Shuffle The Deck

Chapter 25 - Answers

Her eyes slowly stirred, and they opened to the view of a room that she didn't recognize. It looked nothing like hers and smelled different too. Her vision was a bit blurred, but she could still clearly see who was sleeping on two chairs next to her bed.

She smiled as they began to wake up, their small faces radiating joy as she sat up. Her hair had gotten a bit longer over the months and was now about shoulder level. Though, it was still as wavy as ever and never lost its dyed color.

Her eyes glued on the two boys, who wearily stood up from their sleeping spots. They ran up to her, practically throwing themselves at her body with full force.

She embraced them tightly, her heart full with all their affection.

"Thank god you're okay," Killua muttered into her clothes, grasping harder on her hospital gown.

"You really had us worried!" Gon said in a relieved tone and hugged her tighter.

She sighed in relief as she pulled them in closer, breathing slowly into their hair.

"I'm alright now, no need to worry. I won't go out that easily," she promised.

She tousled their hair like always, earning happy responses from the boys. Gon giggled, and Killua purely smiled. The two boys backed off, their relief quickly turning into complete confusion. She stared at them curiously, cocking her head to the side as they looked at each other with heavy hearts.

And then it all came flooding back.

"Oh, shit."

Gon looked at her with a wide mouth, and Killua was just a few seconds too late to cover Gon's ears.

She apologized for her language, Killua lecturing her like a child. Gon forgave her easily, but she didn't forgive herself. I mean, he was twelve, he didn't have to know curse words right now. But Killua on the other hand, was pretty well versed in the use of vulgar language, growing up with a family of professional assassins, who basically swore as if their lives depended on it.

She winced at the two faces of the boys, who were now blushing and angry at the same time. She sighed heavily, knowing that this was coming eventually, and she couldn't just avoid it every single time. Plus, these two would understand. Hopefully, at least.

"So...Uh...Why did you..." Gon fumbled with his words, trying to mimic what a kiss was without saying the word in the best attempt possible. Killua just rolled his eyes and looked at Lilah harshly.

"Why did you kiss Hisoka?" He angrily seethed, then realized his own words. Gon slapped his hands on Killua's mouth, and heavy blush streaked both their faces. In the end, they were still kids.

She looked down at her hands with a dejected expression, clutching her blanket. With a tremling breath, she looked back at the two boys, who now had sympathetic expressions on their faces.

"You see, I made a bet with him before our match. If I had won, he would have located an item of my choice, which could have been anything really, and brought it back to me. But if he won, well, you saw how that turned out," she explained, making Gon and Killua look completely relieved.

"So he didn't do it without you knowing. I swear, if he had done that to you without consent, I would have-"

She held up her finger to silence Killua, who looked at her fearful expression with curiosity. She quickly dropped and stared back at the sheets on her bed. An overwhelming wave of emotions hit her in the face at that moment.

She had to tell them now, or the right time would never come to tell the truth.

"I'm sorry," she quietly said, her hands moving to her heart. "I need to tell you two something. It'll be weird, no doubt, but I need you to try and understand, okay?"