Hunter X Hunter 1. The Corner Seat

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hunter X Hunter.**

**Plot: It's time the two boys went to high school. Education is essential, for the young cannot spend their entire life in combat and the supernatural. Mito-san, being a motherly aunt has sent them to Tokyo in order to study, paying with the exchanged Greed Island zennies into yens. Gon, being obedient decides to look for Ging at a later stage. Mito-san entrusted Kurapica and Leorio to take care of them for as long as they can, for they also happened to be working in Tokyo. However, after a few months, it was time Kurapica moved on, and Leorio needs to expand his medical studies in order to be a doctor. The two were left alone to take care of themselves and pay for their rents. For five years, they have lived a life of ordinary boys, a world, where hunters and nen were unknown. **

**During their HSC year, a new transfer student moved in to Killua's class. She was seen as strange, quiet, and expressionless; a girl who never smiled. Seeing that there was something wrong, Gon decided to investigate on this situation while dragging a reluctant Killua along. As they got to know her better, the reason behind all this is revealed.**

_**Will they succeed on reclaiming her smile…?**_

* * *

"See you at break time!" Gon waved his hand and entered class 12-A. Killua simply nodded and strode into class 12-B.

28th March.

Monday.

8:00 am.

Five years have passed since the day Gon, Kurapica and Leorio had entered his small world. Five years have passed since the Hunter exam, the Celestial Tower, the Zoaldyeck incident, and the dark York Shin City. Five years have gone by since claiming victory of the Greed Island game and the battle with the Chimera Ants. And it was only five years ago, that the motherly Mito-san had enrolled Gon and himself to an ordinary highschool. As she has said, "It's time you boys lead an ordinary life."

The seventeen-year old took his seat on the far side of the room by the windows in the second last row. He had always considered taking the corner seat, the one hiding in the dark, the one where anybody could drift away from society. Unfortunately Mrs. Schmakbaam would not allow students to pick their own seats. She placed the odd numbered class in specific spots in which she thought the students would behave, leaving the back corner seat empty. Killua didn't mind. As long as he doesn't sit at the front, he was fine.

In fact, he probably has the luckiest seat. When the teacher begins her lecture, he would often prop his chin on his left hand and gaze out the window, wandering what in the world would Gon and he himself would do after school. Most of his actions would be concealed by the students sitting in front, and he wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable under the tedious stare of a random kid sitting directly behind.

One of the girls' greatest gossip included naming their 'hottest boys'. No one could miss a school day without hearing the word 'Killua' or 'Gon'. Despite the plain black and white of the school uniform, girls would silently squeal at his outfit; a white blouse with the top button undone, half tucked in the black pants, and a black, striped tie hung loosely around his neck. But Killua doesn't even know or care about his popularity. After all, he was dressed like any other typical boy in his teens.

And there was Gon, his loli-shota partner. Amazingly for the past five years he was able to maintain his sweet chocolate eyes and innocent smile. Naïve and intelligent, Gon performs his best at school, raising his hand when the opportunity arises, or participating in class discussions in the utmost enthusiastic manner. Stranger or not, he would wave, smile, and make comments such as "You look great today!" to anyone he passes. The girls would either faint or fan their flushed cheeks, taking in his comments as playful flattery.

Regardless of the different attitudes of the two boys, they make a great pair for they share a common trait: friendship.

The class chattered excitedly, waiting for the first bell to ring. As usual, Killua stared down at the fountain below as he caught wisps of their conversation.

"-did you hear…?"

"-new student-"

"…creepy."

The bell rung to indicate the start of class. The teacher was unusually late today. About five minutes later, Mrs. Schmakbaam poked her head by the doorway. "When I count to three, I want to step into a class where all students are quiet and seated!" she barked. "One…two…"

The students rushed jubilantly to their places and plopped on their chairs.

"Three!" Satisfied, the teacher marched into the room, clacking noisily on her favourite pair of red high-heels; a typical proud and strict teacher. She stopped in front of the black board and faced the class, shrugging her shoulders to make sure that her red coat was in place. Clearing her throat, she eventually made her short announcement, "Today, a new student will be joining our class, and I am to make sure that all of you will make her feel at home. Be friendly, and show her around the school. Perhaps the library would be a good place to start. And make sure she knows where the girls' bathroom is. Oh, and the canteen as well…"

_Poor kid…standing out in the corridor for who-knows-how-much-time-has-passed-by. _Killua thought rather sarcastically as the teacher rambled on. At last, she motioned to the hidden figure to enter.

A girl of fragile built stepped in the room, her purple tresses cascading down to her waist. Although it seems like as if she was looking at the class, she was in fact directing her golden eyes at the back wall.

"Mizuka Tayaki." And she bowed her head.

"Now, there's a spare seat in the back corner, right there…behind that boy. Oh, and if you can, keep an eye out for that boy. He's always up to something!" Mrs. Schmakbaam glared threateningly at Killua.

She nodded mutely and headed towards the empty seat, ignoring the piercing glares of jealous girls.

"Now class, let's begin today's lesson…"

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"What's she like?"

"She's like, quiet, weird, and she doesn't show any expression."

Gon observed the new student from the wooden seats and tables. The girl happened to be perched on the silver seats around fifteen metres away, her back facing them as she immersed herself with watching the pigeons on the tree. Nearby, there were a couple of girls murmuring and shooting rude glances at her. "I feel sorry for her."

"You feel sorry for everyone," Killua munched on his crunchy chocolate bar.

"Yeah, but she's got no friends," his friend pointed out. "And she's being teased."

The white-hair boy waved his hand apathetically, "New students always make friends sooner or later so don't worry. Geez…"

0000000000

Break was over and the students trudged back to their classes. Class 12-B was overwhelmed with the smell of strong, dark coffee from the teacher's desk. The students wrinkled their noses in disgust as they entered.

Mrs. Schmakbaam immediately launched into a harangue of complex trigonometry. Every word was basically translated to Gibberish as they entered Killua's ear. He stared out the window as he twirled his pen absent-mindedly in two fingers. The teacher finally set class work on the board and instructed the class to work as much as they can until lunch. Killua sighed and stared blankly at the maths text book, then the lined-white page of his exercise book.

For the last twenty minutes, the constant sound of scribbling on paper was beginning to get on the boy's nerve. He turned his head and glared annoyingly at the girl, who was staring impassively at the pen in her grip.

"Would you please, _stop_ it? It's annoying you know," Killua hissed, although there was no need to lower his voice. The class was at a moderately low noise level.

Mizuka spoke in a rather monotonous voice, "It's not working."

"Well, get a spare pen!"

"This is a spare pen."

"Then get another spare pen."

"There is no other spare pen."

"What about the one you mostly use?"

"I don't have one."

_Then how the hell did you have a spare pen? _Irritated by the little argument, he rummaged his bag for a spare pen and slammed it softly on her desk. "You can borrow mine, but don't make any noise."

The girl picked the pen and stared at it for a few seconds. Killua couldn't tell whether she was fascinated, bored, or even thankful. She placed pen on paper and muttered a soft, "Thank you."

The boy shrugged tiredly and resumed staring out the window. The girls who had witnessed this scene smoked with envy. To borrow one of Killua's possessions is a great honour.

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"…and she's like, 'I don't have one'. If she doesn't have a pen, how did she get a spare pen in the first place? She's such a weirdo!" Killua spoke through mouthfuls of sandwich while throwing his arms up dramatically. "Oi! Are you listening?"

"Hmm?" Gon sipped his apple juice deep in thought. He watched Mizuka who was sitting at the exact same spot. "There's something wrong…"

"Of course there's something wrong with her! She can't even tell the difference between a pen and a spare pen!"

"Mmm, it's not that." His spiky-hair friend tossed the empty juice box in a nearby bin and eyed Killua in a way that shows that he was serious, "One: she hasn't eaten anything. Two: from what you said I can conclude that she doesn't even own a pen. She probably only _found _the pen, and since it wasn't hers, called it a spare pen. And three…"

Killua turned to examine the new student.

"…she's void of any emotions."

It was true. Her face was deadpan.

* * *

**Sooo, tell me what's it like so far if you please :D**

**More conversation? More description? More romance? More action? More****.....???!!!**

**Search Mizuka Tayaki in deviantART!!**


	2. A Woman's Revenge

The bell rang to signal the end of lunch. The two boys climbed the stairs until they reached the third floor, and parted to their classrooms. Killua, who was usually the first in the classroom, was disappointed in finding the girl sitting in the corner, gazing out the window. He pulled his chair back roughly and sat down. Class continued in the same mind-numbing fashion.

The clock struck three. The students immediately jumped up and packed up their belongings. They quickly left the class room, except for the two weekly monitors who remains after school and tidies up the classroom.

On his way to meet Gon, Killua he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around wearily. Mizuka held the pen towards him without a word.

The white-hair boy took a moment to consider the pen before he continued his way to the front gates and spoke without looking back, "Keep it."

A girl with short, pink pigtails glared at her, a glare that said 'you don't need any of his stuff'. Her name was Hinari Fujiou, one of the most popular girls in her grade. She, was also considered to have a lucky seat, for she sits right beside her dream boy.

Mizuka stared at the object in her palm, then slipped it in her pocket.

By the school gates, Gon was waiting. When the pair was reunited, they headed down the pathway. The shorter boy glanced behind him as the new student walked in the opposite direction. "Ne, she only carries a book."

"And a pen," his friend added. "For Heaven's sake, stop worrying about her. She's just like any normal student who's settling into a new school. What's wrong with carrying a pen and a book?"

Gon shook his head, "No Killua. What I meant is, she doesn't even carry a _bag_."

Killua sighed, defeated yet again by his friend's petty arguments. Boy, was Gon growing to be like Kurapica; stating the facts and defending his own opinions. "It's just a _bag_."

"It's not just because she doesn't have a bag. She doesn't even own a pen, let alone food. She could be suffering from poverty! That's it! She must be so poor, she doesn't even have enough money to buy her stuff." Gon suddenly grabbed his friend's arm and dragged to the direction where the girl walked.

Killua groaned, "Oi! GON! Seriously, if she was that poor, how could she afford the school fees in the first place? GON! ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

Doesn't seem like it. The insistent boy continued heaving his exasperated friend. It was a matter of seconds before they caught up with her. They walked within a distance to avoid being seen.

"This is stupid-"

"Shh!" Gon placed his index finger over his lips. The boys dashed into a nearby bush.

Mizuka approached the door of a grand double-storey house. She reached her hand out and hesitated, as if the golden-dragon door knob was growling threateningly at her. She tightened her hands into a fist and rapped the door.

A young maid welcomed her with a bow, dressed in a black dress and a neat, white apron. A frilly, white head band rested on her dark brown hair. She closed the door firmly.

"Well whadayatellyou…" Killua glared reproachfully at Gon through half-lidded eyes. His friend sweat-dropped and scratched his head uncertainly. They left, twigs and leaves stuck in their hair, not knowing that Killua was far from correct…

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"Mistress awaits you in the living room," the maid bowed once more before hurrying to the kitchens. Mizuka headed upstairs to drop off her book before taking off to the living room. She stood by the doorway, waiting for the command.

"Come in."

The girl stepped towards the sleek voice. She stopped near the red, velvet couch where her proud aunt was sitting and lighting her cigarette. She directed her gaze at the fire place, the flames reflected on her stony eyes.

With her long manicured fingernails, her aunt grasped the long cigarette holder, and puffed away, "How was school?"

"Nothing special."

The lady fixed her eyes on the girl, searching for anything out of place. She took in another breath of smoke, and blew it on the girl. Mizuka, although trying not to breathe in that dreadful smolder, covered her mouth and coughed.

"You are…dismissed," her aunt sneered.

The girl quickly walked out of the cold atmosphere and hurried to her room, where she softly closed the door with relief. She slumped on her bed; hair splayed over the pillow and rested her arms by her side. She ran her fingers over the soft fabric of her skirt, and came to a stop at something stiff. She took the object out of her pocket, and examined the simplicity of the blue pen. The pens she uses here were gold or intricately carved with striking designs, but her aunt forbids anything to leave the house, even the food.

She twirled the pen in her fingers, thinking of the same question over and over again. Did life had any meaning? Childhood was her favourite time, when mother and father would laugh and play with her, take her to new and interesting places, bought her presents and her favourite food…and she would smile.

But those days were long gone, when both her parents were working as missionaries in a small island, and died of a fatal disease. All the wealth was left for her, but she was not of legal age. The closest relative would be her father's sister; the woman who have long waited for prosperity to reach her grasp. And there she has it, power over the Tayaki wealth.

Things were going as she planned. Her aunt has planned on marrying her before the age of eighteen. Once she was married, her aunt would have full access on the Tayaki heritage, and she would move on with life with her new husband. With the wealth, beauty, and youth, her aunt was certain that the girl would marry sooner, no doubt.

Then how did that life have no meaning? There was no love in it. Her aunt despised her. She despised the fact that her life was so fruitful. She despised her attractive qualities. Her aunt, despised the fact that her grandfather left nothing for her in his will when he died. And in revenge, she would take all that was meant to be her's away from her niece. She did not even adress the girl by her name.

There was no meaning after all, and thus she did not believe in smiling.

Five years have gone by, and she did not smile.

Mizuka sighed and placed the pen on her desk. She closed her eyes, and drifted off to restless sleep.

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29th March.

Tuesday.

7:30 am.

The next morning was like every other morning. The row of alarm clocks would ring, and in turn Killua would groan and smack them in a steady beat. Then Gon would wake up from the bed on the other side and he would tell the lazy boy how in the world they were going to get all the clocks repaired by the morning after.

In the next thirty minutes they would stand side by side and brush their teeth in a drowsy way. And then they would settle down in the kitchen for some breakfast, slowly spooning their tamagoyaki into their mouths, eyes still drooping with sleep. Picking up their school belongings, they would trudge to school.

