ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ- ᴋɪʟʟᴜᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ [OLD]

39- 𝘞𝘩𝘺?

The silence of the small, office-like room everyone was crammed into was quickly interrupted by the loud banging of the doors being slammed open. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wishing for a hand to hold. Wishing for Killua's hand to hold. It was unfair. I hated how I had to be alone. I hated how Killua had to be alone. I hated how Illumi made us feel so alone. I hated Illumi. I glared holes into the back of his head, wishing my gaze would cause all of his bones to break. But unfortunately, I couldn't do anything.

I turned to glance at the source of the noise, only to find an angry and battered-up Gon holding the doors wide open. He continued walking until he got to where Illumi was sitting. "Apologize to Killua!" He angrily demanded, looking at the man. Illumi just blinked, or rather stared.

"Sorry? But what for?"

"You really don't know what you did wrong?"

Illumi thought for a while. "Nope." He responded. I stood up and slammed my hands on the table in front of me, drawing everyone's attention. I felt a bit nervous but tried to push through. "You hurt him! You made Killua feel like he's not good enough! You know exactly what you did." I yelled, shaking a bit. Illumi just glanced at me and put a finger to his lips before turning back to Gon.

"You're not qualified to be his big brother!" Gon said angrily.

"I didn't know I had to qualify." Illumi turned his head. I wanted to run up and beat the shit out of him, I was pissed, but Gon beat me to it. He grabbed Illumi's arm and lifted him, Before letting him back down again.

"Friends don't have to either. He gets to choose!" Gon's grip grew tighter and he looked to be twisting Illumi's arm. Illumi's eyes widened (without looking terrifying somehow) and he seemed shocked, but didn't break from Gon's grasp. "Don't even bother apologizing. Just take me to see Killua."

"And me! There's no way I can leave him alone, not with the condition I saw he was in!" I huffed. 

"And what will the two of you do?" Illumi asked, almost sarcastically. 

"It's obvious!" Gon grunted. "We'll bring him back!"

"From the sound of it, you must think I kidnapped my little brother. But he walked out of here of his own free will." Illumi chuckled coldly.

"Only because you lied to and manipulated him!" Quinn shouted.

"They're right! And manipulating is the same thing as kidnapping." Gon continued. There was a tense silence, until it was quickly broken by the clacking of Chairman Netero's sandals. 

"We were just discussing that very subject. In fact, Kurapika and Leorio have both lodged complaints." He stood with his hands behind his back. "The committee has been discussing the fairness of Killua's disqualification."

Kurapika stood up. "You saw it yourself! Both during and after the match with the man called Gittarakur, Killua behaved strangely. I believe there is only one reason Killua committed murder. He was hypnotized!" He suggested. "It's generally considered impossible to direct someone to do such a thing, however, assassins raised Killua and murder was commonplace. It's natural that he would lack the proper ethical restraint!"

"But Killua still had morality, Kurapika!" I defended. "I get what you're trying to say, but I think this is more abuse than hypnosis. Growing up in a family of assassins means you'd have to be prepared for anything, which also means that punishments are much worse. All this 'training' Illumi was referring to is actually just beating Killua senseless! So to avoid this, it'd make more sense to just submit, right?" I tried to reason, but it didn't seem to work.

"That would make sense, but hypnosis isn't completely off the table." Quinn frowned.

"It is worth noting that the attack happened during my match with Bodoro. So it's possible Killua intended to aid my cause. Which means if you're going to disqualify anyone, it should be me." Leorio offered.

"Whatever the case, it's obvious that Killua was not in control of his actions at the time. And thus, he should not have been disqualified." Kurapika continued. 

"That is nothing more than speculation." Netero dismissed, turning his backs toward us.

"With all due respect sir, Killua wasn't acting like himself at all, even during the waiting period between rounds. As you know, during this exam Killua and I have grown very close and we usually talk to each other about everything. He remained silent, and when I asked if he was all right, he brushed it off and said it was nothing. Obviously, he was influenced by something, whether that be hypnosis or trauma." I sighed.

"Yes, I'm aware. The two of you are practically inseparable, but once again, this is all just speculation." Netero continued, not even bothering to look at me. "There's no concrete proof. From what we saw, there were no clear indications he was ordered to commit murder and regarding the hypnotism, I would have to question that claim as well." Kurapika gasped, but Netero just continued. "I will agree, the incident occurred once the battle between Bodoro and Leorio got underway. At that point, both fighters were evenly matched, all things considered. While Bodoro certainly had experience, it was clear that Leorio had the definite edge when it came to raw ability in combat. Given that it was a fair fight, there was no need for Killua to intervene." 

"This is all so aggravating!" I shouted, slamming my fist on the desk. "Can't you at least try to help my friend? He's all I got, and I can't afford to lose him!" I felt like crying, but I tried to hold in any tears. "I need him!" My throat felt tight, and my attempt at covering up emotion failed. I could feel the tears drip down my cheek and onto the wooden table. "I really, really, need him!" I wailed, letting everything spill out.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do." He sighed, glancing at me for just a moment.