Chapter Text
Killua used an open palm to redirect the fist flying at his face. Taking advantage of his opponent’s momentum he stepped forward with an elbow up at the right level to smash in his attacker’s nose, before stopping suddenly. Instead, his arm whipped over a head full of dark hair sending it rustling before dropping around her neck to put the girl into a headlock. The second her back was to him she rocked her head back in an attempt to smash his nose. Killua deftly dodged, sticking the tip of a finger in his mouth and then straight into his opponent’s ear.
“Eeeauuugh” Alluka shrieked, pulling her shoulders up to knock her older brother’s finger out of her ear.
“You’re disgusting! What the hell big brother.” She stepped out of his grip, which had become loose as he laughed at her flailing.
Alluka pouted fiercely, eyes narrowing at the boy who was supposed to be teaching her hand-to-hand combat.
“Killua! You’re supposed to be taking this seriously.” She stomped her foot, kicking up reddish brown dust from the floor of their make-shift arena.
Killua wiped tears of laughter from under his eyes, straightening with a mischievous smirk on his face.
“That was ten-out-of-ten the best Alluka-squeak I’ve gotten yet.”
“The goal isn’t to get me to squeak! It is to teach me to fight. What self-respecting Hunter gives someone a wet willy anyways?” Alluka demanded as she rubbed at her ear to erase the gross sensation.
Killua’s smirk faded and his eyes became serious and fond.
“That fight was already over Alluka. My elbow would’ve cracked your skull.” Blue eyes narrowed slightly and his smile ticked up at one corner. “The wet willy was punishment for that totally garbage punch you were trying to throw. What the heck was that anyways?”
“What do you mean garbage?” She pouted, finally dropping her hand from her ear to cross her arms over her chest.
“You threw your upper body forward and unbalanced yourself, instead of punching using power from the hip. I taught you better than that.” Killua gently admonished.
Alluka let her arms drop with an existential sigh so loud and dramatic it could only be coming from a teenager.
“Your arms dropped a little. I was trying to get within your guard.”
“Well you did, but unfortunately for you I got in yours better.”
“Whatever. I’m tired, can we finally go eat now?” Alluka pulled out her ponytail, letting her hair fall back down in a curtain.
“Tell me you didn’t throw this fight on purpose because you’re hungry?” Killua asked, sounding vaguely annoyed for the first time.
“I did not!” She bristled at the accusation. “I don’t focus well when I’m hungry. We haven’t eaten anything since breakfast!”
Killua blinked, surprised to realize she was right.
“I’m sorry Alluka, I totally forgot. I’m a bad big brother.” He said, tone far to serious for her tastes.
She reached out to grab his hand and pull him out of his revere.
“You’re the best big brother.” She said, the last of her grouchiness leaving her voice. “You’ll be an even better one if you buy us dinner.”
Killua smiled fondly at his little sister.
“Anything you want. What are you feeling?”
“Hmmm” One delicate pointer finger tapped against her chin in thought.
“I want carbohydrates. Anything with carbs.” She declared, stomach growling in perfect punctuation.
“Pizza?” He asked, head tilting.
“Hell yes!”
“Fine,” Killua said, dropping her hand and turned around so she could jump on his back. “But we’re getting two. I don’t want your gross everything toppings getting all over my half.”
Alluka jumped up, arms locking around his neck, chin resting on the arm thrown over his right shoulder.
“Mushrooms are great!”
“I refuse to eat mushrooms, keep your nasty fungus away from me.” Killua shuddered dramatically, tongue poking out of his mouth as if tasting something disgusting. Alluka laughed, knocking her head lightly against her brothers.
Alluka felt the air change, static raising the hair on her arms and tingling over her skin. She giggled at the sensation as it intensified and her brother’s white hair raised from his neck and took on a brilliant silver-white glow. She banged her heels against his thighs.
“Mush!”
Killua snorted, rolling his eyes, before taking off towards town. They were nothing but a blur of white light, long trailing dark hair, and the sound of a giggling girl who loved the speed and freedom of these runs just as much every time.
*****
Two greasy pizzas later, Alluka and Killua lie on the dingy bed in their hotel room, the last of the evening light trickling in through the window.
“Why’d I eat that entire thing? I am never eating again.” She groaned resting a hand on her stomach.
“You say that, but when morning rolls around you’ll be shaking me out of bed for food for sure.” Alluka rolled her head over to give Killua a look.
“I only shake you out of bed because if I didn’t you’d be in there until noon.”
“Noon is a perfectly reasonable time to wake up.” Killua retorted primly, nose upturned.
Alluka rolled her eyes. “I also wouldn’t shake you out of bed if you got up the first time. You were raised an assassin, I don’t believe you sleep through me saying your name for half a second.”