After assembly, the students dispersed into their respective classes as the morning bell rang. Mrs. Schmakbaam arrived promptly and wasted no time in starting her lessons. She began with, "Homework…"

Killua slapped his forehead, _Damn._

"…will be due by the end of school. By the looks of your faces I can tell some of you didn't do your homework! Such disgrace!" the teacher tutted. "I will give you a chance to finish it at recess or lunch, and I want the finished product at my desk at the end of the day. Otherwise, you would receive detention!"

The class nodded nervously. She clacked on her high heels towards the blackboard and scratched away with the chalk.

Killua was barely concentrating when he felt the same soft tap on his shoulder. He turned around, "Hmm?"

The purple-hair girl reached her arm out, his blue pen in her clutch.

"Don't want it?" the boy asked her.

Hinari beamed, "I'll have it!" She was left ignored.

Mizuka held up another pen in reply, mentally saying that she didn't need it any more.

"Thanks." Killua took the pen and dropped it in his bag, "Next time, talk."

The girl nodded.

The white hair boy peered closer at her cheek, noticing something out of order, "Is that a…cut?"

She nodded again.

"From what?"

The silent girl looked down at her exercise book.

_Gon's right, something is wrong. _Killua stared at her for a moment while she worked her way, until he felt a sharp tug on his ear. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow OW OW!!"

"Stop flirting around and sit up straight boy! I am not having a disobedient student in my class! DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!!" Mrs. Schmakbaam's voice rang in his ear. He swore his eardrums would burst sooner, and boy would he have loved to charge his teacher the medical bills if he ever goes deaf. The boy grudgingly faced forward and looked down his book. _That devil girl I thought she was hiding something, but rather she was avoiding the teacher!_

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The break bell was their saviour. The students rushed out the school like ants and in a matter of seconds, the school grounds were covered. Mrs. Schmakbaam went to get her cup of coffee. On the way out, Killua took the chance to ask the new girl his unanswered question, "Where'd you get that from?"

"It does not concern you."

He paused for a while. "You smell of smoke," he added.

And that was what froze her. "I don't smoke."

"I never said you did. Who smokes in your house?"

A strange feeling crept up Mizuka. Why was this boy asking her these questions? How does he know there was a smoker in her house, and not just any smoker on the streets? How much does he know about her…? She stood there by the doorway, unsure of what to do.

"My…aunt."

"Does she happen to have…long fingernails?" He knew. From all his assassin experiences, he could tell the differences between all types of cuts and wounds. He knew, that this cut was not that of the scissor's blade, not even that of Hisoka's cards, but simply a quick lash of a fingernail.

Mizuka wanted to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere. Was it possible that he has been stalking her? Much to her relief, a spiky-hair boy around her age popped his head by the door way. "Killua, I was looking for you…Ah! Mizuka-chan, nice to meet you!"

The girl stared confusingly at him. How did he know her name?

As if he could read her mind, Gon replied cheerily, "Killua told me _all_ about you!"

The girl looked at the white-hair boy with wary eyes. Killua immediately launched into a stumble of words, "G-Gon! You say it like as though I-I'm…stalking her!"

The sound of clacking high heels echoed through the corridor, the smell of strong coffee wafted under their noses. Mrs. Schmakbaam stopped at the group of three and glared suspiciously at them, her red lips pinched, "Shouldn't you three be outside? Shoo, shoo, SHOO!!"

The woman waved her hands at them as if they were annoying flies and so they hurried out the school building. While pacing quickly towards the school grounds, Killua was sure that Gon's long awaited question would yet again, change his life.

The black-hair boy suddenly piped up, "Mizuka-chan, would you like to be…friends with us?"

Killua flinched slightly. _What is he thinking…?!_

The girl stared inquisitively at the ecstatic boy. "Friends…?" She took a while to regard the proposal. After a few moments, she slowly nodded, "I guess…"

A wide grin stretched across Gon's face.

Killua sighed. First it was Gon, then it was the blonde, last was the old geezer. He wondered, whether he had enough room for an extra in his small world.

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**I hope the plot doesn't look too complicated ;p Most of what happened before would be revealed in future chapters, like why there was a cut on her cheek *^***

**And thank you to those who read and especially those who reviewed. I really appreciate you guys!! :{D (I felt like adding a moustache...)**


	3. A Game of Octagonal Baseball

**Okays, here's my attempt on longer chapters and more conversation! Dozo! (=^_^=)**

**Note: I expect you to know the basic rules of baseball! Nah, you don't have to know... Um, I know the school system and periods doesn't seem real but I hope that doesn't affect the story :3**

* * *

Another friend.

A girl in the gang.

Yeah, he could bear with it.

Of course he can.

Why fret?

_The problem is, the two of us are licensed Hunters. And how in the world are we supposed to tell her that when there is no chance that she will believe us? It's forbidden to leak out our information! Not to mention I recently discovered that Gon was made of brick, _Killua thought sardonically. Following his thoughts, he unconsciously knocked his fist lightly on his friend's head to test if his head was really made of brick. Gon yelped. Mizuka plainly stared at them in confusion, wondering if they were really mates.

Break passed by like a flash of lightning, and no sooner were the students back in their classes. Mrs. Schmakbaam commenced part two of trigonometry as her class scribbled away her notes, some throwing paper planes, and some passing around notes. Time passed on like digging your own grave.

And when lunch eventually arrived, the class disbanded to their favourite lunch spots. Gon, being polite, heaved Killua with him to sit with Mizuka by the silver seats.

At first they just sat there engrossed in their own business. The boys would eat, and the girl would stare at the pigeons. As the supposedly 'friendly' atmosphere was growing uncomfortable, Gon spoke first as any would expect, "So, what do you think of this school?"

"Nothing special."

The boy chuckled unsurely, whether it was an insult or an honest comment on the school, it sure doesn't sound convincing. The trio sat in silence for the rest of lunch, much to Killua's annoyance.

It was until the end of school did Killua realize that he had forgotten something.

Mrs. Schmakbaam demanded for their homework. "Please place your essay at the corner of my desk, here. Those who did not do it, you are not to leave this door."

Killua groaned. He can imagine nothing worse than staying in the classroom with one of the most hated people in his life. Everyone was leaving. He was going to be alone.

But Mizuka did not walk pass him.

He turned around to see her gazing thoughtfully at her book, "Didn't you have your homework?" He swore, there were a few pages of squiggles on top of her book when he arrived at class this morning.

"It's not here, anymore."

Killua shrugged.

The classroom was nearly empty, only five remained. Mrs. Schmakbaam walked over to the two near the corner as the other two began cleaning the class.

"And why have you not done your homework?" she asked gently to the girl.

"I did."

"Then why not hand it in?"

"It's not here."

"Is it at home?"

"I don't know."

The teacher sighed and shook her head, "Since you're new to this school, I will be easy on you. But remember our school system, everything is due on the required date, otherwise further action will be taken. Have it finished by tomorrow. Off with you now."

The girl nodded and gathered her belongings. She was out within seconds.

Mrs. Schmakbaam glared skeptically at the white hair boy, "And what is _your _excuse?"

"The dog ate my homework."

"Have it finished by tomorrow. Be gone."

He needed no telling twice. He was gone in a flicker.

Killua sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he strode towards the school gate. On his way, he passed a familiar girl looking intently into the fountain. He walked over to her side and followed her gaze. To his surprise, pages of writing were floating in the pristine water in mocking silence. The girl did not react as he bent down to collect the pages. He held them close his face and examined the faded words.

"I'm guessing this is yours?" Killua motioned to the soggy mess.

The girl nodded.

"Tsk, who would've done this?" the boy shook his head. "Why didn't you tell the teacher that you lost your homework?"

"She wouldn't believe me. I didn't lose it, it was taken. I was merely telling the truth."

Killua did not understand why his friends had to relate to logic. Logic did not exist in his vocabulary. Together they walked in silence to the school gates. Gon waved his hands and rushed over.

"Killua! Mizuka-chan! What took you so long?" he asked Killua.

"Teacher kept us in."

"Both of you…? For what?"

"Didn't do my homework. Some brainless idiot dumped hers in the fountain."

"Eh?" Gon looked disapprovingly at the sodden pages in the girl's clutch. He took the pile out of her hands and sniffed it lightly. "It has the scent of a girl-"

Killua immediately whacked him on the head and intercepted his words, "Uhh…DUH! Of course it's a girl. Tayaki's been holding it of course!"

The spiky-hair boy grimaced and nodded sheepishly. The three exchanged farewells and separated their ways.

When the girl was out of ear-shot, Killua instantly leapt into a rant "You BRICK-HEAD, you should know we're not allowed to tell ANYONE our identity!"

"I never did," Gon tipped his head down sulkily.

"You never know. People like her could pick the slightest suspicion, although unlikely, that you have accurate smell, meaning you have abilities beyond the human nature. If people get to know our strange behaviours, they will be wary of us and we don't want that to happen!"

"You sound like Leorio."

_That old geezer? _Killua silenced and his eyes ignited.

0000000000

She knew, that if she entered that room any second now, whatever awaits her in that velvet couch would leap at her and hurl a series of outbursts.

She waited for the command.

"Come in."

Mizuka stepped in the room with no objections and halted by the couch.

"Explain."

"The teacher kept me in."

The woman stood up to her full height and towered over the girl. She bent her head down to peer at her face and caressed the girl's right cheek. She brushed her thumb across the thin wound, "Did you return the pen?"

"Yes."

Her aunt paused for a moment. "And why were you late?"

"The teacher did not receive my homework." Mizuka hoped, that her aunt wouldn't take it in the wrong way. The woman wouldn't believe her anyway if she told her the truth.

Slowly and deliberately, her aunt reopened the wound with the sharp fingernail of her thumb. Mizuka gritted her teeth to avoid making any painful sounds so to please her aunt.

"Insolent being!" the woman hissed softly. "First, you accept unnecessary wealth from a poor child. Accepting from others when we are already well-off is pure greed! And next, you did not do what you were assigned to do makes you look unorganized and that you were improperly raised! You only bring shame to the house!"

Avoiding her glare, her niece bowed her head down a little so that her fringe could hide her eyes.

"Child! What have you learnt?"

The girl muttered impassively, "To draw away from greed and improve my performance."

The woman nodded and drew away from the girl, "I do not want anymore trouble from you, understand?"

"Yes."

She sat down, crossing her legs over another poshly and resumed smoking on her long, intricate pipe. "Leave."

Without hesitation, the girl left the room.

On her way upstairs she passed the housemaid who whispered to her, "Be grateful. Mistress could've gone as far as slapping you. Next time, you should put more thought to your actions."

The faithful maid quickly dabbed her wound with cotton before bustling to the kitchens. Mizuka must admit, the closest person to her in the house was the housemaid, but that doesn't mean she liked her as a friend. All the workers were employed by her aunt, meaning that they were only to act by her orders. The next heir of the house did not have any power over them.

The girl sought the privacy and comfort of her room and stayed in there until the sky were scattered with stars.

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30th March.

Wednesday.

8:00 am.

First period.

PE.

Evidently the best subject in his high school life, in means of the practical activities. It was better than staying within the confinements of the classroom. It's the theory part of it that gets into his nerves. Killua hated the theory. But Gon was just curious.

Today was his lucky day; practical PE. Practical PE lessons were rare these days, because of HSC. He simply rejects HSC. But Gon was looking forward to it.

And Mizuka, did not mind at all.

They were a strange trio.

While Killua was in his PE class, Gon might as well be exploding chemistry. The class changed into their PE uniforms and assembled in the oval. Mrs. Schmakbaam marched over to the front and demanded for their attention.

_WHY of all classes, must she be my PE teacher? _Killua pursed his lips and grunted, a thick vein clearly pulsing in his temples. The teacher clapped her hands and ordered the class to form in pairs. "Today we are playing a class game of octagonal baseball. Chop chop chop! You and your partner are to grab a bat and a ball. Fifteen minutes of practice, hop to it!"

There were thirty in the class, but the number of girls and boys were uneven. And Killua, being an unsociable person did not manage to pair up with a male partner. The same situation applies to the new student. She stood beside him, not knowing what to do.

He sighed and passed her a bat, grabbing a ball as he walked a distance away. He turned around to face her, noting that the cut on her cheek was slightly wider. He threw the thought away and pitched the ball with medium force.

But the ball was not returned.

Mizuka stood as still as a statue, holding the bat vertically and staring with eyes that suggested that she was rather bored.

"Oi, hit the ball will you?" Killua grumbled. The girl nodded.

He ran over to pick the ball and returned to his pitching position. Bringing his arm to the back, he aimed the ball at her direction.

The round object rocketed back passed his cheek, creating a small wind which ruffled his hair with strength that did not seem human. Killua was left speechless. The girl stood there like nothing has happened.

The boy focused his energy into his eyes and by using Gyo, analyzed the human that stood before him.

Mizuka was engulfed with a thin line of blue aura speckled with patches of grey. Killua frowned. People usually have single coloured auras. The blue that represents the ability to remain calm suits the girl alright. The colour grey is a sign of depression.

_Depression? She's hiding something…I gotta tell Gon after school._

They continued in this monotonous manner until they were interrupted by the loud blast from the teacher's whistle. "Alright! Team up in two groups of fifteen! We are starting the game of octagonal baseball!"

Hinari immediately rushed over to the little group forming around Killua. She slapped him heartily on the back and gave a thumbs-up. "Whoa! We're in the same team! Let's trash 'em down!"

"Yeah…" the white hair boy replied unenthusiastically.

His team was fielding first. The first half of the game was an epic failure. Since his team consisted mostly of girls, they did not participated much in the game. They would stand aside for most of the time chatting away or cheering Killua on when the ball lands right by their feet. Killua himself was having a bad time; running back and forth, not too slow, not too fast. It was hard to be perfect.

And Mizuka? She just stood there.

To Killua's gratefulness, it was time to swap. As he passed Mrs. Schmakbaams back he glanced at her notebook, and widened his eyes in shock. _We're behind by 26 homes? How are we gonna win?_

"Tayaki!" he hissed and gestured her to come. She stopped a few centimeters away and stared at him. "Hit the ball like when you did to me ok?"

