven's arena.
He felt safe.
Secure.
Even still, homesickness took a grip on him.
Thinking about Whale Island made him think of Mito. Gon's aunt.
The mother he wished he always had.
Even as a stranger with a dangerous past, She had welcomed him with very little hesitation.
And then his thoughts drifted to the friends he had made while traveling.
Kurapika…
Leorio...
Wing and Zushi.
Old hag biscuit and the team he had been on during the Chimera invasion.
He had Gon and Alluka though. His best friend/surrogate brother and his little sister.
But was that enough?
Killua stared at the full moon.
Being in this world wasn't too bad, but at the same time, it felt…
Wrong.
It felt like he was a guest that was overstaying his visit.
He shook his head.
He no longer knew what to do.
He wanted to return.
But what could he possibly do about it?
Nanika said it was unable to help.
As such…
Nothing.
Wishing to escape these depressing thoughts, he picked up the pace and made it back to the house.
The next day…
Killua yawned as he awoke early.
He looked over at Alluka, her still dreaming peacefully asleep.
He quietly got up from bed, making sure not to wake her up, as she began her routine later.
Chi Chi would come in to wake her up while he was run ragged by Goku for the day. He brushed a hair out of her face and smiled as she blushed at the tender contact.
Killua left for the farms with Goku.
Alluka opened her eyes slowly to the gentle rubbing of her head. She looked up and saw her mentor Chi-Chi smiling gently.
"Good morning Mrs. Chi-Chi…" Alluka said quietly, yawning afterwards. She slowly arose from the bed and rubbed her eyes gently.
"Good morning, Alluka. Did you sleep well?" She asked gently.
Alluka grinned. "Yeah! Really well. And You?
Chi-Chi giggled. "About as well I could! Goku snores a lot you know…"
Alluka giggled alongside Chi-Chi
"Get dressed, alright? I already made breakfast, and the boys should be here soon." The older woman advised.
Alluka nodded, and Chi-Chi made her way out of the room to let her get dressed. She dressed herself in some new clothing that Chi-Chi had provided for her, as the pink kimono kept getting in the way of her kicking practice.
Her new outfit consisted of hot pink pants, a white tank top and light pink sweater with a cat face printed on the right sleeve for when it got cold, which came with pink hiking boots to match.
She decided to not wear the sweater, as the weather was quite pleasant.
As soon as she finished, she exited the small hut to join Chi-Chi in the main house.
"Ah good. You're here. That was quick." Chi-Chi noted, with heaping amounts of food already at the table.
For the next ten minutes, Alluka helped Chi-Chi try to organize some of the food on the table.
"Do you have to do this everyday? Organizing all this food?" She asked curiously.
Chi-Chi sent her a smile.
"It's usually worse than this. I have two kids. And they both eat about as much as Goku does."
Chi-Chi couldn't stop herself from laughing at Alluka's shocked expression.
Chi-Chi made sure to watch Alluka in order to see if she dropped any plates. Thankfully, that never became an issue.
Although one plate in particular did crack slightly when Alluka grabbed it too hard.
Alluka gasped. "Oh! I'm really sorry Chi-Chi!
Chi-Chi shook her head in consolation.
'Interesting…'
"You know, i've noticed that you have quite a bit of strength there, Alluka. It's impressive, especially for a young girl with no formal training. How did you become this strong?" Chi-Chi asked, curious.
Alluka became nervous. a detail Chi-Chi certainly did not ignore.
Just as quickly however, she closed her eyes and smiled.
Her normally cheerful features were replaced with a more serene one.
She looked up to Chi-Chi and smiled at her.
Had her eyes always been that…
dark?
"In the village me and Killua grew up in, there were a lot of chores involved. After that, I had to become very capable physically in order to keep up with him and Gon while we traveled."
Alluka then closed her eyes and shook her head as she continued.
"I guess we were so busy traveling that I never bothered to ask for training." She concluded.
"I… guess that makes sense..?"
Chi-Chi supposed it was possible.
Something seemed off though.
As they returned to reorganizing the table Chi-Chi's mind went into overdrive at the sudden change of character.
Why had her tone changed so suddenly?
In contrast to the bubbly, vivacious feeling her voice had before, it became more calm. Calculative.
Cold.
The way she carried herself changed as well, becoming more refined, confident, and mature. A large contrast to the slightly insecure yet energetic air she had carried about herself previously.