Killua turned his head back to stare at the ceiling. It had been over three years since Alluka had become his world-travel partner, for the first two years of it, they avoided any mention of their family like the plague. Other than whispered mentions of Illumi, spoken quietly as if the word itself could summon him, they never talked about it. It was only within the past few months that Alluka seemed to be mentioning their childhood more and more, her blue eyes watching Killua’s face carefully for a reaction every time. Seeing way too much in every micro-expression that resulted. Killua couldn’t figure out what she was trying to glean from this, and he was too afraid to ask.
Alluka watched the profile of her brother’s face darken and his eyes grow distant. He was always like that at even the subtlest hint of their childhood and family. He would close-up and not say a word. She hated the weariness he seemed to take on when they talked about them, but she also hated the idea that he carried most of the burden of their family for them. As a child, all she knew was that they loved Killua and shunned her, but as she grew up, she couldn’t help but notice things, the long lines across Killua’s back that you could just barely see when they changed, the way he would forget to eat sometimes, his casual disregard of even serious injuries, and the way he mentioned in an off-hand matter when she inquired after his claws how they were developed through repeated breaking of bone. When she was younger, she just thought of these as her big brother being amazing and resilient as always, but more and more lately she couldn’t help but wonder how that resilience had been earned.
She sighed into the silence, eyes refocusing on Killua’s blue eyes, so much like her own, but somehow so much more tired, staring up at the ceiling lost in thought.
Alluka leaned in close to him and blew into his ear.
Killed hissed, bristling like a cat.
Alluka cackled at his irritated expression and the scowl twisting his lips. “That’s what you get for earlier!”
“That was for training! I wasn’t even doing anything and you just blew straight into my ear!”
“What goes around, comes around.” She chirped, delighting in her brother’s disgruntled expression.
Killua glared at her, tilting his head forward to give her a nasty look.
“Oh, it’ll come around alright.” He said ominously, before diving after her, fingers aiming for her vulnerable sides.
Alluka screeched as he tickled her, flailing so dramatically they both fell off the bed in a laughing pile.
“Now look what you did!” Alluka complained, trying to untangle them from her long dark hair before Killua couldn’t accidentally pull it getting up, but she was smiling. The lingering emptiness was banished from her brother’s eyes as if it had never been.
*****
Gon sprinted through the woods, eyes locked on the upper right-hand corner of his phone screen. He weaved his way through the terrain easily, not looking away from his phone, brow furrowed as he concentrated on it. He burst through a copse of trees and into an open grassy field. Two tiny bars appeared on his phone.
“Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air, dialing the only number he knew by heart.
“Hel-“
“KILLUAAAAA!” Gon shouted into his phone before Killua could even get the word out.
“GON! Stop yelling in my ear! We are using a phone for a reason, you don’t need to shout loud enough for me to hear you in person!” Killua yelled back into the phone, Gon could hear Alluka giggling in the background and smiled.
“I’m just excited to talk to you! I missed last week’s call when I was in the woods.”
“Killua should know better anyways, you yell into the phone every time.” Alluka laughed and Gon could hear the light puff of breath that was Killua huffing at them. He couldn’t help but widen his grin, was it weird to miss someone’s irritated noises as much as he missed Killua’s?
“Alluka! How are you? How’s training? Have you kicked Killua’s butt yet?” Gon teased.
“As if she could beat me.”
“Hey!-“ Alluka interjected
“She’ll have to set a way lower bar first, like beating you.” Killua snarked.
“Hey!” Gon echoed Alluka’s complaint. “I have nen back and everything. I could definitely beat Killua in a fight now.”
“Not in your wildest dreams idiot.”
“Killua” Gon complained, voice running through about seven different tones to create his signature whine.
He heard a scuffling noise on the other end, and Killua’s voice farther away asking Alluka what she was doing.
“Gon, I turned on our video function! Can you turn on yours? You sound clearer than usual so I think you might have enough reception to do it.”
“Yes! Let me just…” he trailed off.
“Um” Gon looked down blankly at his phone trying to remember which button was the video button.
“It’s on the bottom left dummy.” Came the dry tone of his best friend. Gon ignored his teasing and excitedly clicked what he thought was the correct button. Alluka and Killua’s faces appeared on his screen, the image was slightly grainy, but he’d recognize those blue eyes and that white hair anywhere.
“Killua! It’s you!” He couldn’t help but exclaim, wiggling slightly in excitement.
“Who did you think you were talking to this whole time anyways? Of course it’s me!”
“Be nice big brother, he’s just excited to see you.” Alluka admonished, shoulder checking him slightly.
“Yeah Killua, be nice to me.” Gon said teasingly, enjoying the chance to see the blush form on Killua’s cheeks.
“Don’t you both gang up on me.”
“Let’s gang up on him, he could never defeat us together.” Alluka winked at Gon.