She nodded.

After a few bats from his teammates, Mizuka was up next. Helmet resting firmly on her head, she held the bat high, ready to hit.

The ball was pitched towards her. She swung and missed.

"Strike one!"

Bowl. Swing.

"Strike two!"

Bowl. Swing.

"Strike three! Out!"

The purple hair girl handed the bat to Killua and rejoined the end of the line. The boy grumbled and had his turn, scoring one home within his first hit. The girls cheered as he passed them and stopped right behind Mizuka.

"Hey, what happened to your batting? You were fine before."

"The bowler doesn't pitch like you."

"Doesn't matter about the pitching. You just hafta look out for the target."

The girl looked up at him blankly. Killua sighed, "If that doesn't work, then…imagine the pitcher is me, alright? Imagine that the pitcher bowls like me, and focus on the ball." The suggestion seemed a bit awkward but that should do. She agreed. It was not long when her next turn arrived.

The other seven bases were fully loaded. She held the bat firmly, and stared hard at the pitcher. She concentrated hard, transforming the person into another Killua. Strange enough, the image of her so-called 'friend' gave her a small piece of determination. The ball was hurled towards and she returned it with force that rooted the others on their spot. The ball sailed over to the school car park.

Her teammates cheered as she and the other seven made their home run. Their points were raised by an astonishing 8.

"Nice, Tayaki!" Killua grinned and knocked softly on her helmet. She took off the head-protection and handed it to him without a word.

_Geez…at least smile or something! _The boy shrugged and placed the helmet on his head.

Baseball carried on in the same approach. Killua's team would score another 8 points, again and again as Mizuka completed another amazing hit. Soon enough they slowly caught up with the opposing team, and at the end of PE, not surprisingly, they won.

* * *

**Gyo: It's the...why don't you try googling it? ^^' I realised how nen and auras were so interesting! **


	4. Stalkers

Killua glanced at the clock.

1:55 pm.

He sighed. Lunch had ended fifteen minutes ago, but to him, fifteen minutes seemed like eternity. The white hair boy tapped his finger impatiently on the table, eager to escape the dreary classroom. He eyes lingered out the window as his ears switched off and tune out…

0000000000

_SLAM!_

The boy snapped out of his déjà vu and stared blankly at the teacher; her fierce look penetrated his skin, her fingers splayed over a piece of paper on his desk.

"Did you hear what I said?!" she seethed, lifting her hand from the desk. Killua nodded casually, picked up the paper and pretended to inspect it, turning it this way and that. Mrs. Schmakbaam shook her head in irritation and continued handing out notes.

The school bell rung, just as the teacher was heading back to her desk. "Remember, hand it in by tomorrow at the latest!" she shouted before the whole class vanished.

Killua stared anxiously at the paper in his grasp. It wasn't the words _Easter Show _that concerned him, but rather the words _Signed by guardian/parent._ Walking alongside Mizuka he met up with Gon at his usual spot by the front gates. He was greeted by a similar expression on his friend's face.

"Ne, how do you think…?"

Killua shrugged.

"What about you Mizuka-chan? Do you think your parents will let you go?"

The white hair boy detected a slight flinch in the girl. She shook her head, "They're not here."

"Are they working somewhere else or overseas?" Gon asked out of curiosity.

Killua tugged his friend's ear close to his mouth and hissed, "Idiot! She means they're _dead_."

"Oh." Gon's shoulders drooped at the sudden news.

The girl nodded and looked up blankly, "They used to, but now, they're up there…"

Gon smiled encouragingly, "My mum's up there too! Someday we'll be able to see them again, hey, won't we?"

Mizuka turned around to hide of what Killua thought was a twitch on the corner of her mouth. She walked away without another word.

"Tch, not even a word of 'goodbye'."

"Can't blame her." Gon turned around in the direction of their apartment. Killua abruptly grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait."

The white hair boy gestured to his friend to follow him as they paced at a fair distant behind Mizuka. He instructed Gon to analyse the girl with his Gyo.

Fortunately the girl did not even turn around to look behind her, thus the two boys made little attempt to hide. They crept up behind a rose bush, as she drew near the dragon door knob.

And waited.

Once she was inside, they sneaked up to a colossal window that was slightly ajar and peered through.

0000000000

"Come in."

The silent girl entered, a piece of paper in her clutch.

"What do you have there?"

Mizuka handed over the note. The woman scanned over the tedious squiggles and stared at the girl as if she missed the point. "And what do you suppose I'm to do with it?"

"You sign it."

Her aunt stood up to her full height and lowered her head until her eyes were at the same level as Mizuka's. With the paper in her grasp, she slowly crumbled it into a small ball of nothingness. "And did I grant you permission…?" she hissed, spit rocketing from her lips.

Although the two boys could not hear much of the conversation, Gon could not understand how three words from the girl could anger the elderly woman. His white hair friend glared at the crumbled piece of junk.

The woman hurled the ball near the door then eased herself in her favourite couch, "Pick it up and dispose it. You do not deserve the privileges of other students. I will write a note to your teacher and ask her to provide you with some other work to do. Go. No, one more thing."

Mizuka would've liked it to be no more than a lecture, but, she was far from correct.

"I have arranged an engagement between you and your new fiancé. In fact, that was a week ago, but I decided to give you a little surprise," her aunt smirked with an air of devilish delight. "He comes from a wealthy family, such a young and fine gentleman. Tonight, he and his family are arriving here from France. I expect your behaviour to be faultless. And remember your manners. Address them as Sir and Madam Ryuuoh."

_Fiance…? _Killua snorted. _Is this some kind of a joke?_

He looked sideways at his friend, an expression of concern plastered on Gon's face. Realising that this was no tell-tale, his features darkened.

With no thoughts of rushing, the girl picked up the ball of paper and dropped it in the nearest wastepaper basket. She ventured into her bedroom. It was a ritual that applied everyday after she returned from school.

Gon turned to look at Killua, whose fists and teeth were clenched in vehemence. He felt a pang of sympathy for both his friends. Both lived a wealthy life, and yet, why must they suffer? Why did he live in an old ship entwined in the roots of an ancient tree, and yet, lived a content life despite the absence of his parents? Why must fate choose it to be that way?

Both teenagers crept away, leaving a rustling sound. The woman shot her eyes out the window, thinking that she caught wisps of black and white. But on second thoughts, thought she was hallucinating and coughed on the smoke. _I am of old age…_

0000000000

7:00 pm.

"Let GO of me!" Killua shouted angrily.

"Uh uh!" Gon smiled threateningly at his friend. To him right now, Killua is no more than a potato sack that needs to be hauled to the next destination. Not surprisingly, Killua didn't mind at all. These days he had always been equivalent to a potato sack. Gon did not even break a sweat as he towed his heavier friend.

"I said, LET GO!"

The smile on the jet-hair boy stretched wider and waggled his index finger teasingly. Killua shrank back at Gon's sudden ability to act intimidating. "C'mmon, it'll only take like…ten minutes! We'll just have a peek at this 'fiancé' then we'll leave!"

"Just for the sake of that?" the white-hair boy gave his friend his best puppy-eyes. It took him four years to master those eyes. According to Gon, it'll come in handy.

"Haha, I'll never fall for those eyes."

"Tch."

They headed towards the huge mansion, which at this point, were lit with lights making the mansion look so luxurious. They took their place behind a rose bush and peered through the gaps between the leaves.

0000000000

Dressed in her best Sundays, Mizuka strolled downstairs to meet her husband-to-be. As she passed the corridor, the maid gave her hair one last brush before she made her appearance in the guest room. Her aunt was engaged in a conversation with three guests who were seated in a silken, cream-coloured couch.

"Is that fine lady there your niece?" The Japanese man nodded over to Mizuka.

"Ahh! Tu es tres belle! (You are beautiful)! Don't you think, Tristan?" A lady with cascading blonde hair clucked over the purple-hair girl, pinching her cheeks and stroking her hair. Her "r's" flourished in perfect French.

The younger male, of which the woman called him Tristan, stood up from his seat and lowered his head slightly in a bow. He was a typical blonde with deep azure eyes, with the exception of tanned skin that he inherited from his father. 'Cross-breeds' as they say, are one of a kind. Mizuka returned his bow with a courtesy.

"And so is your son," the girl's aunt smiled a little bit too much that the witty ones would consider it fake. "It was such a delight to hear that my niece will make an ideal bride."

"It is also my pleasure." The older man held up his glass of red wine, and so did the other two women. "Cheers to the future generations!"

The girl and her fiancé stood silently as they watched the three wine glasses clinked against each other. Little do the adults know that their opinions were far from agreeable.

The young man threw a scrutinizing glance at the girl. He sighed inwardly. At least, she was not like those girls who practically drooled over him back at France.

Dinner arrived rather quickly. The musicians brought their instruments and thrived into being. They were soon seated around a long table laid with towers of rich food that could feed a table of twenty (Apparently even the leftovers were too much for the people of lower-status of the household). Poor Tristan would struggle to keep his actions and manners at the utmost point of precision. He was not born naturally to perfection. Thank goodness his petty mistakes were dismissed with hearty laughs, although it was only a drop of spilt juice on his napkin, or something quite insignificant.

He was fairly social. He talked about his interests, future plans, and all those sweet-talk which enticed the adults. And when he had the chance to excuse himself to the bathroom, he would loosen his bow tie, stare at the mirror and sighed at his reflection. His inner thoughts and feelings were far from the fake role that he had just played.

And Mizuka, felt fine being forgotten for most of the evening.

Outside the two-storey building, Gon frowned half-heartedly at what unfolded before him. Killua on the other hand, can see right through what the people in the house were thinking, from his own experience.

He patted Gon's shoulder, "Time's up. Let's go. You're acting weird lately; nosing around her personal matters."

Gon pouted and lumbered after his friend as they returned to their apartment.

_Ah well, can't be helped. Gon's just being him,_ Killua shrugged.

Trains of thoughts and unanswered questions were whirling around Killua's head. Although, there was _one_ thing that he had learnt. From now on, things were starting to become…_let's say…_

_Interesting._

The boy grinned as he crossed his arms behind his head.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update ^^'**

**I had an operation on my teeth for the past week so I was pretty much lazing around the house doing nothing. I know that a petty teeth operation can't stop me from writing fanfiction but I was enjoying school holidays too much. I kind of updated the other chapters but don't worry, I've just added dates and times to make things more clearer. See you next chapter! *evil smirk***


	5. The Laughter Virus

**Long delay...I've got assignments trying to devour me and a tower of maths threatening to fall. To readers out there, I hope this won't be a disappointment but this chapter is pretty short and looks like a filler, cause I've gone off track, but I assure you that I've been waiting long enough to write this just for a bit of laugh, I hope...^^**

**I've converted breaks (asterisks) into 000 because for some reason the asterisks wouldn't work =(**

* * *

1st April

Thursday.

8:00 a.m.

It was as if time was repeating itself.

Gossip within the girls about a certain blonde transfer student will be moving into class 12-A. Mizuka was staring at a blue speck on her desk as if the news never reached her.

The one sitting on the desk in front of her had other thoughts in his mind. After all, it was the first of April.

Mrs. Schmakbaam demanded for their Easter notes. It was discussed last night that Gon and Killua would not be attending the event, as they had no-one to sign it. The white-hair boy couldn't even put his blackmailing skills in action. Mito-san's signature was too hard to forge, or was it that he couldn't bring himself to do so? As for April the first, they had planned on cheering their new friend up by teaching her a few April Fools' tricks; typical of Gon.

The girl behind him handed the teacher an envelope. Mrs. Schmakbaam tore it open expertly with her sharp fingernails and skimmed through the written note. "What a pity…" she tutted quietly. The girl returned to her seat.

Killua turned around in his chair and faced her cheerily, "Hey, you do know what today is right?"

"Eh…?" she stared back at him puzzled. The boy could've slammed his head extra hard on her desk, but fate did not plan that to happen.

The girl's perplexity was soon resolved when a rude noise (scientifically speaking, methane emitted from the anus) escaped from the teacher's desk. The first prank of the day; simple and practical. It seems that someone has placed a whoopee cushion on her chair without her awareness.

The students were close to exploding as they held their laughter. Mrs. Schmakbaam glared suspiciously through half-lidded eyes but made no complaint. She continued on with the lesson so to retain her dignity.

"Ah," the purple-haired girl mumbled in an uninterested manner.

Killua was massaging his cheeks badly.

0000000000

The students gushed out of the school upon hearing the break bell; stumbling as they laughed and skipped with excitement. The atmosphere was pretty wild.

_Time to put the first prank to action!_ Killua grinned slyly to himself. Along with the girl, they headed down to the lunch seats, where Gon was waiting with another person.

_Huh…?_ As the white hair boy drew nearer, he could make out a blonde figure waving towards them.

_What the heck is he doing here?!_ Killua thought as he took his seat besides Gon.

The spiky-hair boy smiled him and landed a hand on the new boy's shoulder, "Killua, this is Tristan-san. He knows Mizuka-chan already."

Killua greeted the new boy with a simple, "Yo."

"Hey," Tristan replied. Like Gon, he was the happy-go-lucky type. "Oh, by the way, Tristan's fine."

Now they were a group of four. Killua sighed inwardly.

After a few minutes of chatting went by, a girl with bouncing, pink ponytails skipped up to them with a couple of friends.

"Hinari-chan!" Gon called out brightly.

"Gon-kun! Killua-kun!" The girl smiled sweetly and held her hand towards Gon. Instinctively, he shook her hands, and continued to smile back at her.

That was not the reaction that the girl has guaranteed.

She moved on to Killua, reaching her hand out. It took him less than a second to figure out what was going on, so he shook her hand and plastered on a fake, smiley face. "Hey, Fujiou!"

The girl sweat-dropped, and tried her best to conceal her disappointment. She continued shaking the boy's hand a little longer, expecting at least, a little 'ouch!' from him. Hinari stared sheepishly at him and before long, left with a wave of her hand. The group walked off, whispering to each other about how the two boys were able to withstand the small electric shock.