It felt as though she were talking to a different person entirely.
Chi-Chi felt the air become cold around them, and fear took its grip on her heart. She tried to distract herself by keeping up her organizing of the table.
The way her eyes had darkened...
She couldn't help but compare it to those brief glimpses that the younger girl had given her.
she began to slightly sweat at the realization that this was conjuring up the exact same feeling as those times.
The times where, for a mere second, Alluka shot her a look of pure malice.
Who... was this girl?
"CHI-CHI! We're BACK!" Cried a familiar voice.
'Oh thank goodness…' She thought relieved.
Goku smiled as he could begin to smell the fresh food that had been prepared by his wife, Killua slowly trudging behind him.
The two boys entered the house and Goku quickly made a break for the kitchen.
Alluka came out to see her brother.
"Hi, big bro!" She chirped, engulfing him in a tight hug.
Killua smiled tiredly and ruffled her hair. "Hey. You been good?"
Alluka nodded and pulled killua into the kitchen in order to proudly show him the organized-as-could-be table.
"What do you think? She grinned at him.
The table was about as organized as it could get with the amount of food and plates on it.
Both Goku and Killua stared, Goku grinning ear to ear.
Killua looked back at her and smiled. "Not bad. You're getting pretty good at this. It looks much better than last time." He said, having known that his sister was helping Chi-Chi with organizing the food.
Goku quickly moved to the table, "Alright then! Let's start!" He exclaimed, quickly finding his chair.
Just as he was about to grab one of the smaller plates, his hand was quickly stopped by Chi-Chi. She gave him a deadpan glare.
Goku knew that look all too well.
"Oh! Right. Thank you for the meal." He said scratching the back of his head apologetically.
She nodded approvingly as she and the siblings echoed the phrase and quickly dug right in to their meals.
Goku laughed. "Man this stuff is good! Thanks Chi-Chi!" He said heartily.
Chi-Chi smiled at her husband.
The three eventually finished eating and Killua and Goku made their way to the door, with Alluka following behind them.
"Ready?" Goku asked with a grin.
Killua threw him a glare before throwing the giant turtle shell on his back before proceeding to put on the blindfold.
Alluka gave a quick snigger. "You look silly!"
Killua groaned before heading off.
"Take care!" She cried out.
"Do you're best!" He responded.
Goku then looked at Alluka.
"Be sure to work hard, yeah? Tomorrow, I'm letting Killua take a short break so that he can train you." he informed her casually while ruffling her hair.
Alluka blushed at the gesture before nodding excitedly.
"Where are you going, Goku? Off to train with Vegeta again?" Asked Chi-Chi.
Goku shook his head. "Nah, I'm actually gonna go meet with Piccolo. I've gotta ask him a favor."
Alluka looked over at Goku, confused. She had heard of Vegeta. According to Chi-Chi, Vegeta was a rival to Goku, who he happens to train with many times. She had never heard of Piccolo though…
She assumed that he was another friend of his. But she decided to ask anyway.
"Is Piccolo a friend of yours, Goku?"
Goku looked down at her. "Yeah! We've known each other for a long time now." He knelt down to Alluka's height. "He seems mean, but trust me, he's a pretty cool guy once you get to know him."
Goku stood and went for the door, but not before looking back at her.
"I'm actually planning on having you guys meet him at the end of your training. Be sure to look out for a big green guy with funny ears. That's him." He said, before putting two fingers on his forehead. After a few seconds of intense focus, he vanished from sight.
"Man, I wish I could do that…" Alluka said, in awe.
"It's definitely a time saver that's for sure." Chi-Chi commented.
With that, Chi-Chi headed out the back door with Alluka slowly following her. It was time to begin their training.
'Man! I was really worried she was gonna find out the truth!' She thought, relieved she hadn't been caught.
She closed her eyes, taking in the fresh air before going to meet Chi-Chi in the yard.
'Thanks for the help, Nanika.'
Sorry for the hold up! I was taking a short time off to think about more or less what I wanted to do with the plot of this story as, at this point, I've mostly been writing by the seat of my pants.
I also tried to make this chapter a tad bit longer, as my previous ones have been a tad short. In the comments section, please let me know how long a regular chapter should be.
The next chapter shouldn't take as long. So until then I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
See you next time, on Dragon Hunter ZX!