“Hey!” Killua whipped his head around to glare at his sister. “I can and will give you another wet willy.”
Alluka gasped. “I can and will send Gon every picture I’ve taken of your hilarious bed head since you started growing your hair out last year.”
Gon perked up at Alluka’s threat.
“Yes please!”
“Absolutely not!” Killua bitched.
“Aw Killua please?”
“Hell no!” Killua retorted abruptly, shaking his head so violently said longer hair temporarily covered his face. “Alluka, when did you become so ruthless anyways? What happened to my adorable baby sister?” He said, hand flat on his chest like an offended old lady clutching at her pearls.
“I learned from the best.” She said in a saccharine tone as Gon burst out laughing again. He was smiling so wide it hurt his cheeks. He wished he were there, he wished he could be there to wrestle Killua and tease him in person with Alluka. His laughter faded at the more somber thought and he looked at the screen again.
Killua was looking at him with one of his small genuine smiles pulling at his lips and just barely crinkling the skin by his brilliant blue eyes, the skin of his cheeks had the softest pink color, the last vestiges of a blush. Gon felt like his heart stumbled through a beat in his chest. He loved Killua. He’d known it since he was twelve years old, but somehow in moments like this it still hit him like a punch to the gut, enough to steal the air out of his lungs. He clicked the one button he remembered on the screen and heard the shutter go off.
“Gon, did you just take a picture of our chat?” Killua demanded, soft look vanishing for a more pointed classic Killua expression. His eyes were slightly narrowed. He looked fierce and beautiful. Gon took another screen shot.
“Hey! You just took another! Stop.” Gon laughed.
“I can’t help it. Killua looks so cute.” The blush that had been fading from pale cheeks came rushing back with a vengeance.
“S-shut up.” Killua’s voice broke slightly.
Alluka started laughing and doubled over out of view of the camera, but she could still be heard laughing so hard it sounded like she was having trouble breathing.
“That’s it. I’m turning off video!” Killua hissed.
“No!” Gon heard his shout echoed by Alluka off screen who apparently caught her breath well enough to knock the phone out of Killua’s hands. The phone tumbled to the bed and he caught a brief glimpse of elbows, hands, and hair as the two mock-wrestled for a moment before Alluka’s laughing face appeared back on the screen straightening the phone to include both of their faces.
“I miss you so much.” Gon couldn’t help the admission, too honest and raw.
Killua went quiet, eyes shifting to focus on the ugly hotel bedspread. Alluka looked over at him and Killua looked at up at her, sensing her gaze. A wordless conversation passed between them. Gon felt a brief stab of envy- he used to be the only person Killua could have non-verbal conversations with like this- before abruptly stifling the emotion. It was unfair to keep Killua all to himself, Killua deserved people who loved him, and how could anyone not?
“You don’t have to.” Killua said softly, snapping Gon out of his revere.
“W-what?” He said, taken aback. Nervous to get his hopes up if he was hearing Killua wrong.
“You don’t have to miss us, if you want to come travel with us.” Killua said, more firmly this time. Out of the corner of his eye, Gon could see Alluka smiling fondly at Killua. She reached up and flicked a lock of white hair out of his face. Gon wanted nothing more than to be able to run his fingers through that fluffy white hair too. Was it just as soft as he remembered?
“I would love that… I would love it.” Gon felt his tone was too serious for the conversation, his voice too deep. It almost sounded like he was on the edge of tears, something blocking up his throat.
They made plans that night of where and when they would meet. They talked until Gon’s phone died. Afterwards he squeezed his phone to his chest like he could hug them through it, heart beating like a hummingbird. Too excited to sleep, he ran through the night, excited to get to a city and start making his way to his best friend. Just two weeks. Two weeks and he would be with Killua again.
*****
Alluka rolled over on her back and looked over at her older brother. He was still staring at the dark phone with a distant look in his eyes, the barest hint of a smile on his mouth. Alluka felt an answering one tug at her lips. She couldn’t help but smile when her big brother was happy.
“Hey Killua?” She said sweetly, smile morphing into something a bit more devious.
“Hmmm?” He responded absentmindedly, as he turned to face her with his hand under his chin.
“Gon sure says you’re cute a lot doesn’t he?”
Killua’s face flushed bright red.
“Shut up!” He snapped.
“S-shut up.” Alluka said, mimicking his voice crack from earlier.
Killua dove for her and put her in a headlock as she cackled, laughing too hard to bother trying to pry his arm off.
“Nanika wouldn’t do this to me you know. She’s my new favorite!” Killua declared while mock choking his sister.
“I love Killua.” The girl in his arms said, voice suddenly slightly raspy and childish.
Killua loosened his grip immediately and wrapped his arms around her waist instead, hugging her.