"That was so laaaaaaame," Killua cracked his knuckles.

"Uh…really……?" Gon scratched his head unsurely. _Um, Killua, you, after all, can transform electricity. A tiny electric shock would have no effect on you at all…_

0000000000

And so the end of break lead to ICT. Mrs. Levi; a monotonous and naïve teacher, would make an easy target for an April Fools' prank. The washing machine was set churning by the class' favourite comedian. The boy whispered to his friend and gestured to him to follow his actions. The friend nodded and whispered to Killua. The white-hair boy grinned and passed on the message, and so on. Soon, the whole class was set on action as they quietly busied themselves. When at last the message reached Mizuka's ear, she stared plainly at her computer screen and slowly unplugged her mouse and keyboard.

"Mrs. Levi! My computer froze. Can you check mine?"

"Ms, mine froze too!"

"Can you come here?"

"Crap I didn't save my work."

"Gah…the screen's frozen!"

"Mrs. Levi!"

The teacher was bustling off, pushing her glasses up and inspected the screens. She grabbed each mouse and moved it to see if the arrows followed, as well as tapping on the keyboards. But to no avail, she finally hurried out the room to find the school technician.

The class cracked into raucous laughter as they replugged their mice and keyboards. Like any other teacherless classes, they spent the rest of their precious minutes surfing the net and fooling around.

Play time was over. The teacher walked in with the technician.

"Oh, my computer's working!"

"FINALLY."

"Mrs. Levi, don't worry, our computers are working fine."

"Hey my work's been automatically saved! It's a miracle!"

The teacher stood by the doorway; the priceless, baffled expression slapped on her face. Without a word, the skeptical technician walked out of the room. The class streamed out of the ICT room towards their next time-tabled class upon hearing the bell.

Lunch eventually arrived as students filed out the school building, and there, awaited them was a surprise.

Three, pure white geese were bickering around the playgrounds, honking there way to find an available escape route. On their wings, they were numbered from one to four. The third was missing. For most of lunch, a few curious ones went goose hunting. Half of the teachers were furious, while some laid-back ones watched in amusement.

Bringing Mizuka with him, Killua joined Gon by the lunch seats. He scrutinized the large number of post-it notes attached on his best friend's back. They ranged from "kick me," "I'm a zombie," "say hi and get a hug in return," to the most random ones such as "I'm Gon and I want wonton."

"Something wrong, Killua?" Gon looked up at him innocently.

_Gon, you can tell when a storm's coming and yet you can't tell when people are sticking a whole mass of post-it notes on your back?! _Killua thought rather astonishingly. He replied in a sarcastic tone, "Of course not, why?"

"Because he's got fifteen post-it notes stuck on his back," Mizuka answered suddenly, getting the jest of April Fools.

"Aw, c'mmon, you ruined it. By the way, there's a pimple on your face."

But she was no stereotypical girl. There was no pimple, and she did not react to the comment. "There's a cockroach in your sandwich."

Killua was not fooled either. "That's better. You should talk more you know."

Gon pouted at the white-hair boy, "Killua!"

He reached behind his back and removed all he could find. He was halfway through peeling off post-it notes when Tristan arrived.

The blonde stared surprisingly at Gon's back, "Wow."

"Wow indeed," Killua nodded. He grabbed his sandwich out from his bag and unwrapped the plastic wrap. With enthusiasm glittering in his eyes, he bit into his nutella sandwich.

There was something hard inside.

He lifted the top layer of bread and screwed his mouth in disgust. It was only a plastic cockroach, but the colour and details was just as revolting. He whipped his eyes to his right and glared at the girl. _How did she…?_

Mizuka gazed thoughtfully at the runaway geese.

In the end, there was no goose number three.

* * *

**Some of the pranks were found on the net. Thank you, google and pranksters. And you readers too!!**


	6. Us Four

**I'm alive! Hooray...?**

**A/N: I was looking at character profiles, and was quite surprised that Killua was younger than Gon! I mean, I had always thought that Gon was younger because he's naive, younger-looking and short...hehe ^^'**

**I drew Killua! I hopes you likes it! :3 Visit me's at deviantart? I can't seems to puts the site heres... . **

* * *

3rd April.

A typical Saturday.

11:00 p.m.

"Mmph, turn off that light," Killua muttered. He squinted his eyes tightly as a sudden radiance poured over his face. His blanket was whipped off him as fast as he tried to bury his head, but to no avail. He instinctively curled his body as his overnight warmth evaporated.

"Kil-lu-a!" Gon shouted cheerily and thumped his friend's head with his pillow, empathizing each beat on each syllable.

The lazy boy grunted and flipped his pillow in half to sandwich his head, muffling Gon's cries. However, he did not realise that his bare feet was sticking out vulnerably. The jet-hair boy immediately tackled the feet and brushed his fingers across the base. Killua responded by jolting right up and slammed his friend on the carpet as they continued their frenzied fight. Their mini battle was finally interrupted by a phone call.

"I'll get it." Gon released his arms from a headlock and dashed over to the kitchen.

Slightly dazed by their playful wrestling, the white-hair boy gazed out the window at the sunlit suburb, taking a moment to recover. Breaking off his trance, he then gathered himself up and headed to the bathroom. He stared wearily at the mirror and brushed his teeth, not bothering to smarten up his bed-ridden hair. _Man, it's been five years...have I changed?_ He stretched his arms as a yawn escaped his mouth.

Killua trudged towards the fridge and rummaged through whatever suited his appetite. He had lost slight interest in chocolate over the past years, decreasing from chocoholic to a simple chocolate fan. In fact, he's taken a newfound interest on sushi. But that still doesn't mean he shouldn't have something chocolaty for breakfast, right? He popped a few chocolate scones on his plate and settled down on the dining table.

Half-way through a mouthful of scones, Gon hung up the phone and looked at Killua with a shocked expression.

"Killua..." Gon began slowly, "Have you forgotten something?"

The boy cocked his head, "...no...Who was that?"

"Leorio. Anyway, what date is it today?"

"Um, 3rd of April?"

"Yes...and tomorrow?"

"The...4th of April?" Killua had no idea what his friend was hinting at.

"And...?"

"And...what?" The white hair boy turned his gaze at the calendar. On the bottom of the April the 4th, was Gon's tiny handwriting. He peered closer to get a better view. "What's that say? K…K…Ku…ra…Kurap- crap."

"Yeah, which is why Leorio called, informing us that we should go to the department stall and meet him today. So go and get changed. You don't want the girls to slobber over you."

The department store was one of the places that Killua dreaded, especially on the weekends. It was always plagued with females of all ages and sizes, leaving practically no space for him to move an inch (figuratively speaking).

"Huh...? Since when did you have that kind of idea? Girls slobbering over me?" Killua glared at his friend critically before making his way to their bedroom. He rummaged in his autumn drawer and took out a random hoodie and jeans, not having even the least of fashion sense. He slipped them on, smoothed out his hair a bit, and he was ready; simple and quick.

Both boys were out of their apartment within minutes as they walked over to the nearest bus stop, and examined the time table. It seemed that they would be waiting for eighteen minutes until the next bus. For the whole waiting period, Gon sat patiently on a sheltered bench staring into empty space, while Killua walked back and forth, kicking bits of rubbish along the way with his arms crossed behind his head. Eventually a white bus arrived.

The two boarded the vehicle, unsurprised by the fact that the bus was swarming with female passengers. They were left with no seating choice, and so resolved with grabbing on to the bus handles. For the whole trip, they were jostled within several bodies. At one point, the over-powering scent of mingling perfume gave the boys a heck of nausea.

To their relief, the vehicle was finally brought to a standstill and the passengers immediately took off to the department store, relishing the fresh air on the way.

"HA! That was awful!" Killua gasped, taking in deep breaths as coughs erupted in between.

"I couldn't agree less, but I think you exaggerated it a bit, with all the coughs and that," the older boy grinned.

The pair tugged their jackets closer as a small wind pranced across, and trekked to the tall building.

Gon gestured to the elevators, "Third floor, at Penny's Place."

"Pennies? That cheapo, buying our friend something that's worth pennies? But why would there be a pennies' place anyway? This is Japan, shouldn't it be yens?"

"No, of course not! Leorio wouldn't do that! It's P-E-N-N-Y'-S for Penny's not pennies!"

Realisation dawned on the younger boy. They stepped through the opened doors of the elevator and ascended to the third floor. Gon asked a young lady behind the nearest directory station, and she pointed the directions to Penny's Place. In a matter of minutes, they were standing in front of a huge retail shop filled with a maze of clothe racks and hangers.

"And how in the world are we supposed to look for that old geezer?" Killua gaped and eyed unbelievably at the hoard of clothing.

Gon shrugged, "Well...which section do you think he would most likely go to?"

_The Lady's, _was the first thought that popped into Killua's mind. _Where else?_

"Let's check out the Men's section first." The spiky hair boy pointed to a hanging sign with the clearly labelled with the words 'MEN'.

It turned out that Leorio was in the Men's section. They found him gazing thoughtfully at a rack of blouses that ranged from the fanciest Hawaiian ones, to the plain white ones. Upon seeing the two teenage boys charging at him did he move his hand from his stubbled chin and held it up in salute.

"Wow!" Killua grinned, pointing at his own chin to make a mental comment on Leorio's stubble.

"Is _this..._ how you greet a not only respected, but handsome man like me?" the older man pointed accusingly at the white-hair boy. "But then again I could always take it as a compliment, so thanks! You should grow one too!" Leorio grinned back at him.

"I'm afraid not. It'll ruin my handsome face and that'll drive back all my fangirls," Killua smirked sarcastically.

Feeling left out, Gon decided to butt in, "So...what are we going to do?"

"Well..." Leorio reached out for a white blouse and held it up, "I was thinking of buying him one, since all he wears to work is that 'sacred' attire of his. I mean...this is Tokyo! It looks more like as though he's cosplaying!"

"...don't forget he's not like us. Is he done with that Spider issue?" Killua furrowed his eyebrows and tried to imagine Kurapica in a white blouse.

"That was done four years ago...thank God." Leorio shook his head at the memory of the York Shin incident. It took the blonde one year to stop pursuing the Spiders. He settled with locating his clan's eyes.

Gon sighed, "That's good news."

Killua nodded in agreement, "But I still think the blouse isn't really a good idea."

"Mito-san said that if you put a lot of thought in it, that's okay, but really, it's the actions. That's the best gift."

A certain stomach groaned. Leorio and Gon directed their eyes on to the victim. Killua scratched his head uncertainly and smiled, "Umm...is it lunchtime?"

0000000000

"SUSHI HOUSE!" the two boys pointed eagerly at a brightly lit restaurant. They turned and looked at Leorio with pleading puppy-eyes as if they were children asking permission from their father. On second thoughts, they dashed off without another moment's hesitation. The older man was left stunned.

The Sushi House was pretty much like a large, wooden balcony, with the cashier in the corner and the kitchen at the back. The trio took the four-seated table somewhere near the cashier. Menus in hand, they scanned over the variety of sushi platters.

Gon interrupted, a sudden idea strikes his head, "You know what, maybe we could take Kurapica out on a walk or something, I don't know…out for dinner?"

"Keh! No way. Sounds too reserved. Something else…" Killua flapped his hand in objection then settled in to staring at his reflection on the surface of his tea.

Leorio rested his chin on his palm and grinned, "Actually, that's a good idea. I think we should take him out too…"

"Take _who_ out?"

The three looked up at the intruder and immediately flinched. Standing before them was a young man dressed in a plain, navy yukata, matching his eyes of the finest azure. There's no doubt that he was a waiter. He stood patiently, pen and notebook in hand, waiting…

Killua was the first to break their silence, "Looks like taking him out is out of the question." He waggled his eyes teasingly at Leorio.

The waiter turned to face the white-hair boy and inquired again, "Who? Who's _him_?"

Leorio was utterly gob smacked. _Why in the world would he suddenly turn up on such a time like this?_ He twiddled his fingers nervously and tried his best to smile, "Uh…well…I've got a very sick patient in my care, and lately he has progressed much in his recovery. So…err…I thought it would be a good idea to take him out since he's been stuck in the hospital for so long, you know…some fresh air."

Having enough of the awkward exchanges, Gon rocketed out of his seat and spreaded his arms out, giving the blue man a bear hug, receiving a blush in return. "Long time no see! How are you? How's life? Why are you here? Someday…I'll be as tall as you!"

"Oi, Gon!" Killua left his seat and joined in the little reunion. He slapped his hand hard on the waiter's back and gave him one of his widest grins, "Hey, Kulapica!"

"It's…Ku…rapica…" The young man managed a little smile whilst enduring the burning remnants of the slap as well as the throttling death embrace. Eventually the young boy broke apart upon hearing a gasp from the blonde, "You haven't changed!"

Kurapica recomposed himself and smoothed out his yukata. He beamed at his old friends, "You guys haven't changed either. Um, maybe Leorio…" He pointed his index finger at his own chin, indicating that the older man has grown a stubble. Leorio narrowed his eyes, suggesting that it was no big deal.

Killua chuckled, "So…you work here?"

The blonde nodded, "Part time job on Saturdays, I work here. I work somewhere else on weekdays."

"Did you pick that colour?" Leorio inspect at the yukata then looked around for other waiters.

"Of course not. All the males wear this, so we don't stand out as much as the females," Kurapica rolled his eyes. "That was what our boss said."

"There are females around here?"

"There's only three. Having tough luck looking for a partner lately, huh?"

Leorio glared daggers at his old acquaintance, and saved the extra sharp ones on the hysterical teenagers who were returning to their seats. "Unfortunately, I must admit, yes. BUT! It's because I was so busy with work lately that I have barely any chance to socialise with any females, as the majority of workers in the hospital are men…or older nurses."

"Hmm…looks like you're in big trouble. If you don't get a lady sooner, your chances will diminish the older you grow."

"Care to introduce me to some of your fellow workers?"

Kurapica took a moment to ponder at his request. Is there anyone suitable here that meets Leorio's kind? "I guess…but hey, wait a minute. This is a restaurant, not a place to match singles! So, what are your orders, gentlemen?" the waiter asked in a playful tone, holding his pen up in ready.

"Since we can't decide, let's have the platter of the day," Gon pointed at a nearby poster announcing the special platter. The other two customers examined the sushi before slowly nodding their heads in agreement.

"One platter of the day, please!" Killua answered in a voice of a gentlemen, playing along with their little role-playing game.

After a few scratches of pen on the notebook, Kurapica ripped out the paper and bowed, "It will be here in a matter of minutes. I'll be back."

And he was off.

By this time of the day, the sushi house was pretty quiet. Feeling rather bored, Kurapica emerged from the kitchen and joined the table near the cashier, taking his seat beside Leorio.

"Can you…?" the older man began.

The blonde sighed. "Are you that desperate?"

He turned around and scoured for the nearest female waitress. Spotting one amidst the customers, he called out, "Mizuka!"

The two teenagers stiffened instantly. They looked up at the approaching lady, but relaxed as the brunette looked enquiringly at Kurapica.

"Mizuka, this is Leorio."

The lady was still confused. "And…?"

"Are you single?" Leorio suddenly asked.

It quickly dawned on the waitress that this man was looking for a partner. She shot Kurapica an accusing glare and went back to work.

"That didn't go too well…" Gon tutted.

The white hair boy laughed, "One more try?"

Kurapica looked around again. This time, the brunette was gone. Instead, a young girl wandered around within the tables. He called out, yet again, "Mizuka!"

The other three sweat-dropped.

However, this time, did Gon and Killua gawk at the girl that drew nearer. Unmistakably, she was the one who they knew plastered with the impassionate face. She was the one with the tumbling purple tresses that reached her waist. She was the one with the piercing golden eyes that was void of any emotion.

She was the one who never smiled.


	7. Something for Kurapica

**Chapter 7! *flutters away***

**Enjoy! :D**

**I do not own Hunter X Hunter.**

* * *

"Are you kidding me? There is no way they will make a perfect match, not with those seven years of age difference! Not even 'til the day I die and turn into ashes!" Killua flung his arms up like a damsel in distress.

Kurapica shook his head and stated in his typical, informative manner, "Killua, when it comes to love, age does not matter. I have heard several cases where the woman is over a decade older than her husband. Anyways, I have a question to ask you. You said that the age difference was seven years. How did you know that?"

The boy immediately quietened down. Mizuka looked warily at Kurapica, oblivious of the current situation.

Gon stood up from his seat and addressed the girl in his usual sweet voice, "Mizuka-chan! What a coincidence!" He received a curt nod in return.

Leorio made a quick analysis of the girl. Her slim body was wrapped in a lilac yukata imprinted with white irises. Although her fringe hid part of her eyes, they still managed to release the most brilliant gold. Overall, she was like any other average teenage girl.

"You guys know each other?" The blonde glanced between the three teenagers.

The boys nodded. Killua crossed his arms behind his head and leant back, "We go to the same school, but we didn't know she worked here."

"And Leorio, you have no chances with her. Apparently she's already engaged," Gon pointed out. The doctor sighed.

Upon hearing what Gon just said, his best friend stabbed him hard on the foot, earning a silent yelp from the spiky-hair boy. _Damn it, Gon! She wasn't supposed to know that we know of her engagement!_

"Heh...engaged? At such a young age?" The Kuruta looked at the girl with amusement then chuckled at Leorio's hard luck. She seemed to shrink back a bit as though even the slightest mention of engagement was a sensitive topic.

The girl nodded. Leorio started to wonder if she was mute.

A few customers arrived. Kurapica's boss waved madly at him from a distance, so he took off, "Will be back in a minute."

The group took this perfect opportunity to continue their little discussion. As they talked, Gon gestured to the girl to join. "Tomorrow is Kurapica's birthday. Would you like to come?"

The white-hair boy already knew the answer.

"I don't know. I need permission first."

_Permission from her aunt, _Killua thought to himself. The spiky-hair boy nodded. "Okay then...What should we do?"

They chatted a while longer, and came up with ideas ranging from a simple surprise party to a casual outing, when suddenly...

"Fireworks."

The three males stared at the direction of the voice. The girl blinked.

"Fireworks?" Killua repeated, justifying that his ears were not stuffed with earwax. Mizuka nodded.

The doctor pondered at the idea, "Fireworks...So we take him to see fireworks? But there's no fireworks at this time of the year."

"Isn't it obvious?" Gon smiled excitedly, "We should take him to a park at night, where we could celebrate his birthdays with fireworks! I think they sell them in the second floor...Mizuka-chan, that's a brilliant idea!"

Leorio nodded, "The thing is, how are we going to tell him? I mean...if you just tell him 'oh Kurapica, we're going to celebrate your birthday in the park with fireworks', that's not really exciting..."

Killua grinned devilishly and propped his chin on his left hand, "Of course there's a way..."

The other three sat in anticipation, waiting for his answer.

"Shall I introduce my friend, Mr. Blackmail?"

0000000000

Still dressed in her yukata, Mizuka stepped soundlessly into the lounge room where her aunt was blowing out plumes of smoke, experimenting with making exotic shapes and swirls in mid-air. Apparently their guests were out for a walk, without the accompaniment of their son. Instead, Tristan insisted on helping with housework, and Mizuka's aunt couldn't agree less. This created a perfect environment for another tormenting session for the young girl.

Sensing her presence, the woman spoke up uninterested without looking back, "Something wrong?"

"I have something to ask."

Her aunt turned around in her couch and eyed the girl expectantly. "Well…? Spit it out."

She knew this was hopeless. The only answer she ever received for her favours were 'no'. At least, it was worth trying. She hasn't viewed firework displays for over five years. "I wish for your consent, to allow me to go to the park tomorrow evening."

"For what reason?" There was no point asking. However, curiosity got the better of that nosy woman.

"I have been invited to a birthday party."

"Who?"

"My friends."

_Friends…_It was a strange word, peculiar to her taste. What other word could she use, 'strangers', 'males'? There were no other words than 'friends'. Mizuka herself was slightly taken aback. The word came out automatically.

Her aunt snorted sarcastically and resumed sucking her pipe. She took her precious time relishing the somewhat relaxing and bitter taste of the smoke, before releasing an equally bitter laugh. "Friends?" she repeated to make sure she had heard right, "Friends? You haven't had friends all your life. Besides, who would want to befriend a greedy and selfish creature like you? Do you know you are talking nonsense? Are you feeling alright…?"

"Why don't we check?"

Although the girl remained stiff in where she was standing, the older woman whipped her head in response to the rude interruption in time to see a blonde male leaning casually against the door frame. He walked over to Mizuka and stopped beside her. Her aunt's suspicious eyes followed his every action.

"Hmm…Let's see…" Tristan placed his wrist over the girl's forehead. She flinched lightly at the skin contact. The young man lifted his wrist and placed it on his own forehead, screwing up a calculating face. Clearly his act of comparing their temperature was fake, if not, rather sardonic. "Well, she doesn't have a fever," he concluded with a shrug.

"Oh?" the woman stared at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "And what are you suggesting, young man?"

Tristan smirked. Time to get his sweet talk into action. "I could always accompany her. Would you let us go?"

The aunt sighed and looked away, waving her hand dismissively, "I guess that would be a good opportunity to strengthen your relationship. Alright, you may go. Stay by her side at all times…."

The teenagers nodded silently and they left.

0000000000

4th April.

Sunday.

8:43 p.m.

With a sigh, Kurapica sat down on a stool before the kitchen bench, and stared sceptically at the white envelope. There was no name, no address: nothing. That morning, when he checked his letterbox before settling out on his morning walks, he found this mysterious envelope. Even when night drew near, he couldn't bring himself to open it. There were too many questions brewing in his head, and he needed time to process them and prepare a counter-attack if necessary. He was too proud to be tricked.

_Come on, what am I thinking? It's just a mere envelope...But of course, there could be anything inside it. When I open it, maybe this scent would fill up the room and suffocate me? Or perhaps, someone's trying to play a prank on me? __Do they know I'm a hunter? No, that's impossible. Why would they bother tracking me down in Tokyo? For what reason? What if it was just a plain letter? Man, would I feel so stupid then after I opened it..._

He shook his head to rid of his random thoughts and grabbed the envelope before he changed his mind. The blonde tore the top open and drew out a piece of roughly torn paper. He skimmed over the words...

_I have your friends taken hostage__, all three of them. If you want them alive, meet me at the park on the Grasslands by 9:00 p.m. sharp. Otherwise, you will find their corpses in front of your door the next morning._

Kurapica squinted at the handwriting. At first, he wondered if his friends were playing a joke on him, but the writing didn't belong to Gon, Killua or Leorio. He frowned. _Who would be strong enough to hold down a doctor and two boys who managed to defeat the chimera ants? There is also the possibility that, although the letter may seem like it was written by one person, what if it was a group of killers on the run? And why would such people pick a place like the Grasslands? A large area covered in grass does not make a suitable place for a peculiar meeting... Could this be blackmail...?_

_Wait._

_Didn't Gon tell me once about a certain someone who was a professional at blackmailing? _The memory of the little boy recounting his visit back to Whale Island and the reaction of his aunt (and grandma) to blackmailing brought a smile to his face.

Kurapica glanced at the clock.

8:57 p.m.

_Great, I only have three minutes._ The Kuruta rushed in his room and grabbed his black coat before heading out into the softly illuminated street. He hurried to his destination, which was only around the corner, and breathed out fog as he shivered slightly.

Once he reached the park, his wary eyes scoured the gently lit playground, alert for any tufts of white hair. Instead, he was surprised to spot a person sitting alone on the wooden benches. _Could it be the person who wrote the note...?_

He walked over to the slender figure and bent down his head to get a better view of the stranger's face. "Mizuka?"

She didn't jolt. It was like as though she was expecting him to come. Clad in a maroon jersey and black tights, she stood up and eyed him gently. "Come."

She sauntered away with a speechless Kurapica in toll. They set off to the so-called 'Grasslands' (nicknamed by the children). The young man kept his gaze on her fluttering, cream scarf as they headed out towards the grassy area. As soon as they reached the centre, she stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "Stay."

_I feel like a dog,_ Kurapica thought wryly. He raised an eyebrow when the girl took a few steps away from him. _What is going on-?_

He was plunged further down in his doubts when Mizuka produced a matchbox from her pocket, struck a match stick, and held the flame close to the grass...

"What are you doing? You're going to burn the whole place down! Oi, MIZUKA!"

The blonde's cries were left unheeded.

0000000000

_CRACK! _

Kurapica jerked back a step as a little firework erupted below his feet. Had it not been his vigilant senses, his pants would be burnt by then in the most undesirable places.

Bingo. He stepped right into the core of the rings of unlit fireworks.

Myriads of colours flashed before his eyes. They circled around him, raining the colours of the rainbow. The fizzling sparks reached to the height of his face, within a one metre radius. He was surrounded by rings of them. Kurapica was truly stunned. With those circles of light, he looked like some kind of angel who happened to land on earth.

Through the spitting fireworks, he could see Mizuka staring back at him. _Was that a...smile?_

Three shadows approached. They stood around him, laughing at his dazed expression. And all this time, he had been wondering if he would be celebrating his birthday alone this year. Looks like he still needs to work on his pessimistic side.

"Oi, Tayaki! You lured him just at the right spot!" Killua called out, putting his thumbs up.

Leorio grinned, "Surprised, dear friend?"

And Gon. He just stood there, smiling himself silly at the birthday boy.

They started to sing.

They sang the traditional birthday tune, with the exception of Mizuka who kept on staring at the Kuruta. The blonde felt somewhat awkward under her stare, in addition with the teenage boys' terrible singing and Leorio's surprisingly, perfect vocal chords. He lowered his head slightly and peeked meekly under his bangs, whilst the rings of fireworks continued to burst around him.

The five spent the rest of the night lighting the remaining fireworks. Gon and Killua probably had the most fun as they challenged each other to be the fastest one to light a number of fireworks in the night sky. The more 'mature' ones would huddle in a group of three and squat down on their legs while watching their mini fireworks fizzling up their strings. Kurapica and Leorio discussed about their current lives, and at times, invited Mizuka to join the conversation. Throughout the whole time, she remained quiet and glued her eyes on the string of firework in her grasp, lighting one after another until all were gone. Whether she did that due to sheer boredom or fascination, none could tell.

She owed Tristan a favour, after what he had done for her. Back then, on the day before, he never had the intention of accompanying her. Instead…

_The boy mentioned of their 'party' to his parents, and before long, both he and the girl were out of the mansion. He walked silently ahead with Mizuka on his tail. Right after they turned a corner, he turned around to face her and grinned, "This is where I will leave you. Go and have fun, okay? When you're done, meet me here at the exact same spot, say, around 10:30 p.m? Is that enough time?"_

_Mizuka nodded in surprise._

"_That's good. Well then, while you go and enjoy yourself, I'll spend the time wandering around night-stalls. See you then!" And with that, he walked off, leaving her standing alone in the dim twilight._

Mizuka sighed inwardly. She wandered what he was doing right now.

0000000000

Arms laden with gifts, Kurapica fumbled with his keys before he finally opened the door to his apartment. A whole night of squatting down and fiddling with fireworks had worn him out greatly. He settled the gifts on the coffee table and flopped his body on the couch. He then grabbed the remote and switched on the TV to rid of the silence. Advertisements were flashing on the screen.

The blonde sat upright and stared curiously at the gifts. There were four, wrapped in a fashion according to their owners' personalities. Kurapica reached out for the first one which smelt faintly of men's perfume.

_Leorio. _The young man sneezed. He carefully unwrapped the golden paper.