“I love you too Nanika.” Pale fingers threaded through her hair, gently working out tangles they’d made while wrestling. Nanika hummed in pleasure and wriggled a bit like a happy puppy. Killua dropped his arms and turned to face her.
“How are you today Nanika?”
The dark curve of her mouth was turned upwards in a smile, black eyes crinkled happily at the corners. She just hummed contentedly in answer. “Killua, comb my hair?”
“Of course Nanika.”
Killua got up from the bed to dig her brush out of her duffle along with a few clips and ponytails, then hopped back on the bed, smiling when Nanika giggled at the bouncing. He sat cross-legged behind her and began to gently work the tangles out of her hair, starting from the bottom and working his way up, just like Alluka normally did. They worked in relative silence, only Nanika’s quietly happy noises and the soft sound of the brush audible.
After working the tangles out he started to braid it, Alluka’s preferred hair style to stop it from tangling while she slept. Once he’d finished Nanika turned around.
“I want to do! Killua turn.” She insisted, making grabby hands at the brush. Killua smiled indulgently.
“Okay. Are you going to make me pretty?” He asked teasingly.
“Killua pretty!” Nanika exclaimed. He laughed and turned around letting her play with his hair.
Though Alluka had grown-up over the years, Nanika remained childish. Everything from her voice to her demeanor seemed suspended in time leaving her with speech capabilities somewhere around that of a toddler. She combed his hair before clumsily gathering it in bunches and adding ponytails, giggling at the mess she was making.
He felt some quality of the room shift imperceptibly. He could never put his finger on it, but somehow he could feel when Nanika and Alluka shifted back and forth. The hands in his hair paused.
“Oh wow, that is a look.” The clearer voice of Alluka cut through the silence.
Killua twisted at the waist to face her, tilted his head towards her and raised his eyebrows.
“Well? Am I pretty? Nanika said she was going to make me pretty.” He deadpanned.
Alluka laughed.
“Of course you’re pretty! Gon and I both always think you’re pretty.” She teased. A faint pink blush, an echo from earlier, colored his cheeks.
“Don’t you start again.” He sighed in exasperation.
“Alright, alright.” She acquiesced, reaching up to pull out the pigtails Nanika had tried to put in Killua’s hair. It wasn’t quite long enough, so pieces were falling out of each side and wild white curls were sticking out comically. It really was quite the look.
“Can I try again with Nanika today?” Alluka asked as she worked, picking tangles out of her brother’s hair. Killua was silent for a moment.
“It makes her so tired though. She just woke up yesterday from last time.” Killua said equivocating.
Alluka didn’t answer, just picked up the brush and continued to fix the mess Nanika had made in her brother’s hair.
“It isn’t up to me though.” He said sighing. “Whatever you and Nanika want.”
Alluka paused, frowning. “We’re a team Killua, you do have a say. I know it makes us more vulnerable.”
“I can protect you no matter what.” He said firmly, half turning again so she could catch his profile. “If you want to do it. I trust your judgement.”
Alluka couldn’t help but half smile at that.
“Okay. What do you think I should wish for?”
Killua turned forward again and Alluka resumed combing while he thought.
“Something small. For whatever reason you both seem to get so much more tired when you make the commands.” Alluka nodded thoughtfully.
“Maybe a minor healing wish?”
“Hmmm, that exhausts you though even when you aren’t the one making the wish.” He pointed out, not disagreeing, but making sure she had considered everything.
“Yes, but I want to try scaling up from what we have been doing, and I’d rather do it now so we are both awake and ready when we meet up with Gon.”
Killua nodded, slumping to rest his chin in his hand.
“We passed an animal hospital on our way here. We could break in tonight?”
Alluka smiled. Perfect.
“You just happened to notice the animal hospital did you?” She arched a skeptical brow.
“Shut up. I didn’t have any intentions. I just noticed it.” He retorted, straightening to cross his arms over his chest.
“You’re like that one dessert we had last week with the vanilla.”
“Crème brule?” He asked baffled. “What does that even mean?”
“Hard outside, warm soft center.” She clarified, poking at his stomach with a finger he deftly dodged.
“Take it back!” He grouched.
Alluka laughed.
*****
Milluki popped the earbud out of his ear in disgust. Killua was truly losing it. He was an embarrassment to their entire family and he couldn’t fathom why Illumi wanted so badly to have him or that thing he cared for back.
He snorted, wheeling back in his chair and standing-up. His back cracked as he stood, sore from sitting all day.
On the bright side, he was finally done listening in on that spikey-haired idiots droll phone conversations. He couldn’t tap Killua’s phone, but his idiot friend was another story, blithely clicking on any link sent his way. All the better for him he supposed, he finally knew exactly where Killua was going to be. He just needed to get the address to Illumi.