_Six cans of shaving cream..._Kurapica mused over the gift. _How typical of him. _

He reached out for the next, assuming it was from Killua, telling by the messy wrapping. The Kuruta drew out a thick book titled, 'The Zoaldyeck's Guide to Blackmailing'. Kurapica sweat-dropped and turned to the first page. Written in Killua's large and illegible handwriting, it said "ENJOY!" _At least he appreciated the fact that I like to read, _Kurapica thought wryly. He flipped through the next few pages covered in large diagrams and instructions, also handwritten by Killua.

Next, he unwrapped Gon's present, hoping that there would be something more 'useful' inside. He looked down confused as he turned a container of fish oil capsules this way and that in his grasp. The container was clearly labelled with yellow words, 'RICH IN OMEGA 3'. Kurapica scratched his head in puzzlement. _Fish capsules? Well I guess Gon is still the fishy type._

Lastly, he carefully undid Mizuka's neat package, thinking that her present would be the most sensible out of the four. In fact, unbeknownst to him, Kurapica was far from correct. He was left speechless, and gawked at the foot massager that laid innocently on his lap.

_What in the world...?_

As the advertisements ended and switched into a comedy program, the people's mocking laughter in the show seemed to be directed at Kurapica. The blonde stared at the four objects before him, happy tears swelling in his eyes. It finally dawned on him that his friends had especially chose those gifts to convey a specific birthday message.

_Thanks, you idiots. Trying to make me feel old, huh? Leorio, do you think I would grow that much bristles on my chin? I mean, surely this is a ridiculous amount of shaving cream for my birthday. Killua, you don't have to write that big. I assure you my eyesight hasn't deteriorated over those five eyars. Gon, I appreciate that you are concerned about my health, but really, I had always stuck with a healthy diet. I've got all the nutrients I need. And Mizuka. I don't know to what extent you went to fetch that foot massager, but the state of my feet is perfectly fine, thank you!_

Kurapica would be delighted to take his sweet time to blabbler all that out in their faces, but chose to keep his mouth shut tight...

...for the time being.

* * *

**They will be getting back to school life next chapter. Yeah...**

**I realised I haven't mentioned this, but I'll make it up in this chapter: THANK YOU! THANK YOU ALL PEOPLE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ UP TO THIS FAR! If there was any other word than THANK YOU I would've listed them out here. But since I don't, what else could I say? THANK YOU! Regardless of whether you were simply bored, hate this, or you truly loved this story, THANK YOU FOR READING!**

**Oh and some credit goes to my brother for suggesting the fish oil and foot massager! XD**

**If you are feeling generous, reviews are good for my stress and mental health!**

***takes in deep breath***

**Until next chapter :3**


	8. If I Was an Assassin

**To spiffy: Yes I agree hoodies are the best clothing! But Killua only has drawers of plain shirts, hoodies, truck-pants etc. In other peoples' POV, that's a pretty depressing collection of clothing. But if those clothes were mine, I'd be proud :D **

**GO HOODIES!**

* * *

5th April.

Monday.

7:30 a.m.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

Killua groaned and lifted his head up reluctantly from his pillow. Reaching his hand out slowly, he thumped the clock that was perched on the head of the bed frame. With a deep sigh, he snuggled back inside his blanket.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The boy twitched. He lifted his head yet again and glared sluggishly at the middle clock of the row of three. He curled his hand into a fist and gave the clock an extra-good smack. Satisfied, he sought the warmth of his bed.

_Ohayou! Ohayou! Ohayou!_

This time, Killua wasn't bothered to get up. He waved his hand aimlessly and knocked down the last alarm clock, which probably broke since it went dead quiet. He's going to suffer another long lecture about another broken clock. Killua was terribly exhausted from yesterday's fireworks.

_Mata ohayou tte itte, mata yume wo misete  
__Kyou mo genki de, sugosetara ii yo ne._

"Gon? Turn off your cell phone..." Killua mumbled. It's unusual for the spiky-hair boy to leave his alarm on. He usually turns it off before he wakes up. It's like as though he has his own alarm clock in his body.

_Konna ni tanjun de, atarimae na koto ga  
__Hontou wa ichiban, miushinaigachi dakara ne._

"Gon?" Again, no reply. The song was getting into his nerves now. Killua was restraining himself from popping a vein in his temple. It was really ironic; how the song was about waking up and going through another great day, and the white-hair boy on the other hand, was growing very impatient.

_Me wo aketa mama, miru yume  
Shiranai ashita e, hakobu merry-go-round goes..._

"GOOOON!"

Soft footsteps echoed down the corridor, and in no time, Gon was standing by the doorway of their room. "What?"

"Turn off that damn phone of yours..."

_Kimi to kata wo kunde, kimi to te wo-_

The ringtone finally fell silent. Killua muttered a soft "thanks."

Gon shook his head in disapproval, "Killua, you never learn. If you won't get up, you leave me no choice."

A bucket of water was tilted over the drowsy boy. Killua spluttered at the sudden chill and glared missiles, canon balls and all sorts of lethal weapons at his friend.

0000000000

Feeling somewhat refined and less perverted today, the breeze went no further than ruffling the skirts of the female pupils. With one senior grade less than the school population, the students headed straight towards their classes after the sound of the school bell. Gon and Killua dispersed into their respective classrooms, greeted by the always cheerful Tristan who popped his head out from a door in the corridors.

"Hey! Oh, Killua! Do you usually shower or swim in the early mornings?" Tristan asked while inspecting the boy's sodden hair.

The blonde wished he could take those words back, and shrank back immediately as Killua was surrounded by menacing purple aura and steam whistled out from his ears. The atmosphere turned disturbingly cold. Gon smiled nervously and ushered Tristan into their classroom. "I'll explain. Apparently this morning..."

As the white hair boy entered his nearly-empty class, he sighed when he found a certain girl sitting alone in the corner, staring aimlessly out the window.

"Hey," Killua muttered half-heartedly and sat in his seat.

Without moving her head, Mizuka directed her gaze at the boy, noting that his hair was quite clammy before she resumed fixing her eyes on the fountain outside. It took a while before Mrs. Schmakbaam bustled in out of breath, leaning her tired body on the doorframe for some support.

"Children, since you have *_gasp_* nothing else to do for *_gasp_* the day, I suggest you first *_gasp_* clean the classroom, and after recess, you should *_gasp_* prepare lunch for the staff. Mrs. Levi will be supervising you, *_gasp_* as well as the other two students in the other class. *_gasp_* Well then, I'm off!" Their teacher rushed off without another word.

_Ah yes, today is the Easter Show. _Killua sighed even deeper. _And I'm supposed to spend the day with a mute, cleaning muck and cooking for the staff? Not good..._

The two remained in their seats; waiting. Few minutes later, Mrs. Levi appeared by the doorway, eyeing the pair expectantly. "Well? Did you hear the instructions?"

Silence answered her, and she was not shifting a single muscle until someone took action. Once Killua stood up reluctantly, Mrs. Levi was gone; her heels echoing down the corridor.

He gestured to the girl to help him move the desks and chairs to one side of the room before he headed towards the cupboard located in the opposite back corner of the room and flipped the doors open. Rummaging through the stacks of cleaning equipment, he eventually tossed Mizuka a white bandana and a cloth. He tied his own bandana on his head which failed to suppress the white tufts of unruly hair protruding from the front and back. Cloth and bucket in hand, Killua told the girl to wait as he exited the classroom.

Within seconds, he was back. Killua placed the bucketful of water under the blackboard and waved the girl over.

"So...let's start with the floors," the boy suggested. The pair dipped their cloths in water and wrung out the excess liquid. After one thoughtful look at her damp cloth, Mizuka bent down on her knees and threw her cloth around the floor in circular motions.

Killua watched her for a while before a gentle smirk escaped his mouth, "Idiot, that'll take forever if you continue to do that. Here, watch me."

The boy dropped on all fours, his cloth spread out wide in his hands. He grinned impishly.

In one swift movement, Killua was skidding gracefully across the floor, back and forth, back and forth. His footsteps thudded softly on the floor. Mizuka couldn't even follow how he was able to stop so accurately before he crashed, or how he pushed off for more momentum. She watched him with mesmerizing silence.

After a few more trips across the room, the boy finally stopped by her side and leaned against the wall; legs sprawled in front, and released a satisfied sigh. "You try. I'm not doing all the work."

Although Mizuka was trying hard to hide the fact that she disagreed with his method because of a _particular _reason, she blushed. Killua looked at her inquisitively. He immediately understood her message when he caught her staring down humbly at her skirt. The boy's cheeks flushed pink. He inclined his head slightly in apology and looked away.

"Um, then again, I don't think that would be appropriate for you," he chortled unsurely. If the girl was to drop on all fours, she would be, _ahem_... flashing. Killua was never a pervert.

_So what now? If she continues at her pace, we won't be done by recess! If only there were mops..._Killua thought frustratingly. The school had no mops, because they had an abundant supply of cloths. Humble and stingy, the principal refused to provide the school with mops.

Killua's thoughts were interrupted when heavy footsteps rang down the corridor. A familiar girl with pink ponytails skidded to a halt by their door and threw desperate glances around the room. "Crap! Where the hell is everyone?" she gasped exasperatedly, then looked up at the clock hanging on top of the blackboard. "DAMN IT! I slept in again! Now I won't be able to buy that show bag..."

The unexpected visitor sank down on the floor and moaned curses of the unthinkable. She was oblivious of the two teenagers who sat under the blackboard, staring at her flabbergasted.

Unable to take in her tantrum any longer, Killua interrupted, "Fujiou? I thought you went to the Easter Show. The bus left _ages _ago."

Hinari perked up at the familiar voice. Her eyes widened in excitement upon seeing her idol dressed in a rather laid-back manner. She looked at the boy up and down, squealing at his rolled up sleeves, unbuttoned collar and bandana.

"KAWAII! KILLUA-KUN!" Hinari lashed her arms out and leapt into a vulnerable Killua, pinning him down hard on the wooden floor. Mizuka moved away just in time to avoid the pair crashing on her.

Wondering what the noisy commotion was about, Gon and Tristan left their room and dashed to the one next door. They gaped at the struggling couple, then at Mizuka who was staring back at them with a don't-look-at-me-I'm-not-part-of-this look. The boys laughed, and Killua glared daggers at them as he attempted to struggle free of Hinari's vigorous grip, vowing to skewer those two later.

Realising that she was being watched, the ecstatic girl finally shoved herself off the boy and bowed her head in apology, "Oh sorry! Couldn't control myself. Are you okay?"

"Nnnn...yeah...I, guess..." Killua mumbled as he saw stars encircling his head. His head was still throbbing from the impact on the floor.

Out of the blue, Mrs. Levi appeared in the doorway; hands on hips, eyes glaring firmly at the group of five. "You, and you, back to your room please," she barked at Gon and Tristan. They nodded quickly and scurried off. Then, she eyed the remaining three, expecting for some explanation.

"Sorry, Ms. I kinda ran into Killua," Hinari said sweetly, clasping her hands together in front.

The teacher tutted, "Young lady...next time, please watch where you're going. We don't want any injuries at our school. And while you're here, perhaps you should help these two with cleaning up the classroom."

"Yes, Ms! Don't worry, we'll be working hard!"

Mrs. Levi nodded and left. As soon as the pink-hair girl was sure that the teacher was out of ear-shot, she scrunched up her face in disapproval. "I don't wanna clean," she pouted. "Ne, Killua-kun…let's procrastinate!"

The boy shrugged, "Nah. You know the consequences if we do that. Smackbum's name says it all."

Hinari grumbled then dawdled to the cupboard, drawing out a bandana. "So now what?"

Killua sighed and closed his eyes. Not only was he going to spend the day with a mute, but also a whiner. _Can life get any worse than this…?_

"You know what? I'm gonna head to the toilets first. Be right back!" Hinari called out and she was gone in a matter of seconds.

The white-hair boy resumed skating around the floor on cloths as Mizuka cleared away the graffiti left on desks and chairs. The room was submerged in silence. Hinari never came back.

_Tch. Probably wandering around the school grounds._ Killua straightened up and stretched his back after a few minutes of skimming the floor clean. The girl nodded at him, indicating that she too was finished with her job.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure we're missing something….Oh yeah. The blackboard. Here, you do the left half and I'll do the right one."

The two resoaked their cloths and began wiping their way around the board, scratching stubborn chalk marks and making sure every nook and cranny was free of chalk powder. Feeling rather bored, Killua thought a conversation would do a lot to brighten the atmosphere, not that he was keen on talking with the girl.

"So…um…how's life?"

Mizuka paused, taking the time to ponder about her answer. "Good." She continued wiping the board.

"What about your house?"

"Big."

If Killua had the chance, he would smash his head on the blackboard. Surely the girl should have a large vocabulary, and could've described her house with a word other than 'big'. With that sort of vocabulary, the chances of passing HSC will be scaled down to one percent.

"Big…? Cool," he spoke with obvious mockery. He stared at her through half-lidded eyes, "I live in an apartment. And for your information, it's SMALL."

He received a nod. She cared little for his sarcasm.

_So much for talking…_Killua rolled his eyes and concentrated on scratching a black mark. He thought about other everyday topics they could talk about. Giving up on that thought, he tried remembering the good old conversations he had with Gon. He suddenly froze as a particular conversation struck his head.

Slowly, he turned to look at Mizuka, his face etched with a curiousity, "Um, I know this sounds out of the blue, but if I told you that I was an assassin, right now, what will you do?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Assassin?"

The white-hair boy nodded.

"Nothing."

That was not the answer he was expecting. Nevertheless, he pushed on. "Why?"

Although she wholly dreaded those _'why'_ questions, she did a good job not showing it. Mizuka stared at him, "Because…there are so many reasons."

"Such as?"

The girl seemed reluctant with talking, but she gave in anyway. Besides, if she doesn't talk regularly, her voice would go rusty over a period of time. She shifted around uncomfortably, "If you are joking, I would do nothing. If you really are an assassin, and have the intention of killing me, I can do nothing. However, if you are an assassin who befriends specific people, and kills particular ones, I would also, do nothing."

"Would you believe me?"

"It depends. I would have several questions I'd like to ask you then. If you are an assassin, why go to school? Why make friends? Why are you trained at such a young age?"

"And if I really as an assassin?"

"Prove it."

Killua cringed. They weren't even answering each other's questions. It also surprised him that she said that in quite a challenging tone. "Would you like to see…?" he asked carefully. _This is getting pretty fun..._

Without waiting for her answer, much to his excitement (Hisoka style), he quickly flexed his left hands; fingers grew bony and fingernails sharpened. He searched the girl's face, looking for some kind of reaction.

There was none. She did not flinch at all. Mizuka remained standing in her spot, looking blankly at Killua.

"Would you move, if I tried to kill you, right now?" the boy smirked. Killua was enjoying this thoroughly. Although Mizuka was the fifth person who accepted him as both a friend and an assassin, she was an exception as she had no knowledge of nen, hunters and such. She lived in a different world…

In a flash, Killua whipped his hand to her cheek, expecting for some kind of shriek or movement. And yet there was none. Stunned, he stopped abruptly. His fingernail was a millimetre away from cutting her cheek.

"You surprise me. Why won't you move?"

If Mizuka had more sentiment in her, she would at least widen her eyes in pure terror, or make some kind of involuntary action in defence. "After all those things you have done, why would you suddenly kill me right now? You are a friend. Then again, if you were trying to kill me, there really is nothing I can do. I don't really care."

For one special moment, she smiled, triumphantly; signifying that she was the winner of their little battle. Even though it was just a tiny one, it could also be considered an actual smile. Killua felt, that this smile, was just for him, and him only. His lowered his hand in surrender, and returned it to its normal form. As the seconds ticked by, he stood gawping at her. Eventually he whipped around to face the board again blushing furiously, rubbing at another stubborn mark albeit too tough, which vanished within seconds.

"Th-that's enough. I think w-we should go back with cleaning," the boy stuttered as his face was rapidly glowing with radiant crimson.

Right before the bell rang for recess, the desks and chairs were rearranged and the class was left spotless.

However, a new question rang in Killua's head. _She didn't care if I killed her._

_Why?_

* * *

**GASP! She smiled! Haha, some of you must be thinking, "So what? It's not a big deal!" I was thinking like that too, but meh, that is the whole point of the story. So SMILE EVERYONE! XD**

**I use to have a pig-shaped clock like that, that goes _Ohayou! Ohayou! Ohayou! _It broke though, but it survived 10 years! Japanese stuff are so long-lasting!**

**Nothing much going on here. Hopefully there would be more action in the next chapter. COOKING! Followed by LOTS of FOOD MAYHEM! MWAHAHA! ****X{D (felt like adding another moustache...)**


	9. Onions: The Foundation of Tears

**A poor attempt on humour...**

* * *

It was only moments ago that the bell rang for the end of recess. As the footsteps of students faded into the school building, loud voices of teachers would begin to take over. The corridors echoed with the occasional slamming of doors to silence talkative classes, or simply the monotonous scritch-scratch of chalk on blackboard and pen on paper. Every now and then, a class would erupt into raucous laughter or screamed in triumph outside on the school oval. While all of these little commotions were taking place –as expected of many schools-, none would expect that five students would be standing in the food technology room working clear of their class schedules, on this day, in this school.

11.30 a.m.

"And then, you slice them like this!" the food tech. teacher beamed as she sliced the salmon into neat rectangles. She held one piece of salmon up in full glory, the burning passion for cooking clearly reflected in her eyes. Her young audience watched her in astonishment, for never in their lives have they seen a teacher as fanatical as her. She was still in her twenties anyway.

The woman chugged down the piece of salmon, then whipped her slender arms to a large bowl of rice. "After that, you mould them into little rectangles..." She fashioned them expertly with only two fingers on each hand and held it up again for all to see.

"Lastly, you place the salmon on the rice! As easy as that! Oh I forgot the wasabi!" The teacher rushed to the fridge and snatched a tube of wasabi. She squeezed one dot on each rice prism before gently slapping the pieces of salmon on top. "The wasabi kinda acts like glue which ensures the salmon is stuck on the rice. Voilà! Here, you guys try one."

The group of five grabbed a sushi each.

The woman looked at them eagerly, "So, how is it?"

"Mmm! It tastes good!" Gon licked his fingers. Mizuka nodded her head in agreement.

Killua cringed at the burning sensation which crawled on his tongue then up his nose. His eyes brimmed with tears as he smiled weakly. The teacher took that as tears of gratitude.

"We don't usually have these back at France. I love sushi," Tristan grinned. After he took a bite, however, his grin was quickly wiped off and his eyes began to water. The blond chuckled nervously to hide his distaste of Japanese horseradish.

Hinari plastered on a forceful smile to show her appreciation. She always ate sushi from time to time. The girl was purely Japanese after all. For her, salmon pieces on rice was nothing special.

The teacher clapped her hands in delight, "Excellent! Well then, why don't we get started? After you guys have made two platters, we'll move on to Shiitake mushroom soup! And last will be...takoyaki's!"

"..."

"Off to work! And while you're at it I need to finish some paperwork. It should only take you five around fifteen minutes to finish, because everything has been prepared for you. You just have to make it, that's all. Give me a shout when you're done!" She flashed the young chefs an encouraging grin before she left the room, leaving Killua, Gon, Hinari, Mizuka and Tristan (in that respective order) behind the front bench.

While the hunters snatched their knives and went to work, the other three grabbed their knives warily and inspected the blades as if they would leap out and slit their throats any second. Killua twirled the knife twice between his index and middle finger absent-mindedly before bringing the blade down on the salmon. Acting according to his instincts, he chopped the meat at an astounding speed far beyond human belief.

Gon nudged him in the elbow and muttered softly, "Don't use nen, Killua!" The other three stared at the white-hair boy's chopping skills with awed expressions.

"How...How did you do that?" The blond asked cautiously.

Remembering that he wasn't allowed to use nen, he stopped and laughed a bit too stiffly, "Umm...no big deal! Hey, why don't you guys start working? At this rate we might not make it to making takoyaki's!"

After taking a moment's hesitation, they proceeded to slice their salmon. Killua smiled apologetically to his best friend before chopping at a more 'normal' beat. Gon sighed then brought his knife to his salmon.

_CRACK!_

All four pairs of eyes whipped onto the source of the noise. Gon stared blankly at his salmon and chopping board that laid split in halves. He turned his head slowly to face his shocked friends and placed his best effort to glue on an innocent smile. "...whoops?"

Killua snapped out from his revelation. He leapt in front of Gon and waved his arms about frantically, "Uhhh...that must've been a really bad quality board, right, Gon? I swear, this school doesn't even provide its students with good facilities! Such a shame...such a shame...Right, Gon! Why don't you clean up the mess while I go and bring you a new one? Hahaha you guys go ahead and continue! We'll be right back!"

The white-hair boy ushered his friend to the back of the food technology room where several kitchen utensils were stored. When they were out of earshot, Killua heaved out a deep sigh then turned to glare at his innocent-looking friend. "So who was telling me not to use nen? Hm?"

Gon sweat-dropped and slightly lowered his head in guilt, "At least I didn't go as far as chopping the bench in half..." It was really difficult not to use nen at all, let alone holding in that spiritual power in for the school hours. Nen has become part of their lives, and they couldn't live through a whole day without even using a little bit of it, even if it was just Gyo. Gon returned to the bench to throw out the remains of the broken board while Killua brought back a new one.

True to the teacher's assumption, it took them fifteen minutes. Tristan went to fetch the teacher while the girls arranged the sushi's on large plates. Right after the teacher gave them a nod of acknowledgement, she launched straight into the process of making Shiitake mushroom soup.

While they gathered their ingredients and equipment, the teacher excused herself again and headed back to the technology staffroom. The five began with *dramatic music* shiitake mushrooms. For the next few seconds, they worked unobtrusively...

0000000000

Fed up with the silence, Hinari stopped chopping and looked at the others, "Have you guys heard of a story called True Love?"

The other four stared at her quizzically. They shook their heads.

The pink-hair girl frowned, "The story's pretty popular. Hmm...alright then. I'll retell it as entertainment. Sounds good?"

They nodded, a bit reluctantly.

"One day, a guy and a girl were riding on a motorcycle. However, they were travelling too fast so the girl asked to slow down. But her boyfriend said that it was fun. After the girl asked to slow down the vehicle once more, the guy suddenly requested for a hug and to say 'I love you.' For the sake of slowing down, the girl does as she was asked. In return, the guy smiled and ordered her to take off his helmet and place it on her head, because it was 'bothering' him."

The four teenagers reached out for the next ingredient as the story-teller left her mushroom ignored.

"In the newspaper the next day, a motorcycle was reported to have crashed into a building because of brake failure. Two people were on it and only one survived."

Hinari stopped when she heard sniffing. She looked left and right to see Tristan and Gon spilling with tears. She stammered, "Oh, s-sorry. Do you still want me to continue?"

The two teary boys nodded.

"The truth was that halfway down the road, the guy realised that the brakes were out and he didn't want the girl to know. Instead he had her hug him and tell him she loved him one last time."

_Thud. ._

The girl frowned when she caught Mizuka looking down; hiding her eyes behind her fringe. To Hinari, Mizuka's dicing sounded rather forlorn as each chop resonated with melancholy.

_Well, I never expected the story to be that depressing..._"Then he had her put his helmet on so that she would live even if it meant that he would die. Pretty short, but sweet story, hey? I found it in someone's fanfiction profile..."

The atmosphere was tense. Hinari looked to her right and was further submerged into the perplexity zone. She watched Killua as he rubbed his eyes furiously with the back of his hand, attempting to prevent the torrent of tears streaming out his eyes. The white-hair boy never cried in front of anyone.

"K-Killua-kun! I'm sorry..." the girl stuttered.

The boy's head shot up. "Hm? Wha...Why are you saying sorry?"

"I know it's upsetting..."

"What?"

"The story I mean! Please don't cry over the dead guy, I'm sure they'll be reunited in the end!" She wanted to add 'but you look so cute crying!' but chose not to say it out loud.

Killua stared at her as if she's gone nuts. "Story? What story? Crying over a dead guy? Why the heck will I do that? For your information, you can say I'm crying over an onion, but DEFINITELY not a dead guy."

"Aww Killua! Weren't you even listening? So rude!" Gon kicked him in the shins to show his disapproval. At times when Gon was a pig-head, Killua was a total pea-brain.

"Ah! Sorry, Fujiou! I never knew! Guess I was concentrating too much on dicing the onion. Man, it keeps on stinging my eyes!" Killua chortled and waved his hand in request for forgiveness. He returned to his onion and glowered, ready to continue their fierce battle. Boy and onion glared at each other eye to eye.

_Crying over an onion, huh..._Hinari stared at the unbelievable guy through half-lidded eyes. A corner of her mouth twitched in slight annoyance.

Tristan sweat-dropped and twisted around to face Mizuka, his face all of a sudden engraved with concern, "Ne...you alright?"

The silent girl nodded and looked at the blond. Tristan flinched then chuckled nervously upon seeing fat tears swelling in her eyes.

0000000000

"Ho! You guys did an excellent job!" the food tech, teacher exclaimed. Her face quickly averted from a cheery woman to that of an evil, cackling witch. She giggled mysteriously, "And now...we are finally moving on to takoyaki's."

The young chefs sighed, the same train of thought running through their heads: _So much for enthusiasm, Miss._

The teacher started to demonstrate as she ran through the recipe.

Killua yawned.

_Takoyaki recipe + Gon = Gon learns how to make takoyaki's._

_Takoyaki recipe + Killua = bla bla bla bla bla... = Language from afar = Gibberish._

0000000000

4:00 p.m.

Mizuka's aunt raised an eyebrow and watched the pair enter the mansion. "Tristan dear!" she called out. "Did you have fun today?"

"Mmhm!" The blond grinned.

"How was the Easter Show?"

"Huh? Oh, I didn't go. I stayed at school."

The woman regarded him a little suspiciously. "Why's that? Surely there's more to enjoy than..." Her gaze shifted to the girl, then back to the boy. "..._that_."

Tristan shrugged. "Oh, well...I thought Mizuka would be a bit lonely so I decided not to go. And there were three others too. We all had fun anyway. They were really nice friends."

"Tell me, what are their names?"

"Um, there's Gon and Killua. They're a strange pair. And the last one was late and missed the bus to the Easter Show. She was called Hinari. Nice person she was; told us a story."

The woman nodded and blew elegantly on her pipe. "That is nice, to have made some friends over a short period of time."

Mizuka was left unheeded. She didn't mind.

Her aunt twirled the pipe between her fingers thoughtfully, and sucked in another puff of smoke while she plunged herself in deep contemplation. Then, a smile crept across her lips- a sly one.

"This...Gon and Killua, and that Hinari too...I would like to meet them."

* * *

**I originally wanted to add some kind of food fight or disaster that required the school to pay a huge bill for the food tech. room repairs, but alas, I don't have that kind of imagination for it. Sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations =(**

**And why hasn't ANYONE pointed out that I spelt 'blonde' wrong? Blonde=girls, blond=boys. All that time I've been referring Kurapica and Tristan as a blonde T_T PLEASE I beg anyone of you out there to correct any of my mistakes (especially grammar)!**

**My Smile plot bunny ran away, not good...Feel like starting a new story. And so many freakin' tests and assignments next week *streeeessssss***


	10. Pandora's Box

So far, everything done before was not even the beginning. The real story has yet to commence. It all started when three teenagers were invited to come over to the girl's house…

_-flashback-_

_Mizuka's gaze was tinted with doubt. "My aunt would like to meet all three of you."_

_The three blinked._

"_In other words, would you guys like to come to her house, um….I think it was this Saturday," Tristan translated for them._

_They blinked again. Only this time, Gon didn't blink. "Sure! Why not?"_

_Killua groaned inwardly, a little annoyed by Gon's rash decision-making._

_-end of flashback-_

10th April.

Saturday.

2:00 p.m.

"Welcome! Welcome! You must be Mizuka's…..friends! Come in and make yourself comfortable," exclaimed the head of the house and smacked a wide smile on her face. She lead the three guests into the guest room and seated them on velvet couches. With a click of her fingers, a maid hustled over to the coffee table and laid a tea set. She bowed then excused herself.

The aunt examined the three while their attention was directed at their tea-cups. One had short, pink hair tied in pigtails, and wore a ruffled skirt. The other two…..had weird hairstyles much to the woman's distaste. The taller one didn't bother combing his wild mop, while the other seems to be trying too hard with gelling his hair (which is wrong! Gon's hair is naturally spiky!). Tristan emerged from the kitchen and greeted them with his always blissful smile. "Hey!"

Hinari gasped, "Are you living here?"

"No. Actually, Mizuka's aunt is like...my family's host family."

"Where is she by the way?"

"She's working part time in a sushi house. She'll be back soon."

Gon brightened. _Oh right! I forgot she worked on Saturdays!_

Having the courtesy to excuse herself, the aunt rose to her feet and nodded in their direction, "I'll leave you juveniles to your conversation. I'll be back with lunch!"

And so they were left alone.

To break the silence that ensued the woman's quick departure, Gon suddenly announced, "I'd like to see her parents."

The blond stared at him solemnly. "Do you know that they're…?"

The spiky-hair boy nodded.

Tristan smiled sadly, "Come with me. I'll show you around the Corridor of the Tayaki's." He then cocked his head in the other two's direction. "Like to come with us?"

Killua shook his head. Like a fangirl who would jump off a cliff after her idol regardless of her parents' objections, Hinari shook her head as well.

The blond shrugged, "Alright, but...I guess it won't hurt to do a little exploring around the house, hey?"

The pair headed off, leaving the group even smaller than before. Killua glared after the blond. It bothered him that the half-French boy's last statement was not just some petty suggestion, but rather, was encouraging him on the idea of snooping around the place. When rephrased, it sounded more like "Why don't you just bombard the place to your heart's content and see if you find anything?"

"Tch," Killua muttered to no-one in particular. "If you _insist_."

The boy straightened up and ambled upstairs. Abandoned, Hinari sighed and trailed after him.

0000000000

Lined in a perfect row along a specific corridor were portraits of the members of the Tayaki family tree. The first couple showed great-grand-relatives dated back a century ago. They ranged from picnic events to portraits professionally painted. Gon and Tristan wandered deeper down the hallway until they reached the current generation.

"And this is Mizuka," the blond pointed at a little ecstatic girl who was grinning herself silly.

"Wow…she's so….different," was all Gon could muster. "What about this one?"

"That's when she was six. This picture was taken before her parents left to work on this small island."

"And this one?"

Tristan froze. He glanced around cautiously before lowering his voice to a murmur. "That…" he began hesitantly, "was six years after her parents left. Unfortunately, they never came back."

Gon frowned. It was evident that at that stage, Mizuka was enduring a period of depression. How ironic. When he was twelve, Gon was having the time of his life with his three best friends despite the countless times their life was hanging on the line. The girl, who will soon possess a disgustingly rich inheritance, was not coping well with life. Looking down at the remaining pictures down the corridor that was yet to be woven into a story-telling tapestry, the spiky-hair boy looked at his companion with profoundly curious eyes, "Tell me, Tristan. What happened?"

The blond nodded willingly, albeit with a trace of reluctance. Gazing down at the remaining portraits, he heaved 3 his shoulders and sighed. "Okay. So this was how it all began…"

0000000000

_There was a squeak from the mattress, and then, a subtle thudding noise echoed down the hallway. A girl of mere seven years dashed across the corridors shrouded in the bloodcurdling darkness. Her shoulder-length hair of light purple bounced off her neck in synchronization of every step she took. When she finally saw the dim-lit room, she whipped the door open without a moment's hesitation._

"_Auntie!" she gasped exhaustedly. Running around the labyrinth of corridors and stairs in search of one particular room was quite a feat for a seven-year old."Auntie! I had a bad dream-"_

_The woman sitting upright on her queen-sized bed slammed her novel shut and snapped off the little girl's whinging before she was further bombarded with 'I saw the bogey man' and such. "Off with you, rude girl! Don't you ever again disturb me in the middle of the night!"_

"_But Auntie! I saw them. They were dead!" the girl rubbed her splotchy, red cheeks and eyes as she sobbed._

_Amid the soft light that illuminated the ghastly features of her aunt, the woman's expression darkened considerably. She knew very well who the girl was referring to. The child's frequent descriptions of a dead woman and man have been persisting for weeks. "N-Nonsense!" the aunt retorted with flustered cheeks._

"_But-"_

"_Maids!"_

_Upon hearing the shrill call, the corridors were immediately filled with light. Two young maids bustled into their mistress' room as they struggled to hide their irritation from being woken up in the middle of the night. The woman pointed accusingly at the intruder. "Take her back to her room and lock her door!" she barked her orders._

_The young ladies nodded. One of them tended to the agitated woman while the other gently ushered the girl out the room._

_The girl sobbed even heavier when she was tucked into her bed. She curled her pale hands into fists and rubbed her eyes furiously. Her hair was splayed on the pillow in a disarray and her robe was soaked in her tears. The maid in black brushed her damp fringe away from her forehead and murmured tenderly, "Hush, sweet Mizuka. Go to sleep and everything will be better in the morning."_

"_I saw them! I swear, they were dead! They were, looking at me with scary eyeballs, and they were so, bony and stiff," Mizuka hiccupped between words. "Where, are they? Why haven't, they come back yet?"_

"_You are having a nightmare. Don't think about it too much. They'll be back soon."_

"_I've, been waiting for so long! WHERE are they?" The girl demanded. She was at the brim of throwing a tantrum. _

_The maid held back a little, faltering for the correct words. She couldn't spill the truth. Some secrets are better left in the ashes, for the better. "They will be back…someday."_

_For a child whose intelligence hasn't quite developed yet, the word 'someday' is only used when one is desperate to escape the main issue, and to Mizuka, it meant nothing. Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Unsatisfied with the answer, she released yet another torrent of tears._

"_A-Alright, I think they'll be back next month! But please…don't do this again. It upsets your aunt, terribly," the slightly annoyed maid quickly murmured. "Good night, dear Mizuka."_

_The door was locked, and she was thrust yet again into the darkness. In the following hours until dawn, the girl was too terrified to fall asleep, for fear of encountering the same nightmare: the one with the corpses of a man and a woman. The unfortunate girl had no doll to cuddle onto, had no mother to caress her hair and sing her a lullaby, and had no-one who was willing to listen to her problems and share with her their bed. She writhed under her blanket in distraught, shivered and whimpered throughout another sleepless night, wondering...how in God's name did she end up in such a situation._

_0000000000_

_A month flew by._

_Her parents never came. _

_Five years later…_

_And they still, didn't turn up._

_Now 12, Mizuka sat stiffly on a beautifully carved chair before the camera man. She was to have her portrait taken. Clothed in a simple white dress and a white head-band perched on her hair, she was ready to go._

_The friendly camera-man spent a few seconds adjusting his camera and the height of the tripod, and finally, squinted his eyes on the viewfinder. He called out, "Mizuka! Clasp your hands together. That's it...now put them on your lap. Okay. When I count to three, give me a big smile! One...two...three! Smile!"_

_Click!_

_Her aunt examined the photo on his camera and shook her head. The camera-man shrugged and turned to face Mizuka, "You didn't smile. I'm going to do it once more, okay?"_

_The little girl nodded._

"_Alright. When I count to three, say cheese! One...two...three! Say cheese!"_

"_Cheese."_

_Click!_

_Yet again, her aunt was not satisfied with the result. Rather than a smile with the corners of the mouth turned up naturally, Mizuka looked more like showing her teeth for the dentist's inspection. After half an hour of several attempts to take a supposedly simple portrait, the camera man was on the edge of his patience. As a professional, never in his life had he spent a long time for one portrait. _

"_There's something wrong with her, I tell you!" The man yelled impatiently at the aunt._

"_Oh, fine! I pick the second one!" muttered the woman._

"_Right! Expect the portrait to be delivered a week later!" With a huff, the camera man was gone._

_Suddenly, the woman turned to face the little girl and brought her hand sharply on her cheek. "Regardless of his rudeness, I agree entirely with that man. What IS wrong with you, child? Do you want me to slap your harder until you can SMILE? Next time when you are asked to do something, DO IT. Do I make myself clear?"_

_Mizuka stared at her blankly. There were no tears swelling in her eyes; she had shed enough in the past years. She made no attempt at touching her burning cheek. Years of abuse have taught her to remain stoic: happiness will irritate that woman, and sadness will bring her satisfaction. Like a machine programmed only to respond in obedience, she nodded. "Yes."_

0000000000

Hinari gawked at the elaborate room. The place contained a double-bed, shelves choking with books and encyclopaedias, and a desk laid with tins of pens and pencils arranged in their category, not to mention other decorative items such as the antique rug that rested below. "This is Mizuka's bedroom?"

To her disappointment, an expensive-looking bedroom was not enough to gain a slight reaction from the white-hair boy (in other words, she's light years away from impressing him). Back at Kukuru Mountain, the size of his home was indescribable. The mountain that used to house eight Zaoldyecks and a massive dog contained more space than necessary. Contemplating on such matters lead to an unexpected thought which crept unconsciously to Killua's mind. _Speaking of which, where the bloody hell is that Alluka…? _

The pink-hair girl popped his little bubble of thoughts and pointed inquisitively at a little metal box sitting innocently on the desk. "Hey look! I wander what secrets she's hiding!"

"Oi oi…..don't meddle with other peoples' stuff. Would you like it if I checked your diary and see what things you've been writing about your crush?"

Hinari blushed. "Just a little peek?"

"You do whatever you want to do; it's none of my business. If you're caught red handed, you get the blame," Killua said uncaringly and crossed his arms behind his head.

Taking the risk, the girl snatched the box and examined it, turning it this way and that. Killua arched an eyebrow as he watched Hinari wrestling with the object. _It looks so familiar…_

The girl pouted, "It wouldn't open!"

His curiosity got the better of him. The boy reached his hand out and gestured to her to give him the box. Once the object was passed over to him, he scrutinised the cube made of metal pieces arranged like a prison cage.

Killua's eyes widened. _Just as I thought. But why, of all places, is such a box found in a girl's bedroom?_

"Fuujiou. Get out of the room."

"Huh?"

"Just get out, and close the door. I'll tell you when you can come in."

"Why…?"

"Get out, will you? You need to stay in a safe place for a while."

His request was misinterpreted by her brain cells, in which she thought he was 'protecting her from harm' and therefore keeping her away. Hinari nodded quickly and scrambled out into the corridor, closing the door behind her.

Summoning a larger amount of nen than the quantity used daily, Killua closed his eyes and focused the energy into the box which then glowed, and illuminated the room with blinding light. Hinari widened her eyes at the light emanating under the door. Suddenly, an explosion, then the clinking sound of metal against metal was heard. The girl outside was washed with relief that she was not inside the room, but at the same time, worried about the boy's current welfare. Before she slammed the door open to check if he was alright, Killua had already whipped his hunter license out, and inserted the card into a slot. With a neat click the lid flicked open, revealing its prisoner trapped in velvety material for only-God-knows-how-long.

Oh, and he has great sense of timing too.

Just as Hinari opened the door, a third head popped in the doorway to find out what all the commotion in her room was about. She shifted her gaze onto a certain boy with a cassette in his clutch. Killua could feel his bottom jaw unhooking from the hinges which then plummeted into the unimaginable depths of his chin.

_UGH! WHY must she show up at the most INCONVENIENT TIME FRAME?_

Someone had to break the unnerving silence. The purple-hair girl, although looking neither perturbed nor startled, had those golden eyes that indicated some explanation was required from the boy. Killua opened his mouth, and then closed it. A sudden rush of heat graced his cheeks as he mentally screamed mild curses in his head.

"May I…play the cassette?" Mizuka suddenly asked and pointed to a cassette player. "How you opened the box, you can explain later. I was never able to open it."

Killua nodded quickly and inserted the object into the player. He turned the volume to moderately loud then took a step back. Hinari moved closer to the pair. All three pairs of eyes were glued onto the device.

_[Yo, Mizuka]_

Killua groaned inwardly. _I should've fetched Gon first!_

_[How long has it been since I sent this box to you? Probably years…]_

_[Right now as you're standing in front of the cassette player listening to a stranger talk, I'm somewhere else on the run, however, not in your world.]_

Mizuka frowned. "Another world…?" she whispered to herself.

_[Have you found the key yet?]_

Killua immediately stared at what he thought was an empty box, but true to the stranger's words, there was a key threaded with a string.

_[That is the key to a new journey.]_

Killua handed over the object to the girl. She held it up by the string and inspected the smooth, golden surface.

_[It belonged to your father. Your mother has asked me to pass it on to you. Wear it, and keep it safe.]_

Mizuka did as she was told and slung it comfortably around her neck.

_[The current head of the house is not to know about the key. Your parents have entrusted their faith in your ability to protect the it.]_

THe girl rested her fingers on the key and fingered the intricate pattern.

_[That is all. Best of luck on your journey.]_

_[I will be looking forward to meeting you.]_

_Meeting you..._she repeated in her head.

_[Oh, hey, youngster. I mean you, over there, nen-user.]_

Killua stiffened, and placed as much attention he could gather onto the forthcoming message. The masculine voice snickered playfully.

_[Catch me if you can.]_

And then, the tape clicked and rewinded.

_That…..that old BASTARD!_ Killua fumed silently.

* * *

**UGH I just HAD TO write those character's past thingy...did you guys skip them? Cause I did :3 Haha it felt like YEARS since I last updated. Not the best of chapters, but here you go anyway ;p **

**Okay...right now...**

**I NEED TO DO MY FREAKIN ESSAY! D:**

***scrambles away as people chuck flammable deodorant cans***


End file.

Hunter X Hunter, Friendship, Hurt-Comfort